South Korea cosmetics firm CSA Cosmic, soon to be the top shareholder in Blue One Casino on Jeju Island, hopes to entice more VIP guests with high-end services combining beauty and leisure.
The Seoul-based, KOSDAQ-listed company manufactures both cosmetics and construction materials. It will invest KRW3.5 billion ($2.36 million) in Blue One, known as Jeju Sun under its former owner, Philippines-listed Bloomberry Resorts Corp. The casino reopened under its new brand on 16 March.
KRW1.3billion will go to the purchase of convertible bonds, with KRW2.2 billion in monetary loans. A debt-to-equity swap will then convert the loan to shares, making CSA the largest shareholder in Blue One. Blue One plans to spin off the hotel and casino divisions into separate units, with CSA Cosmic acquiring the casino division.
“Participation in this casino operating corporation is not a simple external expansion but the securing of a structural growth base that combines beauty and leisure,” said CSA Cosmic. It pledged to “enhance shareholder value by maximising the synergy of our ongoing brand rebranding and new businesses”.
Chosun Biz reports that CSA Cosmic will introduce a guest package that combines “K-beauty content” and “premium VIP tourism services” directed at global customers.
Can Blue One succeed where Bloomberry failed?
Earlier this month, Blue One parent KH Holdings acquired the former Jeju Sun from Bloomberry Resorts. It paid KRW7 billion for the property, with a balance of KRW3 billion due in February 2027. The sale marked the exit of Bloomberry from the South Korea casino market, although it continues to lease the gaming space and also operate the hotel and food-and-beverage outlets.
Bloomberry first acquired Jeju Sun (then THE Hotel Vegas) in 2015. Bloomberry Chairman and CEO Enrique Razon later said the acquisition was ill-advised due to South Korea’s hardline stance on locals gaming.
Only one casino in the country, Kangwon Land in remote Gangwon Province, is open to South Korean gamblers. “If locals cannot play, then you can never make a real property, a real resort,” said Razon in 2020. “It will always be small, sort of like a niche player. And you’ll probably have difficulty growing from there.”
Jeju Sun recorded gross gaming revenue of PHP6.2 million in the first half of 2025, down PHP45.1 million from the same period in 2024. Hotel and F&B operations generated revenue of PHP183.3 million in the first half of 2025, a slight increase of 1.1 percent.
KH Holdings hopes to do better. It has observed the shift of tourism spending patterns from “shopping-led travel” toward “experience and entertainment-oriented visits”. It said Blue One will “promote a stay-oriented tourism model by encouraging foreign visitors to stay longer and increase per-capita spending”. The casino will focus on table games in the interest of “sustained revenue growth and profitability” in the premium segment.
Marjorie Preston
Marjorie began her gaming career in 2007 and has focused on Asian gaming markets since 2020. Outside of work, she writes about travel and film and plays the drums.
Original article: https://igamingbusiness.com/casino/blue-one-casino-in-south-korea-formerly-jeju-sun-to-push-stay-oriented-tourism/
