We’ve been saying all along that the risk/reward ratio in Japan isn’t that great, especially when you’re expected to build the world’s most expensive casinos, starting at $10 billion. Nothing remotely that costly has been tried in gaming, much less in an untested market. Caesars Entertainment 
has already thrown in the towel and other would-be operators may be getting cold feet. The tortoise-propelled pace of the casino-development process is just one of several frustrations that are starting to emerge in the Nipponese market. As Bloomberg Intelligence analyst David Bonnet put it, “There’s so many different hurdles, it’s really called into question the feasibility of these projects.” Applications aren’t even being taken until the first or second quarter of 2021. Also, Japanese joint-venture partners—once considered a sine qua non of success—have been thin on the ground.
It doesn’t help that one’s license has to be renewed every five years, VIP-player junkets are banned or that taxes will be a steep 30%, further depressing ROI, or that government policy frequently vacillates. As Las Vegas Sands President Rob 
Goldstein put it, in a conference call that captured industry attention, “No matter how good you are at this business, that must give you pause and stop and think, ‘is that prudent?’” Added Wynn Resorts CEO Matt Maddox, “We are going to pursue Japan with vigor. But we will not pursue it if it does not make financial sense.”
Already there are accusations of corruption, with a member of Shinzo Abe‘s Liberal Democratic Party charged with being in cahoots with an unnamed Chinese casino company, which smuggled large amount of cash into Japan. (Bribe fodder?) Goldman Sachs analyst Masaru Sugiyama bottom-lines the Japanese conundrum thusly, “Japan is a fairly costly market in terms of taxes and government requirements. It’s essentially a balancing act between that costly government and tax structure versus the potentially attractive market.” We couldn’t say it better ourselves.
* Negotiations for a gaming expansion in Connecticut have “hit a snag” named Gov. Ned Lamont (D). “I’m very disappointed at where we are — we put a good deal on the table (in my opinion) and we worked to make it 
work for your end — investing a lot of time and understanding there would be give and take for both sides. Let’s discuss,” Lamont wrote to Mashantucket Pequot Chairman Rodney Butler. Lamont’s stated goal is an all-embracing solution, possibly including sports betting, that “will avoid years and years of complex litigation.” They’re looking at you, MGM Resorts International.
Lamont’s new mantra is “keep it simple” but hewing to legalization of sports betting and the expansion of the state lottery to the Internet. As the governor put it, “I’d like a global agreement. I’d like to solve everything for world peace. But in the meantime, I’m going to take what I can get.” He apparently intends to cut the tribes in on sports betting, although he’s being chary with details right now. Mohegan Sun General Manager Jeff Hamilton is among those who would trade off a future casino in Bridgeport for some sports betting in the here and now.
“I think it’s gotten mucked up in this comprehensive gaming bill. And while we understand that, we understand that the state’s trying to look at gaming in totality, I think to keep on kicking the can down the road and every month that sports betting does not exist is another month where the state is not generating as much revenue as they possibly can,” Hamilton told The Associated Press. “It seems counterintuitive, with the current economic states of the state budget.” As Lamont put it to Butler, “Nothing will ever be perfect, but we can’t let the pursuit of perfection get in the way of progress.” No indeed.
