Kangwon Land to extend operating hours

The casino operator has reported that it has been allowed to extend its operating hours to 14 hours with a maximum of 3,000 customers.

South Korea.- The South Korean casino Kangwon Land has confirmed that from today (April 4) it has been allowed to extend its operating hours amid a decline in Covid-19 cases in the country. The casino will now be open an extra hour, from 10am to midnight instead of until 11pm. The casino will continue to be limited to 3,000 customers at any one time, 50 per cent of its pre-pandemic capacity.

The announcement was made after South Korea’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that it would ease social distancing rules slightly across the country from today. Authorities said that if the number of new infections in South Korea declines in the coming weeks, it will be possible to limit mask mandates to indoor spaces only.

Kangwon Land posted a net loss of KRW11.0bn (US$9.2m) for the fourth quarter ended December 31. GGR for the quarter was KRW236.9bn, up 87.5 per cent year-on-year.

Of the total GGR registered, KRW98.1bn came from mass gaming tables while slot machines generated KRW96.1bn. VIP players generated KRW42.8bn. Kangwon Land registered total sales of KRW242.1bn, down 1.3 per cent quarter-on-quarter and up 84.4 per cent from 2020.

Kangwon Land plans to expand its casino floor area

As previously revealed by Focus Gaming News, Kangwon Land has plans to expand its casino floor space by more than 10 per cent, from 14,053 square meters (151,265 square feet) to 15,486 square meters. Dates have not yet been confirmed.

The resort plans to increase the total seating capacity of its restaurants and bars by 71.4 per cent, from 140 to 240 seats. The company said a board meeting had approved KRW28.4bn (US$23.7m) to be set aside for “expansion and remodelling” of the venue, but did not specify whether all of it would be allocated to casino facilities.