Speaking of Asia's "Gambling King", most people's first reaction is probably Macau's Mr. Ho. For those who are more familiar with the industry, perhaps there is also Malaysia's Lim Goh Tong. In fact, there is also a gambling king in South Korea, Tian Yuan Yuan.
Tian Yuan Paradise started its career during the Park Chung Hee era. It obtained South Korea’s first gaming license in 1967. After more than 30 years of development, it is now far ahead in Jeju Island, a tourist resort in South Korea, with only four casinos under the Paradise Group to which it belongs. The other eight peers directly share nearly 80% of the market share of the Korean gaming industry, basically in a monopoly position.
The reason why this Korean gambling king is not famous is ultimately due to the scale of the Korean gambling industry.
In the past year of 1998, the total revenue of the 12 casinos in South Korea was only 180 billion won, which was equivalent to about 120 million U.S. dollars based on last year's average exchange rate. At the same time, the Paradise Group alone accounted for 140 billion won, or about 93 million U.S. dollars. Dollar. In comparison, Macau, Asia's number one casino city, had an annual gaming industry revenue of 13.5 billion patacas, equivalent to US$1.39 billion, which is more than ten times the size of South Korea's gaming industry.
Having said that, a small business with a total volume of only 120 million US dollars in the country is far from enough to allow Simon to come forward.
The reason for this is simple: Simon sees things further.
And can see very far accurately.
Simon didn't know much about the gambling industry in his previous life, but he could probably remember some numbers.
The key is Macau. Macau gaming, which is basically monopolized by the Ho family due to the death of the previous gambling king Ye, has a revenue of 13.5 billion patacas in the past year, which seems to be equivalent to more than ten times the national revenue of South Korea. However, this is also Just the beginning.
Historically, after the turn of the millennium, Macau's gaming industry began to explode rapidly. At its peak, the annual revenue exceeded 360 billion patacas, equivalent to approximately 45 billion U.S. dollars. In just over ten years, it soared more than 20 times, and even It leaves the world-famous casino city of Las Vegas far behind.
During the same period, Las Vegas, with gaming revenue of only about US$6 billion, was less than one-seventh of Macau's industry size and could only be regarded as its younger brother.
As for the reasons for the outbreak of Macau’s gaming industry, everyone knows it.
The Chinese are rich!
Simon probably remembers that Macau carried out a gaming industry reform after 2000, breaking the Ho family's monopoly on gambling licenses and openly bidding for photos. When the time comes, Simon will definitely not let go of such a piece of fat.
This is something.
Speaking of South Korea, Simon also vaguely remembered that about 15 years ago, Chinese real estate developers invested tens of billions of yuan in South Korea, hoping to build casinos there, and they stated that they were to attract Chinese tourists.
This shows the potential of the Korean gaming industry.
Of course, Simon knew better that in the following years, South Korea committed suicide, which caused China-South Korea relations to fall into a low point, and he did not know how the Chinese invested in Korean casinos hoping to make Chinese money.
Let’s not talk about how far away it is, at least at the moment, the time, place and people are all right, so Simon will definitely make a move.
As for the future, Simon can only be sure that going to South Korea to build a casino hotel in 2015 is basically equivalent to taking over the project from the top. Even if it is completed, there will probably only be some scraps left. Now, South Korea's economic crisis continues, and China's economic rise is poised to take off. Many people are in a state of confusion where they can't see the future clearly. For the Westeros system, it is definitely the best time to buy at the bottom.
After the turn of the millennium, as Chinese gamblers flocked to all directions, the industry prospered rapidly, and it was not that easy to enter again.
Moreover, even if China and South Korea continue to be at odds in the future, with early planning, they will definitely have earned back their capital and profits in more than ten years.
What's more, if China and South Korea are at odds, what does it have to do with tourists
It can be as short as three days or as long as three months. After that, those who should run out will still run out. Unless there is some irresistible natural disaster, otherwise it will only save three to five buckets, and it will not hurt the muscles and bones.
In fact, if you sort it out, you will find that the Westeros system has already had a considerable layout in the gaming industry without realizing it. For example, Atlantic City took over several casinos of a golden retriever, and there is also a casino in Ukraine that started from scratch but developed very well. Funi Resort and Entertainment Center.
There is also Australia. In Australia, not only brothels are legal, but casinos are also legal. Because it is a certain foundation, Simon will not let it go. In recent years, he has been investing heavily in it.
Furthermore, the reason why Simon is so passionate about the gambling industry is partly because of interests, but more importantly, it is an area with a very large gray area, suitable for many operations that are not very visible.
