Inside Asian Gaming

2022 年 1月 IAG JAPAN 29 but has effectively done so by not pursuing any Japan IR opportunity right now. Galaxy is known to be reducing its staff on the ground in Japan from a peak of over 25 people to just a single employee. Mohegan Sun too, withdrew from the process after partnering with the Oshidori bid in Nagasaki – a bid which lost in highly controversial circumstances with Oshidori crying foul and accusing the Nagasaki prefectural government of lying and corruption. In a December 2021 interview with IAG , Mohegan International President Bobby Soper said of Japan, “It definitely evolved much differently than many thought it would. The regulatory requirements, the short term of the license – there are a lot of reasons it didn’t make sense for a lot of companies.” MGM Resorts was the most Japan gung-ho of the world’s major operators. Under former Chairman and CEO Jim Murren, MGM spent considerably on its “Osaka-first” campaign. IR investment numbers well north of US$10 billion were quietly whispered amongst industry insiders. But rivals Galaxy and Genting Singapore withdrew their Osaka bids in February 2020, leaving MGM as last-man- standing in Osaka, and now last-man-standing of the tier- one operators in all of Japan. Murren departed in March 2020, replaced by long-time MGM executive Bill Hornbuckle as CEO and President. Under Hornbuckle, MGM’s interest has been more measured. In July 2020, the new CEO described MGM Resorts as “not all-in on this investment,” commenting, “We will only make this investment if we think it’s going to be prudent, if we 巻頭特集