Grand Korea Leisure extends its casino closure
Grand Korea Leisure Ltd (GKL), operator of foreigner-only casinos in South Korea, announced it will extend the temporary shutdown of its venues. The closure of Gangnam COEX and Gangbuk Hilton in Seoul, and Busan Lotte in Busan will shift from the initial 29 December to 4 January 2021.
Seoul venues were closed at the end of November while the Busan property was temporarily shut on 1 December. The shutdown was meant to help stop the spread of COVID-19 cases, as Korea still struggles to curb the rise in cases.
According to GGRAsia, GKL is a subsidiary of the Korea Tourism Organization, and in turn is connected to the country’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
GKL stated the extension to closures will allow casinos to prepare better safety measures; venues in Seoul are set to Level 2.5 in the metro area and Level 2 in Busan.
As a result of the extended closures, the company increased its estimate in lost sales from KRW13.6bn ($12.5m) to KRW16bn.
While not as active in closing down its venues, Paradise Co Ltd, another foreigner-only operator, announced on 15 December it will close its Paradise Casino Walkerhill as well, and extend its closure to 4 January.
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