By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter


A foreigner-only casino will open on Friday in southern Seoul as part of efforts to attract more tourists from other countries.

Grand Korea Leisure (GKL), a subsidiary company of the state-run Korea Tourism Organization, said on Wednesday that the entertainment facility, named ``Seven Luck,’’ will start operating on Friday.

The casino is located at Hanmoo Convention Center near COEX in Samsong-dong, southern Seoul, thus having easy access from nearby hotels and shops with convenient transportation.

The 24-hour, 365-day casino has 130 machines and 45 game tables, including baccarat, blackjack, roulette and poker on floor space of 859 pyong (2,834 square meters).

``We expect about 280,000 foreigners will visit the casino this year. If we include visitors to the other two Seven Lucks opening later, we expect some 480,000 gamblers,’’ a GKL official said.

As the GKL is a public company, all revenue from the casino operation will be used to further establish culture and tourism industry infrastructure and to support inter-Korea tourism.

There were a total of 13 foreigner-only casinos nationwide before, and the government decided to open the three casinos last year as part of efforts to attract more foreign visitors to the country.

The interior of the casino is distinctive from other casinos, as traditional Korean-style touches were added. The ceiling is decorated with Korean style rafters, and the bar, with Taeguk designs, blue and red yin-yang circles.

The company will open another two casinos exclusively for foreigners at Millennium Seoul Hilton in northern Seoul in May and at Busan Lotte in the southeastern port city of Pusan in June.

``One of the Seven Luck’s characteristics is that the machines of the three casinos, two in Seoul and one in Pusan, will be linked with one another, raising the chance of winning and the amount of prizes,’’ the official said.

The opening ceremony will be held at 5 p.m. tomorrow, and female dance group Jewelry and Kim Yon-ja, a Korean singer who is famous in Japan, will present a showcase.

The opening events will continue through Monday, with performances of Kim Dok-soo’s Samulnori troupe on Sunday and signing event of actress Yang Mi-kyung, a star of the soap opera ``The Great Changgum,’’ on Monday.

rahnita@koreatimes.co.kr