Murren made the comments this week after a courtesy visit to Osaka Governor Ichiro Matsui and Osaka Mayor Hirofumi Yoshimura.
"Osaka has the potential to become the center of MICE in Asia. We want to create something that reflects Japan's cutting-edge technology and food culture,” he commented.
MGM has already said that the company is focusing its efforts on winning a casino license in Japan and expanding in the Chinese enclave of Macau. "Japan and Macau are the only major interests we have in Asia,” Murren said.
Murren visited Japan 15 times in the past three years to meet potential strategic partners.
"I think regulatory, economic, cultural and social opportunities in Japan are vastly greater than what we would find interesting in the Philippines," he concluded.
Osaka Governor Matsui stated separately that he wanted the IR Implementation Bill to be enacted into law by next summer. Osaka’s plans call for the Yumeshima IR to open its doors before the 2025 World Expo (which they also hope to host) and therefore they do not want the absence of national legislation to cause further delays.
Source: GMB / AG Brief
