MGM Resorts To Begin Construction Of Osaka IR In 2024

Summary:

• MGM Resorts head Bill Hornbuckle said construction of the Osaka integrated resort will start next year
• The opening date has also been postponed to 2030 owing to the delayed approval from the central government
• MGM also has its sights set on New York where it is expected to apply for a full-scale casino license

Construction of Japan’s first integrated resort will commence in 2024. That’s according to Bill Hornbuckle, CEO and President of MGM Resorts International which will develop the casino complex in Osaka in partnership with Japanese firm Orix Group.

Construction to Begin in 2024

Hornbuckle gave some updates on the progress of the project in a recent interview with Las Vegas Review-Journal during which he also stated that they are likely to enter into an implementation agreement with Osaka’s local authorities this autumn. This is after the Osaka city and prefectural governments and MGM-Orix consortium agreed to extend the deadline for signing the implementation agreement by nearly three months, until late September.

The processes and agreements required in the construction of the project were originally set to be completed within 90 days of receiving certification from the central government.

The implementation agreement would pave the way for the Osaka authorities and their private-sector partners to end the basic agreement they signed in February 2022.

Hornbuckle stated that construction of the Osaka integrated resort is expected to begin “by middle to late next year”, with MGM targeting a 2030 launch date.

The opening of the casino complex was initially scheduled for 2029, but the delayed decision of Japan’s national government regarding the project means MGM and the other parties involved in the development would not have that much time to hit the previously announced timeline. Hirofumi Yoshimura, the governor of Osaka prefecture, cited this as the primary reason why the opening date needed to be renegotiated.

The Osaka integrated resort plan was submitted to the national authorities in April 2022. It was approved a year later on April 14, 2023.

MGM Keen on Winning Casino License in New York

In the same interview, Hornbuckle stated that they are exploring other markets with strong gaming potential where they could develop massive projects, but at the moment, their main focus is on Japan and New York. MGM Resorts is among the major gaming entities with Asian operations looking to win a full-scale casino license in downstate New York.

MGM operates the Empire City Casino in Yonkers, one of the two so-called “racino” facilities in the state. The company is considered a frontrunner in the casino license bid, along with Genting Group which owns the Resorts World New York City in the Queens Aqueduct Racetrack complex.