Kangwon Land to limit business hours due to COVID-19 surge

Kangwon Land, the only gaming resort in the country where you can bet on locals, will shorten casino hours from Saturday (Dec. 18) to at least Jan. 2 due to COVID-19 measures. During this period, the game center will be open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

An official from Kangwon Land, the operator of the resort (photo), responded to GGRA's telephone inquiries. Currently, Kangwon Land Casino was operating between 10 a.m. and 6 a.m. the next day.

South Korea said Thursday it will restore stricter social distancing rules on Saturday as new infections and severe cases rise across the country. The new measures will be reintroduced a month and a half after authorities eased them under a "living with COVID-19" policy.

The rules announced on Thursday limit gatherings to no more than four people if fully vaccinated. The restrictions also force restaurants, cafes and bars to close by 9 p.m., officials said.

Kangwon Land Resort is located on a remote highland in the east, three hours by road from Seoul.

South Korea's Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Thursday that the government needs more time to expand the country's "medical capacity and vaccination" campaign. "Today's pause is not a retreat from a U-turn or a path back to normal life, but a pace adjustment needed according to the changed situation," he was quoted as saying by local media.

Easing the measures by Jan. 2 will depend on the re-designation of the local COVID-19 alert phase, according to Kangwon Land officials.

The representative added that despite reduced operating hours, casinos were still able to receive 3,000 customers at a time. The maximum daily guest capacity of 3,000 is at 50% of pre-pandemic levels for 6,000 visitors.

Kangwon Land has been asking guests to participate in the lottery practice to determine who gets the opportunity to visit under the capacity limit.

Casino operators' net income for the third quarter of 2021 was 20.42 billion won ($17.2 million), down 2.4% from the previous quarter (W20.9 billion).

As of 12 a.m. Thursday, South Korea recorded 7,435 new COVID-19 cases in a 24-hour period, with 551,551 confirmed cases, including 4,591 deaths, South Korea's health ministry data showed.

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