Osaka‘s government is entertaining proposals for a $5 billion casino, to be 
built on landfill — hoping to get ahead of the curve should the federal government approve legalized gambling. “We’d need global casino-operators’ involvement and expertise as the business is new to Japan,” said Osaka Prefecture Governor Ichiro Matsui. To that end, MGM Resorts International, Genting Group and Caesars Entertainment are among the supplicants who have made their way to the Land of the Rising Sun. (Caesars has 10 years of governmental courtship upon which to draw and potential equity partners who include Konami Corp.)
Matsui hopes to have the whole shebang up and running by 2020, in time for the Olympic Games. Parimutuel betting is already legal in Japan but casinos remain frowned upon. Only Hong Kong-based Galaxy Entertainment has matched Matsui’s request for bids, while Las Vegas companies are being somewhat opaque in their financial commitment. However, if and when casinos are legalized, they’ll not be so shy about bidding for a piece of the market. Japan is estimated to be worth $10 million a year in revenue, a figure that sounds conservative when one considers the amounts of money being wagered and won in Macao.
“I think we’re going to have to meet again,” understated one of the governmental and industry figures trying to address Delaware‘s racino doldrums. With less than two weeks to reach a consensus the deliberative body seems hopelessly at sixes and sevens. Proposed revenue fixes for the struggling industry include:
* Exempting 50% of slot machine vendor fees from taxation. (Only Dover Downs would benefit unless the other two racinos were willing to open their books to the state.)
* Tax credits for comped hotel rooms.
