Even though the pro-casino political momentum in Hokkaido, Japan, appears to have stalled, Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment is moving forward with its plans to bid for a Tomakomai resort.
Inspire Hokkaido Resort is envisioned as a roughly US$4bn facility that would directly employ between 5,000 and 7,000 people. It would include three luxury hotels with a combined room count of about 2,500.
It would also have a MICE facility, a science and technology complex, a 10,000-seat arena suitable to host a professional hockey team, an indoor digital theme park, an Ainu cultural experience centre and other amenities, all with a design intended to blend comfortably into the natural woodland environment.
“Hokkaido is already one of the most popular ski destinations in the world,” Mohegan CEO Mario Kontomerkos explained in a recent Japanese television interview. “The infrastructure for tourism is already there.”
Source: Asia Gaming Brief
