Mega resort to be built in South Korea

The casino in Incheon, near capital Seoul, is intended to serve foreigners as Korean nationals are not allowed to gamble in their own country. However, Korea’s location is considered convenient for northern China.

The resort would be one of the biggest in South Korea, which is attracting the attention of major casino operators like Las Vegas Sands and Caesars Entertainment at a time when several other Asian nations are betting on casinos to boost the number of wealthy Japanese and Chinese visitors as well as their economies.

The new resort, dubbed Paradise City, expects to attract 160,000 visitors a day, of which two-thirds are likely to be Chinese, the head of the project, Choi Jong-hwan, said in a statement.

Paradise shares closed up 3.6 percent in Seoul compared to a 3.1 percent gain in the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI).

Last week, Sands CEO Sheldon Alderson said his company was looking into opportunities in South Korea. Japan's Universal Entertainment and a consortium of Caesars and Lippo had also applied for licences to build casinos in Incheon, but the government rejected their bids in June without giving a reason.

South Korea allows its citizens to gamble at only one of the 16 or so casinos operating in the country. Paradise and local competitor Grand Korea Leisure are the biggest players in the foreigner-only domestic casino market and both firms target Chinese high-rollers from abroad. Paradise also collaborates with Macau junket operator Suncity to attract punters.

The number of Chinese tourists to South Korea jumped nearly 50 percent year-on-year in the first nine months of 2013, the official Yonhap news agency said on Tuesday.