{"id":183849,"date":"2021-08-25T00:04:57","date_gmt":"2021-08-25T07:04:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=183849"},"modified":"2021-08-25T10:33:32","modified_gmt":"2021-08-25T17:33:32","slug":"osaka-casino-candidacy-endures-despite-yokohama-fallout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/osaka-casino-candidacy-endures-despite-yokohama-fallout\/","title":{"rendered":"Osaka Casino Candidacy Endures Despite Yokohama Integrated Resort Fallout"},"content":{"rendered":"

Osaka remains steadfast in its commitment to bid Japan’s central government for one of the country’s three integrated resort (IR) licenses.<\/p>\n

\"Osaka
Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura holds a press conference on March 31, 2021. He says Osaka will continue to fight for an integrated resort casino license in Japan. (Image: Kyodo News<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Osaka’s announcement comes less than 48 hours after anti-IR candidate Dr. Takeharu Yamanaka won Yokohama’s mayoral election<\/a>. Yokohama’s mayor-elect has pledged to withdrawal Japan’s second-largest city from the IR race.<\/p>\n

Yokohama Mayor Fumiko Hayashi was seeking a fourth term. She ran in support of a multibillion-dollar commercial casino resort, but voters soundly rejected that plan.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“It appears that we have been living through a storm of opposition since the IR bid was announced two years ago,” Hayashi acknowledged during her concession speech. “During the election campaign, many residents I spoke to were in favor of an IR.”<\/p>\n

Hayashi added that COVID-19 prevented her from meeting with residents to better understand their views on bringing a casino to the region.<\/p>\n

Osaka Still a Go<\/b><\/h2>\n

Yokohama and Osaka are respectively Japan’s second and third-most populated cities. Officials in Osaka believe there is adequate public support to move forward with an IR.<\/p>\n

\n

I do not believe that the Yokohama mayoral election will have a major impact on Osaka’s IR project,”<\/strong> Osaka Prefecture Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura said during a press briefing.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Yoshimura isn’t convinced that it was the casino issue that resulted in Dr. Yamanaka’s upset victory. Instead, Osaka’s top lawmaker cited ongoing pandemic concerns.<\/p>\n

“It may be that the city’s elections were dominated by the coronavirus pandemic. COVID-19 is increasing rapidly in the greater Tokyo metropolitan area, and Mr. Yamanaka, who is an expert on the coronavirus, may have gained the confidence of its residents,” Yoshimura opined.<\/p>\n

Osaka’s IR development partner is a consortium led by MGM Resorts<\/a>. Last month, MGM and Japanese financial services group Orix unveiled a $9.1 billion IR plan.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The IR is set for Osaka’s “Dream Island,” a nearly 1,000-acre, man-made patch of land in Osaka Bay. Dream Island — Yumeshima in Japanese — is set to host Expo 2025. The world fair’s theme is “Designing Future Society for Our Lives.”<\/p>\n

Genting Downgrade<\/b><\/h2>\n

Genting Group, a global casino operator with IRs in the United States, United Kingdom, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, and the Caribbean, was the front-runner to be selected in Yokohama. Melco Resorts was the city’s other qualifying bidder.<\/p>\n

Genting’s consortium included Japanese-based Sega Sammy Holdings, an amusement and entertainment company focused on pachinko and video games.<\/p>\n

With Yokohama almost certainly out of the IR pool, Genting Group has been downgraded by Maybank Kim Eng. The Malaysia-based investment advisory firm adjusted Genting stock from a “buy” to a “hold” rating.<\/p>\n

\n

Though we still opine that the Genting-Sega Sammy joint venture was in the strongest position to win a Yokohama IR license, it is likely all academic now,\u201d the Maybank note read Monday. “With the Yokohama mayoral election having come and gone, we downgrade Genting to ‘hold.'”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Not all analysts, however, are on the same page regarding Genting. A note from brokerage Nomura maintained its “buy” rating. The firm said in its explanation that a forecast tourism recovery in Singapore and in other markets where Genting operates was the reason for its rating.<\/p>\n

Along with Osaka, Nagasaki and Wakayama are prepping IR bids. Nagasaki is running with a casino development from Casinos Austria. Wakayama has picked Clairvest as its IR partner. Clairvest is a Toronto-based private equity firm that owns several casinos and gaming industry businesses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Osaka remains steadfast in its commitment to bid Japan’s central government for one of the country’s three integrated resort (IR) licenses. Osaka’s announcement comes less than 48 hours after anti-IR candidate Dr. Takeharu Yamanaka won Yokohama’s mayoral election. Yokohama’s mayor-elect has pledged to withdrawal Japan’s second-largest city from the IR race. Yokohama Mayor Fumiko Hayashi […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":183856,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[69069],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nOsaka Casino Candidacy Endures Despite Yokohama IR Fallout<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Osaka remains steadfast in its commitment to bid Japan's central government for one of the country's three integrated resort (IR) licenses.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Osaka Casino Candidacy Endures Despite Yokohama IR Fallout\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Osaka remains steadfast in its commitment to bid Japan's central government for one of the country's three integrated resort (IR) licenses.\" 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