You’d never know Mohegan Sun has been experiencing financial difficulties on the home front to judge by the scale and expense of its 
South Korean partnership with Incheon International Airport Corp. The two sides have finalized conceptual plans for Inspire Integrated Resort and they’re ambitious to say the least. The linchpin would be a 250-table, 1,500-slot casino, augmented by two hotel towers with an aggregate 1,000 rooms. Other components would be a retail mall, art gallery, music venue, an arena seating 20,000 people, an amusement park, a “Korean cosmetic and beauty hub [and] a Korean village celebrating Korean food and music, and a Native American cultural and arts experience.” You know, just your average casino.
An incomplete cost estimate for Inspire tops out at $495 million, but that omits major components of the project. Oh, and it has to get a South Korean casino license. Piece of cake.
* One swallow doesn’t make a spring and one month of revenue doesn’t necessarily constitute a comeback, but the Colorado gaming market is 
showing renewed signs of health. In May, casino win rose 15% in Black Hawk, 23% in Central City and 11% in Cripple Creek, the best numbers seen since 2012. Business could get better still, thanks to a new law that permits round-the-clock alcohol service (currently the taps are turned off from 2 a.m. to 7 a.m.). “Cripple Creek will become the first town in the state to offer round-the-clock bar service, which can only occur within the boundaries of businesses that apply for the permits.” reports the Mountain Jackpot. We’re sure it will have company very soon.
* Hearings on the last Massachusetts casino license aren’t expected until autumn but Brockton‘s site owner, George Carney, isn’t wasting any time making his case, undoubtedly cognizant that voters approved it by only a hairsbreadth. His lobbyist, former mayor Jack Yunits, is 
already arguing that the $650 million joint venture with Rush Street Gaming would be more lucrative than KG Urban Enterprises‘ proposed waterfront casino in New Bedford. Yunits points to Brockton’s greater proximity (24 miles) to Boston, New Bedford being 59 miles away. That argument is a double-edged sword and Yunits knows it, contending that Brockton would draw from Quincy and Boston’s south suburbs rather than cannibalizing Wynn Everett‘s business. It may be too soon to plead his case to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, but Carney is making a compelling case through the court of public opinion.
* Howard Stutz has an excellent analysis of the future of the MGM Resorts International shares held by the late Kirk Kerkorian‘s investment vehicle, Tracinda Corp. Long story short, Tracinda is in no hurry to unload Kerkorian’s stock and will likely join the chorus of voices that say Wall Street undervalues MGM, currently trading at $18.50.
