Inside Asian Gaming

IAG JAPAN JAN 2022 26 Las Vegas Sands withdrew from Japan in May 2020. ラスベガス・サンズは2020年5月に日本から撤退した。 Despite this, in September 2021 Caesars was named as casino operator for Clairvest Neem Ventures’ IR development in Wakayama, although Caesars was quick to point out this was with “no capital commitment” – so it seems Caesars merely lent their name to boost the Clairvest bid. Las Vegas Sands was next to withdraw, in May 2020. Then-Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson simply stated, “The framework around the development of an IR has made our goals there unreachable.” In August 2020 Wynn closed its Yokohama office with CEO Matt Maddox saying the company had been “pulling back its efforts in Japan since March 2020.” In November 2020, Genting Singapore noted it was still interested in Japan “if conditions meet the group’s investment criteria.” It was the first time the company had felt the need to add such a qualifier. Genting Singapore was forced to withdraw from Yokohama after the August 2021 election of new mayor Takeharu Yamanaka, who promptly cancelled Yokohama’s bid to host an IR, honoring his campaign’s popular anti-IR stance. After that, Genting did not actively pursue any other bid in Japan, and then quietly dissolved all its Japanese subsidiary companies in late December, seemingly signalling a complete withdrawal from Japan once and for all – or at least the foreseeable future. InMay 2021, Suncity withdrew from its Wakayama IR bid, citing the COVID-19 pandemic, expected further delays and uncertainty surrounding the Japanese IR process. Melco Resorts, also a victim of the Yokohama cancellation, says it remains fully committed to pursuing an IR license in Japan when the “right opportunity” emerges. Apparently, so far, it hasn’t. Like Melco, Galaxy has not publicly or officially withdrawn, COVER STORY