South Korea is latest stop in Asia for Steve Wolstenholme, who adds to a string of new executive appointments by Inspire in recent months.
Inspire Entertainment Resort in Incheon, South Korea on Tuesday announced the appointment of gaming industry veteran Steve Wolstenholme as chief casino officer. Wolstenholme’s resume includes leadership roles at casino resorts in Vietnam, the Philippines and Macau.
According to the company, Wolstenholme will “oversee the establishment of Inspire’s enterprise-wide casino strategies and the advancement of operational processes, while formulating and executing mid- to long-term growth plans”.
From 2018 to 2025, Wolstenholme was president and CEO of Hoiana Resort & Golf in Vietnam. He departed last February following a leadership overhaul. Prior to that, he was president of Okada Manila in the Philippines capital, and he previously served as chief operating officer at Galaxy Macau. In addition, Wolstenholme has worked at tribal and commercial properties in the US.
“I am thrilled to join Inspire, which is setting a new standard for entertainment resorts in Asia through its successful opening and rapid operational stabilisation,” Wolstenholme said in a statement. “Building on the operational expertise I have accumulated over the past 30-plus years at global integrated resorts, I will do my utmost to work alongside Inspire’s talented team to create Asia’s leading integrated casino resort.”
Inspire fills out the leadership ranks
Wolstenholme’s appointment is the latest in a series of changes at the top at Inspire. Last April, Shirley Tam joined as chief casino marketing officer and Hanna Lee as senior vice president of strategy marketing, focusing on non-gaming operations. In August, Inspire added Sangwon Lee as chief transformation officer “to boost competitiveness and drive sustainable growth”. In October, Gyubum Ko came on board as CEO, replacing Chen Si.
Ko called Wolstenholme “a highly accomplished expert” versed in operations, finance, governance and ESG. “With the appointment of our new CCO, Inspire will further accelerate its growth as a world-class integrated resort delivering the ultimate ‘Playcation’ experience where entertainment and relaxation come together for our guests,” he said.
Inspire opened in March 2024 as a Mohegan Gaming property. Called “the Las Vegas of South Korea”, it offered a foreigners-only casino, 1,275 hotel rooms, a 15,000-seat arena, an indoor water park, meeting facilities and an enviable location, on 4.36 million square metres near Incheon International Airport. At the grand opening, then-president Si said the IR would make Yeongjong Island “a global tourism destination”.
But after a banner first year, high opening costs and low table hold led to losses of more than $104 million. In February 2025, lender Bain Capital seized control of the integrated resort and the Connecticut-based tribal operator was forced out.
A sale in the works?
In May 2025 Bain conducted a sales exercise as part of its takeover of Inspire. At the time it found no buyer, but a sale could soon be in the offing. “These are financial investors,” Spectrum Gaming Capital CEO Robert Heller said of Bain, in comments to iGB last month. “They’re not building gaming companies. They are [acquiring] these companies to fix them and do better, and then flip them to somebody else.”
Inspire is South Korea’s 18th casino. All are open only to foreign passport-holders with the exception of Kangwon Land in Gangwon Province, a former coal mining region about 150 kilometres from Seoul.
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.
