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: