Artist's rendering of the Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment casino in South Korea. Image: Inspire

Business Deals | Connecticut | Openings & Closings

Mohegan Tribe gains sole ownership of $5 billion gaming project in Korea

Wednesday, May 9, 2018

With tensions thawing in the Korean Peninsula, the Mohegan Tribe is making moves of its own.

Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment is now the sole owner of Inspire, a $5 billion gaming project that will located near Seoul, the capital of South Korea. The firm is buying out its local partner for $101 million.

MGE "reached an amicable agreement to purchase our South Korean partner’s stake in Project Inspire, thereby bringing MGE’s ownership in the project to 100% and furthering our diversification efforts in Asia, the world’s fastest-growing major gaming and entertainment market," Mario Kontomerkos, the chief executive officer of the tribe's gaming arm, said in a financial operating announcement on May 3.

The complex will include a foreigners-only casino, a hotel complex with 1,350 rooms, a 15,000-seat arena, an amusement park and an "Eco Adventure Park" along with multiple shops, restaurants and other amenities. A groundbreaking is expected later this year, with an opening slated in 2021, The New London Day reported.

The first phase of Inspire is slated to cost $1.6 billion. Additional work will bring the investment to $5 billion.

Seoul is about 35 miles from South Korea's border with North Korea. The leaders of the two nations held a historic meeting at the Joint Security Area in the Korean Demilitarized Zone on April 27 to discuss a peace treaty and other issues.

President Donald Trump plans to travel to North Korea to meet with Chairman Kim Jong-un for another historic meeting. A location has not been announced but Trump on Wednesday said it would not be in the DMZ as some had suggested.

Read More on the Story:
Mohegan Gaming taking sole ownership of South Korea casino project (The New London Day May 7, 2018)
Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment buys out Korean IR partner (Inside Asian Gaming May 7, 2018)
Mohegan Sun takes sole ownership of Incheon casino project (Gambling Insider May 9, 2018)