Grand Korea Leisure Set to Relocate Gangbuk Gaming Ops in South Korea

Posted on: December 29, 2021, 08:44h. 

Last updated on: December 29, 2021, 10:04h.

Erik Gibbs Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Gaming Business, Global Gaming.

Grand Korea Leisure (GKL) now knows where it will be able to put one of its existing Seven Luck casinos in South Korea. The venue has to be moved after the property under it was sold, and it will now go to the Seoul Dragon City Hotelplex.

Seoul Hilton
The Millennium Hilton Seoul property was sold last May. This has forced GKL to find a new home for the Seven Luck casino operating at the property since 2017. (Image: Inside Asian Gaming)

GKL was forced to find a new home for its Seven Luck casino at the Millennium Hilton Seoul in Gangbuk. This past May, the hotel was sold to real estate fund manager Aegis Asset Management. That led the casino operator to launch a bidding process to find a new location for the casino located at the property.

Bidding began on September 30 and wrapped up on November 10. The Seoul Dragon City won the bid, according to a filing by GKL with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The results aren’t surprising – the hotel was the only one to have made a play for the casino.

GKL and the Seoul Dragon began negotiating the terms of the new partnership on December 3. In the end, they settled on a 10-year lease that was expected to be signed today. It begins on August 16 of next year, running until August 15, 2032.

While the lease starts next August, it might take longer for everything to be in place. GKL indicated that it could be January of 2023 before the transition is completed.

The Seoul Dragon an Ideal Location

The new home for the casino seems to be the perfect spot. It’s only about 2.5 miles from the Millennium, which will facilitate the relocation. It has four hotel brands – Grand Mercure, Ibis Styles, Novotel, and Novotel Suites – and a total of 1,700 rooms.

It also has 17 meeting rooms, 11 bars and restaurants, two ballrooms, and high-end amenities. There is a four-level Sky Bridge with a miniature indoor pool, private beach club, and a skywalk.

Aegis purchased the former home of the casino, which had only opened in 2017, from City Developments Ltd (CDL) for around US926.5 million. Once GKL is completely out, the company plans on demolishing the building. In its place, Aegis envisions a large office tower.

The Seven Luck at Gangbuk only reopened this past March after suffering one of several closures because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It, along with GKL’s other foreigner-only casinos, Gangnam COEX in Seoul and Seven Luck Casino Busan Lotte, suspended operations in either late November or early December. The Busan venue opened in February, and both Seoul casinos opened the following month.