The Westeros system has developed to this point, and if it is clean and flawless all the way, Simon will definitely not be easy even if he is not torn into pieces and eaten clean by coveters lurking everywhere.
Therefore, he often shows a state of being crazier than you think in certain things. At the same time, Simon has also cultivated a large private army that can fight a war in the region, and created a private intelligence network with tentacles all over the world. It supports multiple gangster forces scattered around the world... In the final analysis, these are just for self-protection.
Because in Simon's current position, it is impossible to be a pure businessman. After all, this world is too impure for you to be innocent.
Let’s talk about the specific operations.
On the Korean side, Simon did not intend to seek cooperation, but planned to use the Westeros system team to do it directly.
With the power of the Westeros system in South Korea, it is easy to obtain a gambling license and break the monopoly of the Paradise Group.
No one had done this before, and to put it bluntly, it was just a disdain.
Not to mention the current South Korea, even in Macau, the industry volume is only more than a billion US dollars a year. There is no need for large and capable capital to entangle with local snakes. After all, everyone knows that this industry is not as simple as a business. , but also to take care of all aspects.
However, now, Simon Westeros is interested in South Korea's 'petty profit', which is unexpected.
It turned out to be true.
Aware of the operation of the Westeros system in South Korea, as a local snake, Tian Yuan Yuan will naturally not remain indifferent.
After several contacts between the two parties, today's meeting was held.
To put it simply, Tian Leyuan took the initiative to seek cooperation this time, and was willing to give up considerable initiative.
This surprised Simon a little.
Think about it if it were placed on Macau's Gambling King He, given the other party's temperament, even if he is willing to cooperate, he will only firmly hold the control in his hands.
However, if this were not the case, this meeting would not have happened.
After all, it’s a small business, and Simon doesn’t have that much time.
Moreover, after having a general understanding, Simon also understood the reason for the Korean gambling king's current decision.
The first is that Tian Leyuan, who was born in 1927, is 72 years old this year, and his health has never been very good. He no longer has enough energy to fully control his gambling empire. The gambling king’s eldest son Tian Bili is only 31 years old this year, and Simon He is the same age, but of course there is no comparison with Simon. For ordinary people, he is still very young and immature. It is difficult to say whether he can take up the responsibility of the Paradise Group.
Secondly, even if it is just a small plate, in recent years, more and more capital forces hope to break the monopoly of the Paradise Group, and frequently ask the Korean authorities to open more gaming licenses so that everyone can enter and share the pie.
Faced with this situation, Tian Duwang became increasingly powerless.
According to the information recently collected by the team here, Tianyuan Paradise had already begun seeking to list the Paradise Group before the 1997 crisis, and had chosen the NASDAQ market as the target platform. Obviously, this can be regarded as leaving a way out for future generations. Once listed, even if the Paradise Group encounters the impact of its peers and declines in the future, the Tian family's children will be able to accumulate a considerable amount of wealth by cashing out.
Now, although Simon's sudden desire to enter South Korea's gaming industry is very confusing, Tian Paradise realizes that this is a better way out than listing the paradise group.
After all, the thigh of the Westeros system is really too thick.
As long as it embraces this thigh, it will be easy for the Paradise Group to extend its dominance over the Korean gaming industry for another ten or twenty years.
In addition, King Tian Gambling can also see the situation clearly. Even if he gives up control of his own industry, Simon Westeros will definitely not have time to take care of it himself, and he will still have to use people. Although his son is ineffective, he has cultivated a very good team over the years, which he can gradually pass on to his son. At least, ensuring the interests of the Tian family in the Paradise Group will definitely not be a problem.
Speaking of interests, since Simon Westeros is interested in this area, although he still doesn't quite understand it, in the future, the prospects of the Korean gaming industry will definitely be far beyond the current scale.
All in all, apart from losing the absolute control over the family business, there is no harm in thinking about it.
As for control, in the past two years, even the top chaebols in South Korea have hid within the Westeros system. The former second-largest chaebol leader, Kim Woo-jung, was thrown into prison for colliding with the Westeros system. What does a small paradise group mean in front of such a behemoth
In a VIP room at Walkerhill Casino.
Everyone gathered around a gambling table, played Texas Hold'em poker in a harmonious atmosphere, and talked about things.
On Simon's side were him and Chen Qing, and on the other side were Tian Leyuan and his eldest son Tian Bili, who were wearing black-rimmed glasses.
The specific details of cooperation have been finalized in advance.
