Operatornieuws
Japan – Wakayama happy to proceed with Partouche and Clairvest for IR bid
By Phil - 22 juli 2021
French casino group Partouche will be put forward as the casino operator of choice in the Japanese prefecture of Wakayama with local politicians saying they are happy to proceed with the Clairvest Neem Ventures consortium which as partnered with the French operator, in the region’s bid to land one of three Integrated Resort casinos.
Clairvest will spend JPY470bn (US$4.3bn) on its ‘land of wood and water’ themed resort, much more than the JPY279.9bn (US$2.6bn) asked for by Wakayama in its initial launch. It will cover 569,000 square meters with the casino making up 38,000 square meters. It will also develop a 2,700 room hotel with exhibition and conference facilities.
The prefecture said: “Wakayama prefecture is proceeding with the recruitment and selection procedure for a private operator to implement an integrated resort at Wakayama Marina City. On June 2 2021 we selected a priority candidate and based on the IR Development Act Article 8, discussions were conducted with Wakayama City and Wakayama Prefectural Public Safety Commission. The priority candidate was selected based on these negotiations between the city and the prefectural public safety committee and then announced.”
“We will create an area development plan in conjunction with the priority candidate. Along with requesting further refinements to the proposals and enhancing the project implementation plan, we will seek to build an All-Wakayama Plan in which businesses in the prefecture can participate widely in enhancing the operation plan to ensure that there is contribution through development of the local economy and local employment,” it added. “Moreover, we will create an excellent Area Development Plan for an IR that will greatly contribute to the region’s development and make a contribution to the country’s tourism strategy for the application to be made to the central government by the deadline of 28 April 2022.”
Clairvest Neem Ventures noemde AMSE Resorts Japan ook als kernlid in de ontwikkeling en zei dat het ‘de gecombineerde expertise zal hebben van de twee meest ervaren teams ter wereld, op het gebied van IR-ontwikkeling en -beheer, evenals de grootste exploitant van games en hotelcomplexen in de wereld. Europa.'
Jeff Parr van Clairvest Neem Ventures zei: “We delen met onze twee partners een gemeenschappelijke visie op het nationale IR-programma in Japan en zijn ervan overtuigd dat dit partnerschap het economische herstel na de Covid-19-pandemie zal helpen versterken, dankzij een toename van internationale klanten en een aanzienlijke toestroom. in de prefectuur Wakayama en de regio Kansai.”
AMSE wordt ondersteund door William Weidner, voormalig president en CEO van Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS), en zijn team bij Global Gaming Asset Management LLC, door Bradley Stone, voormalig president van internationale operaties en constructies bij LVS, en door Garry Saunders, voormalig COO van Melco Resorts & Entertainment en vice-president operations bij l van LVS, evenals Mario Ho, Esports-ondernemer.
