MGM Osaka Names Nobuki Watanabe Chairman As IR Work Advances

MGM Osaka Corp has changed its senior leadership while construction continues on the JPY1.51 trillion integrated resort planned for a 2030 opening.

Good to Know

• Nobuki Watanabe became representative director and chairman on May 1.
• Edward Bowers was reappointed representative director and president.
• MGM Resorts said the Osaka IR remains on time and on budget for 2030.

MGM Osaka Leadership Changes As IR Build Continues

MGM Osaka Corp has brought in Orix executive Nobuki Watanabe as representative director and chairman, giving the Japan casino resort project a new boardroom lead during its main construction phase.

Watanabe, a managing executive officer at Orix Corp, took the role on May 1. He replaces Toyonori Takahashi, who has stepped down and will now serve as an advisor to Orix.

Watanabe joined Orix in 2001. His background includes new business development and corporate management, both relevant as MGM Osaka moves deeper into the buildout of Japan first approved casino resort.

The company also confirmed that Edward Bowers has been reappointed as representative director and president. The reappointment followed the transition of MGM Osaka Corp into a company with a board of directors.

MGM Osaka Corp is the joint venture behind the Osaka integrated resort, bringing together MGM Resorts International, Orix Corp, and smaller local investors. The project carries an estimated cost of JPY1.51 trillion, or about US$9.66 billion.

Sankei Shimbun reported that MGM Osaka Corp now has a five-member board. Alongside Watanabe and Bowers, the board includes MGM Resorts CEO and president Bill Hornbuckle, Orix CEO and director Hidetake Takahashi, and Orix senior managing executive officer Shuuji Irie.

Construction progress also remains a focus. Speaking during the recent MGM Resorts first-quarter earnings call, Hornbuckle said “over 40 percent of the foundation piles have been installed or completed” at the Osaka site. He added:

“The first concrete floor has been poured, and the first structural steel has been erected.

“MGM Osaka remains on time and on budget for 2030 opening.”

The update keeps MGM Osaka tied to two key themes at once: a cleaner leadership structure and visible construction progress at the future Osaka casino resort.