Inside Asian Gaming

IAG JAPAN FEB 2019 50 J apan’s IR Implementation Act was passed last July and everyone in the industry – as well as those who want to be part of it – are champing at the bit to be involved. The plan is for integrated resorts, including casinos, to be up and running by 2025. It sounds a long way off but in terms of opening multi-billion dollar resorts it’s not much time at all. One of the key new professions IRs will bring to Japan is that of the “casino dealer”, for which local talent must be trained. IAG visited the Japan Casino Academy’s Osaka campus to learn more. Osaka has wasted no time in jumping on the IR bandwagon. Like mushrooms after a rain, a host of businesses have been announcing their IR-related projects throughout Osaka city, including everything from restaurants and amusement gaming venues to one of the most prominent, the IR Cafe. But Osaka’s Japan Casino Academy surely ranks among the most important new operations to open its doors. Launched in May 2017, it was the first real dealer training facility to be opened in Western Japan. The campus is located on Yotsubashi Street in Osaka, a short walk from Yotsubashi Station. It’s a popular area for young people and tourists. Japan Casino Academy was originally established in May 2014, in the Yotsuya area of Tokyo. Its base has now moved to Shibuya with campuses set up in Nagoya, Fukuoka and Sapporo. New locations are planned in the Ikebukuro area of Tokyo, Yokohama, Kyoto and Kobe within the year. “When we first opened, things were pretty quiet, but once the legislation passed last July, things got busy quick,” explains 34-year-old school director, Takafumi Maekawa. “There are many local events in Osaka and we hope to assist in making casinos and table games more popular.” The Osaka campus features three card tables and one roulette table. There is also a card table and roulette table in a separate VIP room. On the day IAG visited, a “Casino Game Tournament” was being held with about 15 guests playing blackjack, baccarat, poker and roulette – all just for fun and educational purposes, of course. As an aside, IAG also joined in the fun. We tried throwing a roulette ball and found it to be quite difficult. Dealing cards was next to impossible. Not so for one of the dealers present at the time, a recent graduate of the school, who was handling the cards smoothly. He now works as an instructor at the school while moonlighting as a dealer at hotel events and parties. “My dream is to work at a casino overseas, then eventually come back to be a dealer in Japan,” he explained. The school already has well-established pipelines to IR operators in Macau, South Korea, the Philippines and Singapore, where a number of graduates have been recruited to work at the iconic Marina Bay Sands. 実際に学校側はマカオ、韓国、フィリピン、シンガポールなど の海外ＩＲ事業者との太いパイプがあり「マリーナベイ・サ ンズ」などからリクルートされている卒業生も少なくない。 The school already has well-established pipelines to IR operators in Macau, South Korea, thePhilippines andSingapore,where a number of graduates have been recruited to work at the iconic Marina Bay Sands. JAPAN