Melco opens Osaka office

Monday 9th of April 2018

Melco Resorts & Entertainment Japan opened its Osaka office to the local media on Monday, an additional signal of the company’s keen interest in the Yumeshima site.

The Melco office is located in the Shinsaibashi district of Osaka, near Dotonbori, which will likely become a base for demonstrating its MelGuard security system and scale models of the company’s casino facilities in Macau and Manila to local audiences.

A spokesperson for Melco described Monday’s event as a simple press briefing, but an independent source reported that there was also a reception for the Osaka business community with more than a hundred guests. Melco first signalled its intention to open the office last October.

Whichever the case, the presentation was led by the leader of Melco’s Japan operation, Ako Shiraogawa, who emphasized that MelGuard was being developed specifically for the Japanese market. She was quoted as saying, “We will make the necessary investments even if severe conditions are imposed and the world’s strictest regulations are put in place.”

The presentation also emphasized that Melco Chairman and CEO Lawrence Ho held his first meeting with the mayor of Osaka in 2012 and has returned repeatedly in the meantime to express his interest in the city as a venue for a Melco IR.

Melco is not, however, the first major IR operator to establish an office in Osaka. That distinction goes to MGM Resorts, which has maintained an office in the nearby Azuchimachi district since 2014.

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