Wynn Resorts Limited abandons race for Yokohama casino license

American casino operator Wynn Resorts Limited has reportedly announced that it is still hoping to enter the nascent Japanese market despite deciding not to take part in the latest request for proposal (RFP) stage of Yokohama’s license bid.

According to a report from Inside Asian Gaming, the Las Vegas-headquartered operator revealed that Japan remains on its long-term radar and that it one day hopes to be able to bring an integrated casino resort to the nation of approximately 126 million people. But the firm purportedly confirmed that it has decided to abandon the prospective bid from Yokohama due to the current state of the global market and concerns over the long-term viability of such a massive development.

Rife reversal:

The source reported that Wynn Resorts Limited finished 2019 by declaring that it was to have a ‘Yokohama focus’ in terms of Japan and diligently work towards being selected as the operator of choice for that city’s plan to bring a Las Vegas-style property to a 116-acre waterfront parcel of land near Yamashita Park. However, the operator purportedly closed its office in the giant conurbation only seven months later as part of a reassessment of its global ambitions brought on by the need to stabilize existing operations in Macau and the United States following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.

Second stab:

Yokohama reportedly launched the RFP stage of its casino campaign in December of 2019 and subsequently received concrete operator applications from seven candidates encompassing Galaxy Entertainment Group Limited, Melco Resorts and Entertainment Limited, Genting Singapore Limited, Sega Sammy Holdings Incorporated, Wynn Resorts Limited, Las Vegas Sands Corporation and Japanese firm Shotoku Corporation. The metropolis was then purportedly forced into running this official process again from last October after admitting that its inaugural attempt had not taken into account the appearance of the coronavirus pandemic.

Acute abstention:

It now reportedly appears that Wynn Resorts Limited intends to miss out on this subsequent exercise and not submit a revised Yokohama bid in advance of the city’s May 17 deadline. This purportedly means that the firm will be forced to look at other potential locations should it ever decide to enter the Japanese casino market, which could debut featuring up to three developments operating under 40-year licenses by as soon as 2025.

Reportedly read a statement from Wynn Resorts Limited…

“Wynn Resorts Limited continues to closely monitor the integrated casino resort situation in Japan and views the country as a strong potential market. While our positive pursuit of an integrated casino resort development in the country is undiminished, we will not be participating in the upcoming RFP process by the city of Yokohama because there is not yet clarity regarding the post-coronavirus international market or the definitive national ‘Basic Policy’ to meaningfully update our previously submitted plans and to complete, with the necessary detail, the documents published by the city.”