Caesars’ Korean partner can’t find exit; North Korea tells citizens to fink on gamblers

Casino operator Caesars Entertainment’s joint venture partner in South Korea says its experiencing delays in extricating itself from the stalled project.

In January 2013, Caesars, Indonesian conglomerate Lippo Group and a mystery third party announced the formation of LOCZ Korea, which promised to build a $2b integrated resort in the Incheon area. South Korea formally approved the project the following year, but to date there’s been zero actual progress in building this resort.

Shortly before last Christmas, Lippo announced there was “no certainty” that the project would go ahead. This March, Lippo said it was looking to sell its stake in the project due to frustrations in convincing its JV partners to make the necessary land deals.

This week, Lippo filed papers saying it had hoped to sell its stake to a new joint venture consisting of Caesars and the mystery third party by November, but the exit negotiations had hit a snag. Lippo said the outcome of its negotiations “is dependent upon a separate set of negotiations between Caesars Korea and [the third party].”