H.I.S. May Buy Island Near Theme Park For Casino Resort

Above, many islands dot the Kyushu coast and may be candidates for a casino resort. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Sasebo may be known more than just the Saikai Bridge and the Hario Towers (featured in Rodan (1956)) if casino resort developers have their way.

The Japan Times reported:

H.I.S. Co.’s Dutch-themed Huis Ten Bosch amusement park along the Nagasaki coast is considering buying a deserted offshore island in an expansion to boost its appeal as a possible site for a casino resort. 

“We are planning to buy new land to offer more games at the Huis Ten Bosch theme park,” Hideo Sawada, chairman of the Tokyo-based travel agency and park operator, said in an interview last week. “There are a lot of deserted islands nearby.” He said at least ¥100 billion is needed to fund a gambling resort at the park. 

Huis Ten Bosch and sites across Japan are preparing to compete for possible gambling resort developments before the nation ends a ban on casinos, with preliminary legislation expected to be passed in the coming months. Global operators from Las Vegas Sands Corp. to Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. have said they are prepared to invest billions of dollars should they win permits for casinos in the world’s third-largest economy. 

Japan’s casino market could eventually generate $40 billion in annual revenue, trailing only China’s Macau as a gambling hub, CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets estimates.

Above, the Shin-Saikai Bridge near Sasebo City. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Huis Ten Bosch is near Sasebo City (the train I rode on passed it while on the way to Sasebo in 2007) and is twice the size of Tokyo Disneyland, according to the article. There are many offshore islands near Sasebo, Nagasaki and Fukuoka, so any one of them could be a prime candidate for a casino resort.

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