US gambling giant Caesars Entertainment could see its casino permit in South Korea. The company has been trying to establish a casino in Midan City that would be open for foreigners only, but encountered some problems due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The construction of Ceasars’ casino in the country was abruptly ceased in February 2020 and the company failed in its efforts to come up with new sponsors in order to get the project back on track again. Now, the country’s authorities have threatened to cancel the US gambling company’s permission to finalize its casino project in case the operator does not come up with a solid investment plan.
Caesars Entertainment has been given 2 months to find a solution to the problem.
US casino operator’s Midan City project was planned as a collaboration between Caesars Entertainment and a Chinese development company, with the overall investment that had already been made amounting to $150 million. However, the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak considerably changed the Caesars’ plans, as it forced closures all across the sector and the companies ceased the execution of their ongoing construction plans.
Caesars’ Partners Unable to Provide the Promised Money Portion to Fund the Project
With the massive negative impact of the pandemic already known, Caesars Entertainment was put in an uncomfortable position, because its partner – the construction company Ssanya Construction – could not provide the monetary portion of $27.3 million that it had previously promised.
According to reports of some local media hubs, the delay in the construction works is found unsuitable by the country’s leaders. South Korean media have reported that if Midan City-based Caesars Korea Composite Resort (RFCZ) is not given the green light for changes by March 17th, 2021, the prior permission for the casino project that had already been given to Caesars Entertainment will be canceled in case that the Incheon Free Economic Zone Office and South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism held a meeting on June 14th, 2021.
Such an outcome will be a serious setback for the US casino giant that once thought it had hit the jackpot with the Midan City casino project in South Korea.
The large endeavor includes the construction of a gambling facility at more than 410,000-square-foot site. The casino project received the local authorities’ first approval in 2014 following a regulatory consideration. At the time, the gambling operator was allowed to establish the planned resort. The casino operating license is set to be issued once the construction works are finalized.
Unfortunately for Ceasars Entertainment, the project has faced multiple issues since the beginning of the construction works, with many delays in the project’s timetables being introduced. All of this eventually made South Korean authorities eventually lose their patience.
According to media reports, approximately 25% of the project’s development has been complete. Now, if the gambling operator does not manage to find a quick way out of the situation, the casino resort would remain unfinished.
