Although Japan has yet to come forward and announce which cities may be in the official running for an integrated resort (IR), Osaka isn’t willing to stand back with its arms crossed. Osaka governor Ichiro Matsui announced yesterday that officials will begin a selection process “early next year” to find potential partners in order to present a bid for an IR to the country’s regulators.

Osaka has always been seen as a favorite for one of the IRs. According to Kyodo, a Japanese media outlet, Matsui asserted, “We will shortlist candidates by starting to assess their plans and willingness to invest early next year.” The statements apparently followed a meeting between the governor, Las Vegas Sands president and CEO Robert Goldstein and Osaka mayor Hirofumi Yoshimura.

The three locations for the first three IR licenses will be selected through a process that includes presentations made to the central government by local officials. They will also include the possible gaming partner or partners selected by the local governments. Japan expects to launch the framework for the IR presentations by next July at the latest.

So far, a minimum of eight different casino operators want to get into bed with Osaka. Over a six-year period that ran from 2012 to 2018, casino executives from 11 companies met with governor Matsui at least 25 times, ostensibly in an effort to just make good faith visits. However, it doesn’t take much to understand the true reasons for the meetings.