Lotte Tour to focus on the Jeju Dream Tower

The South Korean casino investor announced it’s considering transferring its gaming licence in Jeju Island to its new development.

South Korea.- Lotte Tour Development Co Ltd has yet to receive its gaming licence in Jeju Island but it’s already considering making some changes for it. The casino investor explained that it might focus on the Jeju Dream Tower, for which it could transfer the permit from the recently acquired Paradise Jeju Lotte Casino to the under-construction project that is scheduled to open in late 2019.

“We are considering a transfer [of the casino licence] but we have not decided [on the matter] at this stage,” Lotte Tour executive vice president and COO Lawrence Teo told GGRAsia. He also said that the US$13.5 million deal to acquire the Paradise Jeju Lotte Casino is expected to be completed on August 17th, under which the company will also redeem the venue’s debt, worth US$25.4 million.

According to Union Gaming Securities Asia Ltd, the Jeju Dream Tower “would mark the second full-fledged integrated resort in Jeju,” after the Jeju Shinhwa World casino resort, developed by Landing International Development Ltd. “We expect Lotte Tour to ultimately transfer this licence to Dream Tower when it opens in late 2019,” analyst Grant Govertsen said in a note released by the brokerage on Monday and added: “We would attribute the notably lower price paid by Lotte Tour to the downturn in foreigners-only GGR in 2017 on the heels of the political spat between China and South Korea that saw Chinese visitation to Korea literally cut in half and Chinese-originated GGR cut by one-third.”