RFKR applies for extension for opening of Incheon casino

The developer of a casino project in Incheon, South Korea, that is exclusive to foreigners, R&F Korea (RFKR), submitted a request to postpone the project’s opening date on December 29.

RFKR said that it currently plans to leave the new date open, subject to the project finding a new partner, in answer to an inquiry from GGRAsia.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism of South Korea has set the current construction date for March 17 of this year, which is the most recent in a series of missed dates. When the ministry acknowledged receiving RFKR’s request for an extension on December 29, it did not provide any more comments or specify when a decision would be made, just stating that it may occur “before or after March 17.”

Without providing an explanation, RFKR informed GGRAsia that it had asked the government for permission to raise the project’s overall budget from the initial $735 million to $775 million.

Moreover, RFKR told GGRAsia that it had asked the government to hold off on announcing a new construction timetable until the company secured a new investor. Following Caesars Entertainment Corp.’s acquisition by US regional casino operator Eldorado Resorts Inc., RFKR’s previous casino partner, withdrew from the Incheon project in early 2021.

RFKR, connected to the financially troubled Guangzhou R&F Properties Co Ltd, a major player in the Chinese real estate market, was given until December 16 to notify South Korean authorities if it intended to request a further extension. The main aviation center of the nation, Incheon International Airport, is not far from Yeongjong Island, where the RFKR project is situated.

Original story by: GGRAsia