{"id":82992,"date":"2018-07-09T10:30:15","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T17:30:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=82992"},"modified":"2018-07-09T14:41:12","modified_gmt":"2018-07-09T21:41:12","slug":"does-sheldon-adelson-want-to-build-a-casino-in-north-korea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/does-sheldon-adelson-want-to-build-a-casino-in-north-korea\/","title":{"rendered":"Does Sheldon Adelson Want to Build a Casino in North Korea?"},"content":{"rendered":"

A speech by Sheldon Adelson in Israel last month has led certain elements of the press to speculate on whether he has decided on North Korea as the destination of a future luxury integrated resort.<\/p>\n

\"Kim
Kim Jong Un dreams of an integrated resort that would transform the coastal town of Wonsan into an international tourism destination, but can Sheldon Adelson really be sharing the dream. (Image: WSJ\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Speaking last month in Jerusalem at a fundraising event for Birthright — an organization that sponsors free trips to Israel for young adults of Jewish heritage — the LVS casino mogul urged President Trump to continue talks with the hermit kingdom so that he could open up business there. At least, that\u2019s what he appears to have said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t born here [in Israel], I wasn\u2019t raised here, I didn\u2019t serve in the army here,\u201d he told attendees. \u201cI did serve in the United States Army. I\u2019m a veteran of the Korean war. Actually, I hope Trump gets North and South Korea to finish the war. I feel as though I might be called back up.\u00a0I fight enough. I don\u2019t want to go back to Korea to fight. I want to go back to Korea to open up my business.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kim\u2019s Casino Dream<\/strong><\/h2>\n

It may not be as crazy as it immediately sounds. In June, it was widely reported that North Korea\u2019s top aide, Kim Yong Chol, had asked Trump for American investment<\/a> to help build a casino resort in the east-coast port city of Wonsan.<\/p>\n

Last year, Trump signed an executive order authorizing US authorities to freeze assets of any companies and individuals trading with the rogue state.<\/p>\n

\n

The redevelopment of the Wonsan-Kalma coastal tourist area is one North Korean leader Kim Jong Un\u2019s pet projects. Kim is believed to have spent much of his childhood in the area and in his most recent New Year\u2019s address laid out plans for improving infrastructure, building a new airport and new city center, with five-star hotels, an exhibition complex and international finance center.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Kim\u2019s dream for Wonsan is that it will become an international tourist hotspot that will alleviate North Korea\u2019s sanction-strained coffers, but would Adelson, whose market shrewdness turned him into the wealthiest man in gaming<\/a>\u00a0— and one of the richest in the world — buy into Kim\u2019s dream?<\/p>\n

Is Adelson for Real?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

He may be a big Trump backer, but it seems unlikely.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not even sure if a large-scale casino makes\u00a0any<\/em>\u00a0economic sense in North Korea,\u201d JP Morgan analyst DS Kim (no relation) said recently.<\/p>\n

LVS is known for its sprawling high-end destination resorts situated in tourist hotspots or cities with large populations. North Korea\u2019s large border with China would appeal to Adelson, who was quick to see the boundless potential of Macau. But a country that detains visitors for crimes such as stealing a propaganda poster and leaving a bible in a nightclub is unlikely to attract the kind of numbers to make his eyes light up.<\/p>\n

Adelson was clearly extemporizing during this the relevant part of his speech and it looks like a moment of flippancy has been seized at face value and amplified. It seems more plausible that the LVS chairman and CEO was lamenting that North Korea\u2019s geographical position makes it a prime spot for an integrated resort, but that the geopolitical landscape makes it impossible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A speech by Sheldon Adelson in Israel last month has led certain elements of the press to speculate on whether he has decided on North Korea as the destination of a future luxury integrated resort. Speaking last month in Jerusalem at a fundraising event for Birthright — an organization that sponsors free trips to Israel […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":82994,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,61],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDoes Sheldon Adelson Want to Build a Casino in North Korea?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Sheldon Adelson, LVS chairman and CEO, has suggested he would like to open an integrated casino resort but should his remarks be accepted as face value?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Does Sheldon Adelson Want to Build a Casino in North Korea?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sheldon Adelson, LVS chairman and CEO, has suggested he would like to open an integrated casino resort but should his remarks be accepted as face value?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/does-sheldon-adelson-want-to-build-a-casino-in-north-korea\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-07-09T17:30:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-07-09T21:41:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/kim-adelson.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"708\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"476\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgphilc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/does-sheldon-adelson-want-to-build-a-casino-in-north-korea\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/does-sheldon-adelson-want-to-build-a-casino-in-north-korea\/\",\"name\":\"Does Sheldon Adelson Want to Build a Casino in North Korea?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/does-sheldon-adelson-want-to-build-a-casino-in-north-korea\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/does-sheldon-adelson-want-to-build-a-casino-in-north-korea\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/kim-adelson.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-07-09T17:30:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-07-09T21:41:12+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\"},\"description\":\"Sheldon Adelson, LVS chairman and CEO, has suggested he would like to open an integrated casino resort but should his remarks be accepted as face value?\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/does-sheldon-adelson-want-to-build-a-casino-in-north-korea\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/does-sheldon-adelson-want-to-build-a-casino-in-north-korea\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/does-sheldon-adelson-want-to-build-a-casino-in-north-korea\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/kim-adelson.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/kim-adelson.png\",\"width\":708,\"height\":476,\"caption\":\"Kim Jong Un dreams of an integrated resort that would transform the coastal town of Wonsan into an international tourism destination, but can Sheldon Adelson really be sharing the dream. 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