Akihabara News (Tokyo) — Despite its dramatic announcement that it was withdrawing from the race and coming in second in the prefecture’s selection process, it has become apparent that Oshidori International Development hasn’t entirely given up on building an Integrated Resort (IR) including a casino in Nagasaki.
At the beginning of this month, Oshidori, in partnership with Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment and others, led one of three consortiums applying to become Nagasaki Prefecture’s IR partner.
However, on August 6, the Hong Kong-based firm suddenly announced that “the restrictive and unreasonable rules imposed by the Nagasaki Prefecture make it impossible for Oshidori to conduct business in a prudent and efficient manner” and that “unless the [Request for Proposal] process is conducted in an ethical manner, it is withdrawing from participating in the [Request for Proposal] for an IR in Nagasaki.”
Despite the statement, it would appear that the Oshidori-led consortium made no official move to withdraw its application.
Less than a week later, Casinos Austria International Japan was announced as the preferred negotiating partner for the prefecture’s IR, though the Oshidori consortium had been ranked as the runner-up.
In this context, Oshidori has now explained to the local media that it is not, in fact, terminating its participation in the process. The firm is requesting further information disclosure from the Nagasaki prefectural government and, apparently, trying to resolve whatever issues led to its feisty August 6 press release.
Moreover, Oshidori released its concept art for its IR design to a Macau-based casino industry magazine, unveiling its proposed theme of “The Sails at Omura Bay.” This appears to be part of its lobbying effort to sway the Nagasaki officials.
The bottom line is that while Oshidori’s chances of ever building its IR in Nagasaki are now quite a long shot, it is still holding out hope that Casinos Austria’s negotiations will stumble and that it will have a chance to move in.
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