The government agency that regulates gaming in the Philippines is forecasting the country’s casino revenues to hit US$2.5 billion this year on the strength of the first resort opening at Manila’s Entertainment City.
Cristino Naguiat Jr., chief executive of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, credits Solaire Resort & Casino, which debuted at Entertainment City in March, with driving much of the expected 25% year-on-year increase.
Solaire, operated by Global Gaming Asset Management and majority-owned by Bloomberry Resorts, a PSX-listed company controlled by ports tycoon Enrique Razon, reported P578.3 million in revenue in its first the 15 days of operation (US$13.5 million), 86% of it from the casino.
With three more large-scale resorts under development or on the drawing board at the Manila Bay complex, annual gaming revenues nationwide could hit $10 billion over the next five years—90% of it from Entertainment City, Mr Naguiat says.
One result, he says, is that overseas interests are taking a fresh look at the country as a regional leisure destination. “They are interested in the direction [of Philippine gaming] and how we see the Philippines right now.”
It also means new ways to battle the country’s stubbornly high unemployment rate while providing new opportunities for nationals working in competing markets abroad, including Macau and Singapore. Solaire lured back some 400 experienced Filipinos who were recruited for management positions. Mr Naguiat says thousands more could come back once Entertainment City is fully built out.
Current plans call for Belle Grande Manila Bay to open down the street from Solaire next summer. Macau’s Melco Crown Entertainment is a major investor through a local subsidiary in partnership with Philippine retail and property magnate Henry Sy.
The third resort, scheduled to open in late 2015 or early 2016, is being developed by Travellers International Hotel Group, the joint venture that owns the country’s popular Resorts World Manila casino and hotel complex. Travellers’ principals are Genting Hong Kong, a subsidiary of the Malaysia-based Genting resort conglomerate, and Alliance Global, a Philippine corporation with extensive holdings in residential and commercial real estate and food and beverage.
The fourth is under development by a Philippine subsidiary of Universal Entertainment, the Japanese machine gaming giant controlled by Kazuo Okada.
PAGCOR also operates casinos, 13 of them, together with a string of some two dozen slot machine arcades.
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