Iao Kun Group closes another Macau VIP room, admits Jeju Sun deal has lapsed

Macau casino junket investor Iao Kun Group Holding Ltd (IKGH) has confirmed that its South Korean casino plans have come to naught.

On Friday, IKGH issued a statement saying it was closing yet another of its Macau casino VIP rooms, leaving the company with just one active room – at Melco Crown’s City of Dreams property – down from five as recently as one month ago.

IKGH said its VIP room at SJM Holdings’ Le Royal Arc Casino (aka L’Arc Macau) was closed Sept. 29 and the related collaborator agreement with Lee Wai Man had been terminated. The company says the closure is expected to produce annual cost savings of around $750k.

IKGH said its current focus is on collecting some of the $159m in outstanding VIP gambling debts it revealed in its H1 earnings results last month. The company says that due to “the lengthening and difficulty of collecting markers receivable,” it will cease offering credit to clients and therefore “expects business volume to be minimal” in the near term.