MGM Resorts International president and CEO Bill Hornbuckle says the company expects to start construction on Japan’s new Osaka integrated resort next year.
In an interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Hornbuckle said MGM Resorts plans to sign an area development this autumn, with the integrated resort (IR) now scheduled to open in 2030.
“It’s early in the game, but for us, it’s been a 12-year journey,” he said. “We’re looking forward to signing our area development plan this fall and starting in earnest on the ground, hopefully, by middle to late next year in terms of pylons and beginning construction.
“We’re shooting for a 2030 opening,” Hornbuckle confirmed.
According to local reports (via GGRAsia), Hirofumi Yoshimura, the governor of Osaka prefecture, admitted last week that it would be difficult to launch the IR in 2029 as previously planned.
Integrated resort set to open in 2030
The Japanese government approved the proposal for the $13.5 billion integrated resort in April. MGM Resorts is developing it on Japan’s artificial island of Yumeshima in partnership with Japanese group Orix Corporation.
Fumio Kishida, the Japanese prime minister, said the IR would “not only help develop the Kansai region further after the 2025 World Exposition in Osaka and contribute to our country’s economic growth, but also become a tourist attraction that spreads Japan’s charm to the rest of the world”.
In 2021, Casinos Austria International was selected to develop and operate the Nagasaki IR on 31 hectares at Huis Ten Bosch, Japan’s largest theme park.
Elsewhere, Melco Resorts & Entertainment has opened the first IR in Europe in Limassol, Cyprus. City of Dreams Mediterranean has 500 guest rooms and a 7,500-square-metre casino.
Highlights include restaurants and bars, a shopping promenade, Cyprus’ largest expo centre, the largest resort pool complex in Cyprus, and an adventure club.
