Caesars Receives Preliminary Approval for South Korea Casino

"We are grateful to the Korean government for their initial approval, paving the way for the opportunity to build and operate our first integrated resort in Korea," said Gary Loveman.

United States.- Caesars Entertainment Corporation (NASDAQ: CZR) today announced that LOCZ Korea Corporation, a joint venture between Caesars, Lippo Group and OUE Limited, has received preliminary approval from the South Korean Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism to include foreigner-only casino gaming in its planned integrated resort in Incheon, South Korea.

"We are grateful to the Korean government for their initial approval, paving the way for the opportunity to build and operate our first integrated resort in Korea," said Gary Loveman, Caesars Entertainment Chairman, CEO and President. "We are excited about the opportunity to expand our network and brands to Asia. Foreign visitation to South Korea has grown significantly, and we look forward to creating a world-class destination to further support Korea's economic growth and tourism goals."

Highlights for the planned integrated resort include hotels and resort amenities, live entertainment venues, a standalone convention center and a foreigners-only casino. A preliminary master plan anticipates potential future expansion to accommodate growth in the number of resort visitors.

The consortium hopes to open the Incheon integrated resort in time to welcome visitors arriving in Korea for the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang.

Caesars may elect to include Caesars Growth Partners, LLC in the development of the project. Caesars Growth Partners, LLC is a joint venture between Caesars Entertainment and Caesars Acquisition Company (NASDAQ: CACQ). In such an event, Caesars anticipates that Caesars Growth Partners would make the capital investment associated with the project, with Caesars Entertainment acting as the operator and sharing in the management fee associated with the project.