MGM Osaka to Begin Construction on Main Resort Structure in April 2025
MGM Osaka, the sole integrated resort (IR) casino intended for Japan, will initiate construction on the main structure of the vast complex in April 2025.
MGM Osaka is a project worth JPY1.27 trillion (US$8 billion) spearheaded by MGM Resorts International alongside Japanese financial giant Orix Corporation. The firms are collaborating in Japan under the name Osaka IR Corporation.
Preparation work for the artificial Yumeshima Island commenced in late 2023. The Kensetsu Tsushin Shimbun, a Japanese business news source, states that work on the permanent resort is set to start in earnest in April 2025.
In the coming months, workers are anticipated to prepare the approximately 52-acre area for major construction. As Yumeshima is a constructed island covering nearly 1,000 acres, the builders initially had to reinforce the ground by placing steel beams that go deeper than 200 feet to access bedrock.
MGM Osaka
MGM and Orix hold equal 42.5% equity stakes in MGM Osaka. The leftover 15% ownership stake is distributed among several Japan-based companies, such as Panasonic, Kansai Electric, and West Japan Railway.
MGM Osaka will feature nearly nine million square feet of indoor space, encompassing the casino, hotel accommodations, dining options, convention facilities, theater, retail shops, and numerous other resort amenities. Japan's casino legislation from 2018 restricts the gaming area to 3% of the total indoor floor space of the resort.
MGM Osaka will feature 2,500 hotel rooms, a retail mall, a theater with 3,500 seats, a spa and gym, a convention center, and a site that encourages tourism across Japan. Information about the casino has not been revealed yet, but the venue is expected to feature over 200 table games and 2,000 slot machines.
"Our vision is to bring MGM’s ‘wow’ DNA from Las Vegas to Osaka and build a resort that will be a source of great pride in the community,” said MGM President and CEO Bill Hornbuckle.
MGM Osaka aims to finish by 2030.
Yumeshima Secures Investment
Yumeshima is one of the three man-made islands built by the Osaka government during the 1980s. The aim was to enlarge the city and utilize the islands for unique occasions.
The endeavor has predominantly been unsuccessful, as Osaka's attempt for the 2008 Summer Olympics, which featured a plan to accommodate the Olympic Village on Yumeshima, was defeated by Beijing. There has also been no commercial development on Yumeshima.
Yumeshima has primarily acted as a hub for shipping containers and a logistics facility. However, when Japan's National Diet considered permitting casinos in the country under then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2017, the Osaka government swiftly expressed its interest in establishing an IR on Yumeshima.
MGM and Osaka formed a collaboration to introduce a Las Vegas resort to Yumeshima. The aim was to have the property operational in time for Osaka’s hosting of the 2025 World Expo, but Japanese lawmakers consistently delayed the project by procrastinating on the finalization of regulations.
MGM and Orix received their official license for MGM Osaka in April 2023, nearly five years after the Diet approved the 2018 gaming law that permitted up to three casino resorts. MGM Osaka is the sole casino proposal to receive a gaming license.
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