Has Harrah’s finally made its much-anticipated move into the Asian casino gaming market?
Word reaches Asian Gaming Intelligence from generally reliable sources that Harrah’s has signed a joint venture deal for land-based gaming in the Philippines with local company Leisure and Resorts World Corp.
Harrah’s has been linked in the past with just about every current gaming jurisdiction in Asia and every likely one. But it’s possible this time a courtship has led to an actual engagement.
Leisure and Resorts World Corp is the sort of local partner with the real estate development experience and local gaming management experience vital for foreign operators trying to make a success of the Philippines market. Genting Hong Kong (formerly Star Cruises) did something similar when it teamed up with Alliance Global Group, the conglomerate headed by Philippines entrepreneur Andrew Tan, to develop Resorts World Manila at Newport City near Manila’s international airport.
Despite the similar name, Leisure and Resorts World Corp is not related to the Resorts World Manila project. There’s no word yet on the supposed site of Harrah’s joint venture venue. It’s also not clear at this stage whether heavily indebted Harrah’s is expected to bring cash to the deal or whether it’s more to do with using Harrah’s name and service standards (or ‘brand equity’ as the deal to use MGM MIRAGE’s name on the Ho Tram Strip project in Vietnam was known). Attempts to contact Michael Chen, President, Asia-Pacific Region at Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc., for comment were unsuccessful at the time AGI went to press.
Leisure and Resorts World Corp is led by Philippines entrepreneur Albee Benitez, who featured in our sister publication Inside Asian Gaming‘s ‘Asian Gaming 50 2009’ list of the most influential people in the regional industry.
As well as its involvement in real estate development, Leisure and Resorts World Corp also operates the Philippines’s largest chain of bingo halls with 36 sites—all licensed and regulated in turn by the national gaming regulator-cum-operator, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR). The bingo halls are in the country’s major shopping malls and offer a range of games including traditional bingo, electronic bingo, instant bingo pull-tabs and Rapid Bingo—a keno-type game.
Any Harrah’s link up with Leisure and Resorts World Corp could also assist Harrah’s in its aspirations to enter the online gaming market. Leisure and Resorts World Corp is a majority owner of First Cagayan Leisure and Resorts Corp, that acts both as regulator and operator of gaming businesses in the Cagayan Special Economic Zone Authority (CEZA). CEZA, a freeport set up in the north of the country by the Philippines government in 1995, is Asia’s first and so far only issuer of internationally recognised licences for companies offering online offshore gaming content and services. Mitch Garber, CEO of Harrah’s Interactive Entertainment, gave a keynote address on the topic of online gaming at the iGamingAsia Congress organised by Beacon Events in Macau in February. Mr Garber, a lawyer by profession, pointed out that Harrah’s–as a holder of land based gaming licences in the United States, including Nevada–would only consider pursuing online gaming once it was satisfied such a move would pose no threat to its existing land gaming licences. It is currently unlawful for online gaming companies to offer Internet gambling and Internet sports betting services to US citizens.
RelatedPosts
