Wakayama Officials Scrambling to Submit Casino IR Plan by April Deadline

March 9, 2022 Japan Casino & Hotel

Wakayama Prefecture officials are becoming increasingly concerned regarding the looming deadline of April 28 imposed by the Japanese central government to field qualified integrated resort (IR) casino proposals.

Wakayama is one of only three prefectures actively pursuing one of Japan’s three forthcoming IR licenses. A consortium called Clairvest Neem Ventures (CNV), led by Canadian private equity firm Clairvest Group, was selected last July by Wakayama as the prefecture’s preferred IR partner.

CNV has proposed building a JPY470 billion (US$4.1 billion) integrated resort on Marina City, an artificial island spanning approximately 121 acres on Osaka Bay.

Clairvest is no stranger to the gaming industry, as the company’s investment portfolio includes stakes in New Jersey’s Meadowlands Race Track, Delaware Park in Delaware, Canada’s Grey Eagle Resort & Casino, Chilean Gaming Holdings, and business-to-business sports betting and iGaming provider FSB Technology.

Clairvest added some name recognition to its CNV entity by luring in Caesars Entertainment. The Las Vegas Strip casino operator will hold a 5% ownership position in the Wakayama IR.

Clairvest will control 55% of CNV. The remaining 40% will be divvied up among additional investors. They include former Las Vegas Sands president and COO William Weidner’s Global Gaming Asset Management and French casino operator Group Partouche.

CNV hopes to build and open its multibillion-dollar casino destination by 2028. The current plan calls for 2,700 hotel guestrooms, a convention center, and a massive gaming floor spanning 400,000 square feet. That would make the Wakayama casino the world’s second-largest casino in terms of floor space, behind only WinStar World Casino in Oklahoma.