Bobby Soper, the chairman of the group who is responsible for promoting Korea’s image and delivering news and information to international media organizations, recently released excerpts from a written interview with the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority 안전놀이터 discussing the proposed $5 billion Incheon Airport resort Inspire.
The S. Korean integrated casino concept will be built on the land of Incheon, 7,000 miles from Mohegan’s Sun Casino, but Soper acknowledged that it is the perfect place to develop MTGA’s first integrated resort outside of North America and said, “This is the first opportunity we have found attractive enough to pursue.”
Yeongjongdo Island is about 30 square miles and is adjacent to Incheon International Airport, closer to most cities in northern China than Macao, and is considered a premium gaming venue for Asian high-rolls. But because 16 of Korea’s 17 casinos are currently not open to locals, Soper hopes the resort will also be open to Korean residents.
Beyond gambling, the Mohigan Inspire proposal, which has great tourism potential, also focuses on non-gaming elements, including theme parks and entertainment facilities, and because Incheon Airport hosts more than 45 million passengers a year, the interconnection between resorts and airports provides unprecedented international guest access.
As competition with a number of other interest bidders intensified, Sofer was busy developing partnerships to form consortiums in domestic and international business expertise and finance, and synergy became a major business strategy for the Mohigan tribe, helping to strengthen its position as a qualified candidate for the Incheon partnership.