Korean-based tourism company Lotte Tour Development Co could launch casino operations at its recently opened integrated resort, Jeju Dream Tower, as early as March.
According to a report by local media group Money Today, Lotte Tour plans to apply for a permit before the end of this month to relocate its current foreigner-only casino from the Lotte Hotel Jeju to Jeju Dream Tower – the US$1.4 billion development that opened on 18 December 2020. Pending completion of a Casino Impact Study Assessment and approval form local authorities, the goal is to open the new casino in March.
The relocation would expand the company’s current gaming space by almost five times to more than 5,000 square meters and see its five gaming tables and 51 machines rise to 150 tables and 300 machines.
The tallest building in Jeju at 38 floors or 169 meters high, Jeju Dream Tower already features a retail mall, 14 restaurants and bars, an outdoor pool deck, top floor skydeck with lounge, two spas and a hotel.
The opening of Jeju Dream Tower last month came some 40 years after the 75-acre site upon which it sits was first purchased by Lotte Tour predecessor Dongwha Investment and Development Co Ltd in 1980. Excavation work began in 1984 but was halted due to lack of funding. The project was eventually resurrected in 2008 and construction resumed in May 2016 following alterations to the design.