The revenue of the Paradise Group in 1998 was equivalent to US$93 million. However, due to the economic crisis, it suffered a loss of about US$6 million last year. Based on the comprehensive financial data of the past five years, a valuation of US$300 million was given here. Equivalent to an average price-to-earnings ratio of about 20 times, it is a very generous asking price.
Among them, Tianleyuan’s shareholding ratio is 38%, equivalent to approximately US$110 million.
What was initially drawn up was a joint venture plan.
The Westeros system injected a one-time investment of US$700 million into the Paradise Group to obtain 70% of the new company's shares, and the shareholdings of other original shareholders were reduced to 30%. At the same time, the US$700 million in funds will be divided into two parts. One part is US$500 million and will be poured into Jeju Island at once to build a super entertainment complex integrating casinos, hotels, shopping malls, golf courses and other facilities.
Jeju Island is where Simon is betting on the future direction of the Korean gaming industry.
As of now, Jeju Island already has 8 small casinos, which together account for just over 20% of the revenue of the Korean gaming industry. Most of them are still in casinos under the Paradise Group in Seoul, Busan and other places, among which is the current Walker The resort accounts for 56% of the revenue share of the four casinos of the Paradise Group. It can be said that the distribution is very uneven.
Simon can foresee that as Jeju Island attracts more and more Chinese tourists in the future, especially after the implementation of visa-free measures, the current imbalance will definitely be reversed, with Jeju Island’s gaming industry occupying South Korea’s related industries. The bulk of revenue.
While making a big bet on this investment, the next focus of the Westeros system is to lobby the South Korean authorities to open Jeju Island visa-free for Chinese tourists as soon as possible.
Another US$200 million is planned to be invested in a casino project in Gangwon Province, eastern South Korea.
Let’s start from the beginning.
The Taebaek Mountains area in Gangwon Province in eastern South Korea was formerly a mining area and once produced 80% of South Korea's coal. However, in recent years, coal resources in the mining areas of the Taibai Mountains have been rapidly depleted. As a result, the number of miners who once numbered 130,000 and the millions of people who lived around the mining areas suddenly lost their livelihoods.
In order to create livelihoods for the former mining areas, the Korean authorities adopted an "Abandoned Mine Area Development Plan" in 1997 to encourage the Taebaek Mountains region to vigorously develop the tourism industry.
It’s no secret that coal mining areas tend to be unsuitable for tourism, and rightly so.
As a result, this special bill opened a back door for the local area to allow gambling operations.
However, not long after this bill was released, the Asian financial crisis broke out, and the Korean government and private capital were all in a state of crisis.
Without money, no matter how generous the stimulus policy is, it will be in vain.
Until recently, the local government finally revived the plan to build a casino in the mining area of the Taibai Mountains and is raising funds.
However, there is still little money.
Before the Westeros system expressed interest in this project, local governments and local capital were expected to raise up to about 30 billion won, which is equivalent to about 23 million U.S. dollars at South Korea's current exchange rate, which has rebounded to around 1,300. It is planned to build a small casino hotel. .
23 million US dollars may be enough if it is just to build a building, but if you want to build a casino hotel with complete facilities, it can only be described as making do.
Therefore, the Westeros system plans to invest 200 million U.S. dollars. From the local perspective, it is simply a big fortune dropped from the sky by a stupid person with a lot of money.
Of course Simon is no Kaizi.
The biggest reason why we are interested in this project is that the planned casino has a special privilege, that is, it can be open to Korean nationals.
An absolute privilege.
Because before this, whether it was the Paradise Group's casino in the central city or the eight small storefronts in Jeju Island, in the past few decades, they were only open to foreigners. Guests needed overseas passports to enter and exit. No Entry.
As for a casino located in a ravine, can it make money even if it has special privileges
Simon had no doubts.
In many news reports about the gambling industry, there is always a fairly uniform statement: Americans like gambling, British people like gambling, Germans like gambling, Japanese people like gambling, Koreans like gambling, Chinese people like gambling...
In fact, to put it bluntly, I just like gambling.
Just like a certain theory that Simon mentioned some time ago, production is against the nature of biology, and plunder is the instinct. The so-called plunder means getting something for nothing, or losing more than enough and getting more than you deserve. Gambling is undoubtedly the best channel for people to fantasize about getting something for nothing in the real world.
So how could anyone not like it
All in all, for this only privileged casino project in South Korea, Simon did not hesitate to spend money, and directly provided 200 million US dollars, which was 10 times the local budget, all at once. At first, the local people were hesitant about this complex fund. After confirming the estimated investment amount of US$200 million, all problems suddenly ceased to be a problem.