Miles away from its tribal land and flagship resort, representatives of the Mohegan Tribe met in South Korea to celebrate the landmark opening of a new entertainment resort.
Mohegan INSPIRE is an entertainment resort and casino located in Incheon, South Korea. The resort opened its doors in November but will be fully open by the end of March. Chief Marilynn Malerba, members of the Mohegan Tribe Council and other representatives attended a ceremony at the resort. Other guests included president of Mohegan Inspire resort, the U.S. Ambassador to Korea, and Yoo Jeong Bok, the mayor of Incheon Metropolitan City.
James Gessner Jr., chairman of the Mohegan Tribal Council, said the venture was an eight-year-long journey. Gessner said the tribe was searching locations for a new resort and was presented the opportunity in South Korea. After conducting market research, the tribe decided to move forward with the venture. An opportunity was presented to bid on a license for entertainment and casino resort business in South Korea.
“It's truly a remarkable country. And we're glad that the opportunity came in front of us. And we're glad that we were selected because I think it's a win-win for everybody,” Gessner said.
Speaking through a translator at the event, Yoo said he has been involved with the project since 2016. Yoo said he visited Connecticut to begin talks about starting the project. It’s part of a coordinated effort to promote and revitalize tourism in Incheon City.
“I have no doubt that through collaboration not only will we be able to boost the local economy and tourism, but also INSPIRE resort will become a landmark and prominent integrated resort. That will be the best of its kind in Korea,” Yoo said.
The tribe set out to begin construction and finance the project in 2019. They worked with the South Korean government to approve all the licenses and permits. However, the tribe faced delays in 2020 due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.
“Whether it was [the United States] or South Korea, you know, the travel restrictions were difficult. You know, it's a massive project. I mean, we had three to four thousand people on that project per day in construction. So that was down to a minimum,” Gessner said.
The project was shut down for a year while the two governments dealt with managing travel restrictions in the United States and South Korea. Gessner said this proved to be a huge challenge that pushed back completion dates.
“When you start looking at glass and steel, and all this stuff that needs to go into this resort, everything was delayed,“ Gessner said. “So it was a lot of working through the process with government officials and the people that we made these promises to.”
Despite the challenges, he said the tribe kept their word to complete the project. Gessner said the opening established a significant achievement for the tribe. He said the tribe has also built relationships while doing it. Gessner said he is proud the tribe kept their word to complete the project in spite of the challenge of a global pandemic.
“We have this beautiful, beautiful resort that the South Koreans are very excited about," he said. "The Korean government is very excited about the relationship. Now, our sovereign nation with the Republic of Korea, is very strong,”
The integrated resort includes retail, restaurants and activities for visitors and families to do separately from the casino environment. The business is about 20% casino and the rest an entertainment resort. Mohegan INSPIRE Casino is a gaming facility that is exclusive to international visitors. Because of this, Gessner said having a lot to offer at the resort was important for local residents.
“So that was the biggest thing that we felt was important, have that casino aspect. But at the same time, let's make this into something that everybody can enjoy, including families and folks who don't want to game; they want to go to a resort. But that option is there if they want to,” Gessner said.
The casino contains 150 gaming tables, 390 slot machines and a modern 160-seat electronic table games stadium across two floors. The hotel element of the resort is made up of three hotel towers with different concepts. The resort includes an indoor water park inside a glass dome and commercial shopping through a 150-meter-long digital entertainment street. The resort has an outdoor entertainment park and shopping venue and claims to have the largest ballroom in Korea.
Gessner said the tribe understood the area in that region needed an integrated resort with a 15,000-seat arena. The resort’s arena recently was the location for the 2023 Melon Music Awards, a major music awards show by Kakao Entertainment held annually. He said the arena is designed specifically for entertainment shows and music performances.
“It's the only arena of its kind, specifically, just for entertainers, meaning a lot of entertainers go to Korea to perform, they may be performing at a sports stadium or something like that. Our arena is designed the opposite,” Gessner said.
Mohegan INSPIRE will be fully open by the end of March. Gessner said he felt a sense of pride to represent the Mohegan Tribe and the result shows the dedication and commitment to the project.
“I think the ultimate goal is just like any of our other businesses that we have. We make decisions here that affect generations to come,” Gessner said. “I think a project like this signifies that. First of all, it's a footprint of us in another country on the other side of the world, which I think we should be very proud of. And I think the relationships we've had, with those folks on the other side of the world, is something to be proud of as well.”
