Korea casino resort opens amid Chinese boycott

North Korea’s aggressive missile testing and nuclear ambitions casts a shadow over the opening of US$1.1 billion Paradise City outside Seoul. South Korea’s deployment of the US THAAD missile defense system in response has led to a boycott by Chinese tour groups, the resort’s target market.

Totally globalized native New Yorker and former broadcast news producer Muhammad Cohen is a blogger for Forbes and author of Hong Kong On Air, a novel set in his adopted hometown during the 1997 handover about television news, love, betrayal, high finance, and cheap lingerie. See his bio, online archive and more at www.muhammadcohen.com; follow him on Facebook and Twitter @MuhammadCohen.

Pachinko mogul seeks Japan casino in Korea

Sega Sammy Chairman Hajime Satomi is backing South Korea’s first integrated resort, opening this month, in hope of getting a casino license in Japan, which until recently seemed like an impossible dream.

Totally globalized native New Yorker and former broadcast news producer Muhammad Cohen is a blogger for Forbes, editor at large for Inside Asian Gaming and author of Hong Kong On Air, a novel set in his adopted hometown during the 1997 handover about television news, love, betrayal, high finance, and cheap lingerie. See his bio, online archive and more at www.muhammadcohen.com; follow him on Facebook and Twitter @MuhammadCohen.