The casino operator responsible for the Kangwon Land Casino situated in Gangwon Province, South Korea has decided to extend the venue’s temporary closure for several more days. This came as a direct result of measures which are implemented by casino and hotel venues in the area to prevent the highly-contagious virus from spreading. So far, the Wuhan virus officially known SARS-CoV-2 which causes the coronavirus disease has killed twenty-nine locals.

According to one report released by Inside Asian Gaming on Sunday, the Kangwon Land Incorporated company responsible for the Kangwon Land Casino venue initially closed down the doors of the nation’s only gambling facility available to local residents back on the 23^rd of February. This decision came shortly after the South Korean government raised its alert level concerning the outbreak of the 2019 coronavirus strain to the highest degree.

The operator responsible for the Kangwon Land Casino venue, later on, decided to extend that one-week-long temporary closure by three more days following the number of local residents infected by the highly-contagious virus rose to over four thousand and two hundred. In addition to South Korea, several other countries besides China where the virus was first noticed recorded rising cases of infected individuals including Italy, and Iran.

The 2019 Novel Coronavirus Reportedly Introduced by the Shincheonji Church of Jesus

Officially named as 2019-nCoV or 2019 novel coronavirus, the potentially lethal coronavirus strain was first reported in later December in the city of Wuhan. Since then, the coronavirus strain has spread to over sixty countries globally including the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Austria, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Romania, Iceland, Thailand, Egypt, Lebanon, Bahrain, Algeria and Nigeria among others.

The disease resulting from the virus infection causes symptoms that resemble those of pneumonia including coughs and high fevers. As reported by several local news outlets, the illness caused by the virus was spread in South Korea by the Shincheonji Church of Jesus members. This is a religious organization commonly referred to as Shincheonji. It was officially established back on the 14^th of March in 1984 by Lee Man-hee.

The organization is frequently being the focus on many controversies. As estimated in 2014, it had over 120,000 members while more recent reports suggest that it has over 200,00 members. Released several days ago, the latest investigation into the coronavirus outbreak in South Korea suggests that a dozen Shincheonji members from China were closely related to the Shincheonji outbreak. As reported, a sixty-one-year-old resident of Daegu is strongly believed to have spread the potentially lethal virus. By the 23^rd of February, over three hundred new infection cases were recorded among Shincheonji members and their families.

The Nation’s Only Casino Closed Until the 8^th of March

Following growing fears about more people getting infected, the casino operator responsible for the nation’s only casino available to locals Kangwon Land Casino will remain closed until the 8^th of March. This means that its casino floor remains closed along with other amenities including its hotel and ski resort. The property’s family-oriented theme park Water World will also remain closed for twelve more days until the 20^th of March.

The Kangwon Land Casino venue is located in Gangwon province around ninety-three miles from the country’s capital city Seoul. It offers visitors a selection of almost one thousand slot games and around one hundred gaming tables. Commenting on the news about extending the venue’s temporary closure, the operator said that it values the safety of its customers the most, while none of its visitors and staff had tested positive for the 2019-nCoV.

Paradise Company Limited has recently revealed its latest financial results collected during July. One of the biggest South Korea-based casino and entertainment operators has stated that the company has experienced a massive 19.1% increase in its aggregated gaming revenues to around $61.07 million especially thanks to its revenue increase for July.

According to one report released by the local newspaper, this Seoul-based company responsible for a number of foreigner-only gaming and entertainment facilities which spread across Asia experienced a great 3.2% gaming revenues increase in July which is significantly better when compared to its gaming revenues collected over the previous months.

Operating Leading Asia-Based Casino Facilities

This massive, leading South Korea-based company mainly engages in the land-based and entertainment businesses. It operated its primary business through three different segments. Its biggest casino segment is responsible for managing several casino facilities including Paradise Casino Jeju Lotte, Paradise Safari Casino, Paradise Casino Jeju Grand, Paradise Casino Busan, Paradise Casino Incheon, and Paradise Casino Walkerhill.

These land-based casino facilities owned and operated by Paradise Company Limited are equipped with all sorts of gambling and entertainment facilities. In addition, the company also operated Paradise Hotel located in Busan and massive Paradise Safari Park Hotel. For 2018, the company has reported sales of around $655 million which represented a massive increase of around 17.9% when compared to the company’s total sales of 2017.

As previously mentioned, the company’s most successful facilities are hotel-based gambling facilities located in the cities of Busan, Jeju, and Seoul. Another massive success of the company is its Paradise City casino resort which opened its doors close to Incheon International Airport in 2017. This casino resort was opened with Sega Sammy Holdings for around $1.7 billion.

Regarding its latest financial stats related to gaming revenues collected during July, the company’s official report also detailed that its gaming tables’ revenues also increased for about 21% which amounts to around $58 million collected. Moreover, the associated drop for the one-month period was also significantly higher for about 20.9% which amounted to almost $459 million in gaming revenues.

Table Triumph and Slot Slump

While the company has experienced a great table games’ triumph with a massive increase in gaming revenues, at the same time its slot games and their related gross revenues for July decreased for around 8.9%. This in a month-to-month basis represents a decline of around 6%. At the same time, the company’s table games drop for the same period had been almost 10% lower when compared with the previous month.

These financial stats detailed in the company’s official financial release mean that Paradise Company Limited has managed to collect around seven-month of gross gaming revenues worth around $350 million. This equates to an impressive 19.1% increase for the company’s total gaming revenues collected.

These numbers are even more impressive when associated with a great 20.1% increase in its total gross revenues from table games at around $329 million and its almost 6% increase from its slot games for around $21 million. Before this financial report, Paradise Company Limited also announced in May this year that it had already chalked up its first-quarter total loss of around $6 million which is another financial success considering the fact the company’s profit for the same period last year was only $2.55 million.