Inside Asian Gaming

IAG JAPAN MAY 2021 84 W ith Japan’s first IRs inching gradually closer to becoming reality, another new casino dealer training school is opening in Osaka. IGS Osaka (International Gaming School) plans to open in July of this year with the aim of training casino dealers at a world-class level. Preparations including school information sessions and trial classes have already started taking place. The special attribute of this school, in the words of IGS Osaka school principal and gaming instructor Tomoyuki Kitagaki, is global organizational experience – led by one of the school’s investors, veteran casino industry consultant Steve Karoul. “[Karoul] has worked in casino operations in over 100 countries and was part of the management team that opened Marina Bay Sands in Singapore,” says Kitagaki. “He has promised to support our plan to create a school to train the personnel required for IR operators in Japan. He’s the backbone of our school and we couldn’t do it without him.” Also involved is IGS CEO Roy Wheatley, himself bringing 40-years of industry experience. Starting his career as a casino dealer in Australia, he later opened a casino school in Singapore following the launch of Marina Bay Sands in 2010. “He has helped us create a pipeline to Marina Bay Sands and Genting Cruise Lines,” Kitagaki says. CLEAR OUTLET STRATEGY Kitagaki himself graduated from Japan’s first casino training school, Japan Casino School, in 2005, before attending another, PCI Dealer School, in Las Vegas. After a stint with Seven Luck Casino in Seoul, South Korea, he moved to Marina Bay Sands in 2014 to improve his skills. JAPAN