South Korea’s Kangwon Land, the only casino in the country at which locals are permitted to gamble, says it will invest a total of KRW179.6 billion (US$128 million) into the development of a second casino site – part of a larger US$1.9 billion expansion project announced in September.
In a Monday filing, the Korean operator said the second casino facility aimed to “create a more enjoyable gaming environment by addressing the issue of overcrowding in [the] existing casino.”
The facility, it said, would cover 16,161 square meters and be located across multiple floors of the High1 Grand Hotel Main Tower. Construction is slated to begin this month and take three years to complete, currently slated for December 2027.
According to Kangwon Land, the US$128 million investment represents 4.88% of the company’s equity capital.
Aside from development of a second casino site, the broader expansion of Kangwon Land will comprise a new hotel and various leisure facilities, including revamped walking trails around the casino complex, a wellness center and a luxury pool villa, among others.
As previously reported by Inside Asian Gaming, completion of the second casino site will triple Kangwon Land’s gaming area capacity, incorporating new VIP rooms with helicopters utilized to fly in both Korean and international visitors, while a sky bridge will link the casino to the nearby High1 Ski and Golf Resort.
Kangwon Land has since been granted permission to increase the total number of gaming tables it operates from 200 to 250 and gaming machines from 1,560 to 1,860, with betting limits in dedicated foreigner-only zones to be increased significantly from KRW300,000 currently to KRW300 million.
The development is said to be motivated by the future threat posed by MGM’s US$10 billion integrated resort development in Osaka, Japan, scheduled to open in 2030.
