On May 1, the South Korean government announced plans to license 2 casino resorts this year with an investment of at least 1 trillion KW. South Korean citizens can play in one of the country's 17 casinos, remote Kangwon Land, and have a matching income of the other 16. The development of foreign-only casinos in Korea is a play on booming Chinese tourism. Last year, Chinese arrivals in South Korea reached 6.33 million, an increase of 46% from 2013, almost double that of 2009. The Chinese have replaced the Japanese as a major casino customer in Korea.

Bloombury Resort of Philippine billionaire Enrique Razon is one of the contenders for a Korean casino.License to attract Chinese players and bring Koreans to Solea Resort and Casino, shown here, in Manila. Bloombury Resort of Philippine billionaire Enrique Razon is one of the contenders for a Korean casino. 

The government has already broken ground on South Korean casino operator Paradise for an IR of 1.7 trillion KW for a統合1 billion integrated resort adjacent to the country's main gateway airport in partnership with a group led by Japanese game console maker Sega Sammy and U.S. casino giant Caesars Entertainment. Paradise says that the "Korean nature" of IR will be an important selling point.

For 2 new licenses, at least 3 candidates have emerged. Hong Kong billionaire Cheng Yu Tung, who had long invested in Macau Sociédad de Turismo de Macau, the parent company of Sjm Holdings, casino giant Stanley Ho, signed a letter of intent to investド1.6 billion in Incheon IR through a privately held Chow Tai Fook Enterprise. Cheng Holdings includes property to the new world of jewelry retailer kolikkopeleja.com and telecom conglomerate.

Bloombury Resort, owner of Manila's Solea Resort and Casino, bought beachfront land across the island off the coast of Incheon in May and the island opposite the first plot last month. The company, which is controlled by Philippine port giant Enrique Lazon Jr., wants to build a beach resort on a relatively pristine and popular island known in China after appearing on a popular Korean TV show, according to Seoul's KORE Policy & Management Consulting.

This week, Ggr Asia reported that Grand Korea Leisure announced plans to build a KW2 trillion resort in Incheon. GKL operates three foreign-only casinos under its Seven Luck brand, which in recent years has run second to Paradise Properties. But GKL is controlled by the Korean Tourism agency of the government, which can give it a foot against foreigners in the casino license race. GKL lists an eclectic group of project partners, including Donaco International, an Australian listed company led by native American casino operator Mohegan Sun, Macau junket Promoter Tak Chun Group and Joey Lim, grandson of Genting Group founder Lim Goh Tong. Donaco owns Aristo International in northern Vietnam, near the border with China's Yunnan Province, and is buying Star Vegas, the top property in Cambodia's Poipet Casino Strip, which borders Thailand, the closest legal gaming destination to Bangkok as buses roll.

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Down in Jeju, Bloomberry bought LVegas Casino, the lowest revenue of eight small casinos on holiday Island, where Chinese travelers enjoy visa-free access. Perhaps most importantly, LVegas comes with a gaming license that can be transferred to an integrated resort on the island with the approval of the Jeju government.

Genting Hong Kong, a partner of Solea's Crosstown rival Resorts World Manila and building the second Manila IR after Solea in the Entertainment City cluster, holds a stake in the casino that reopened in May as Genting Jeju. Genting Singapore, a subsidiary of the Genting Group, which owns the Resort World Sentosa in Singapore, is aIR1.8 billion IR project in partnership with Hong Kong-listed mainland Chinese developer Landing International, which owns the rest of the Resort World Sentosa. In the moon broke the ground.

For Manila operators, South Korea offers interesting combo parlays. Philippine casinos get the bulk of their mainland Chinese business from the south of the country, as does Macau. Cities in northern China, such as Beijing and Shanghai, are much closer to South Korea. In addition, Koreans make up the largest part of the arrival of visitors in the Philippines. While South Koreans would not be able to gamble on Korean real estate, the Philippine operator was able to introduce a brand aimed at inducing a visit to Manila and provide non-gaming entertainment to South Koreans.

Dean Macomber, President of Macomber International, believes that South Korea can support three or four IRs in Incheon and multiple IRs in Jeju "The nature of supply shortages in Mainland China" A veteran gaming executive who has worked in the Philippines, Macau and the United States said that for the South Korean IRs to succeed, it would be necessary to support three or four IRs in Asia from Vladivostok to the Bahamas. It warns that it needs to be "attractive" compared to a score of more than11 billion in proposed and under development projects aimed at customers. For Solea and Genting, at least, Korean bets can pay off two ways.

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