Caesars Entertainment lets go of South Korean resort

Added: February 18, 2021

Reports state that famous hotel and casino company Caesars Entertainment has allegedly decided to halt its attempt at building a resort in South Korea. Apparently, the company has pulled away from the project in Yeongjong-do, which is named the Midan City Complex Resort. This means that the Chinese Puri Group will be left going into this alone.

It has been suggested that the operator is seeking to put all its energy into its operations within the US, hence its decision to withdraw from the Korean complex. However, many point to other issues that would seem more logical, such as the fact that the company received many threats on losing its licence by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as well as the Incheon Free Economic Zone Office, and many are assuming that Caesars wanted to remove itself from this sticky situation.

Many problems with funding pushed back the resort’s date of completion from March of 2018 to an unspecified date, but since then the construction has not resumed and the property is left incomplete. The company was issued a warning last month that should they not have a strategy in place to complete the construction by March 17th, they will have their licence taken away completely. Clearly this has been a contributing factor to the entire withdrawal of the operator.

Aside from that, the initial funding of approximately $150 million has apparently run out, and only 25% of the resort’s construction has been completed. The Chinese company will apparently be resuming the construction but is also required to submit a strategy in order to keep its licence. The project will have to be left high and dry in case the licence is not extended.

An official from the Incheon Economic Office stated:

The approval of the project change, such as extending the completion period, will be decided through a review by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. If approved, the speed of the project will increase.

Since their merger with Eldorado resorts, the company has been looking to streamline operations, and the expected proceeds from a $1 billion sale, along with cutting off a troubled development in South Korea, goes a long way towards that goal.

Caesars Entertainment has also been looking into the sale of its notorious casino on the Las Vegas Strip: Planet Hollywood. Ever since the company was fused with Eldorado resorts, it has been trying to make its operations run smoothly. And this is where the estimated $1 billion sale comes to play, as well as the abandonment of the Korean project, which will both certainly boost the unified companies towards their hopes.

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