Visitors to Japan have more than tripled since 2014, from 13.4 million to nearly 43 million last year. Japan authorities are aiming for 60 million tourists by 2040.

Noted writer Pico Iyer, who has called Japan home for 38 years, says many Japanese find escalating visitor numbers “disruptive,” prompting backlash against tourists. Anti-tourist sentiment could spill over to the MGM Osaka integrated resort project, Iyer said in an exclusive interview at the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival in Bali. The US$8.9 billion Osaka project, shown above, featuring Japan’s first legal casino, broke ground a year ago and is scheduled to open in 2030.

Former US diplomat and broadcast news producer Muhammad Cohen is Asia editor at large for Clarion Media, a longtime contributor to Forbes, columnist for Asia Times and author of Hong Kong On Air, a novel set in his adopted hometown during the 1997 handover about TV news, love, betrayal, high finance, and cheap lingerie. See his biography, online archive and more at www.muhammadcohen.com; follow him on Facebook, LinkedIn, ex-Twitter @MuhammadCohen and now on Blue Sky @MuhammadCohen.bsky.social.

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Allowing qualified Vietnamese gamblers to play at The Grand Ho Tram could jump the resort and Vietnam into the top rank of Asia gaming destinations.

Local players on the casino floor should energize the beachfront resort two hours from commercial capital Ho Chi Minh City with a world class golf course that convenient to a new international airport opening this year, splashing Ho Tram onto the regional map.

Former US diplomat and broadcast news producer Muhammad Cohen is Asia editor at large for Clarion Media, a longtime contributor to Forbes, columnist for Asia Times and author of Hong Kong n Air, a novel set in his adopted hometown during the 1997 handover about TV news, love, betrayal, high finance, and cheap lingerie. See his biography, online archive and more at www.muhammadcohen.com; follow him on Facebook, LinkedIn, ex-Twitter @MuhammadCohen and now on Blue Sky @MuhammadCohen.bsky.social.

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Inspire at South Korea’s international gateway Incheon airport has hired Steve Wolstenholme as chief casino officer. Like all but one casino in Korea, gamblers must present a non-Korean passport to enter Inspire’s casino.

In Asia, Wolstenholme led the openings of Okada Manila and Hoiana in Vietnam. He also served at COO of Galaxy Macau.

But Wolstenholme’s skills may not be enough to overcome fundamental issues at Inspire, developed by Native American casino operator Mohegan Gaming and taken over by Bain Capital a year ago.

Former US diplomat and broadcast news producer Muhammad Cohen is Asia editor at large for Clarion Media, a longtime contributor to Forbes, columnist for Asia Times and author of Hong Kong On Air, a novel set in his adopted hometown during the 1997 handover about TV news, love, betrayal, high finance, and cheap lingerie. See his biography, online archive and more at www.muhammadcohen.com; follow him on Facebook, LinkedIn, ex-Twitter @MuhammadCohen and now on Blue Sky @MuhammadCohen.bsky.social.

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Casino concessionaires in Macau are obliged to invest US$13.6 billion in non-gaming projects to create a more attractive, well-rounded travel destination and local economy. Beyond buzzwords such as high tech, finance and Chinese medicine, the government has no template on how to use those funds. Meanwhile, casino revenue for 2025 came in 15% percent below pre-Covid levels, a shortfall of US$5.6 billion, as concessionaires struggle to return to 2019 profit levels. Happy new year!

Former US diplomat and broadcast news producer Muhammad Cohen is Asia editor at large for Clarion Media, a longtime contributor to Forbes, columnist for Asia Times and author of Hong Kong On Air, a novel set in his adopted hometown during the 1997 handover about TV news, love, betrayal, high finance, and cheap lingerie. See his biography, online archive and more at www.muhammadcohen.com; follow him on Facebook, LinkedIn, ex-Twitter @MuhammadCohen and now on Blue Sky @MuhammadCohen.bsky.social.

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Happy Felix Unger Day to all. The Philippines provides this year’s odd couple, as the world’s largest jurisdiction with legal online gambling alongside billion dollar-plus casino resorts. Unsurprisingly, online gaming revenue is growing fast while land-based revenue declines in Asia’s second largest gaming market. The best bet for Philippine retail casinos is building category killer properties in underserved areas. But online and in-person gambling appear destined to struggle to coexist in the same space as much as Felix and Oscar.

Former US diplomat and broadcast news producer Muhammad Cohen is Asia editor at large for Clarion Media, a longtime contributor to Forbes, columnist for Asia Times and author of Hong Kong On Air, a novel set in his adopted hometown during the 1997 handover about TV news, love, betrayal, high finance, and cheap lingerie. See his biography, online archive and more at www.muhammadcohen.com; follow him on Facebook, LinkedIn, ex-Twitter @MuhammadCohen and now on Blue Sky @MuhammadCohen.bsky.social.

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