• Subscribe
  • Magazines
  • About
  • Contact
  • Advertise
Saturday 2 August 2025
  • zh-hant 中文
  • ja 日本語
  • en English
IAG
Advertisement
  • Newsfeed
  • Mag Articles
  • Video
  • Opinion
  • Tags
  • Regional
    • Africa
    • Australia
    • Cambodia
    • China
    • CNMI
    • Europe
    • Hong Kong
    • India
    • Japan
    • Laos
    • Latin America
    • Malaysia
    • Macau
    • Nepal
    • New Zealand
    • North America
    • North Korea
    • Philippines
    • Russia
    • Singapore
    • South Korea
    • Sri Lanka
    • Thailand
    • UAE
    • Vietnam
  • Events
  • Contributors
  • SUBSCRIBE FREE
  • 中文
  • 日本語
No Result
View All Result
IAG
  • Newsfeed
  • Mag Articles
  • Video
  • Opinion
  • Tags
  • Regional
    • Africa
    • Australia
    • Cambodia
    • China
    • CNMI
    • Europe
    • Hong Kong
    • India
    • Japan
    • Laos
    • Latin America
    • Malaysia
    • Macau
    • Nepal
    • New Zealand
    • North America
    • North Korea
    • Philippines
    • Russia
    • Singapore
    • South Korea
    • Sri Lanka
    • Thailand
    • UAE
    • Vietnam
  • Events
  • Contributors
  • SUBSCRIBE FREE
  • 中文
  • 日本語
No Result
View All Result
IAG
No Result
View All Result

Made in Manila

Ben Blaschke by Ben Blaschke
Tue 26 Nov 2019 at 15:37
Made in Manila
53
SHARES
1.3k
VIEWS
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Twelve years after launch, popular slot venue Club Tropicana continues to prosper – proving that Manila’s growing gaming market extends well beyond the bright lights of its integrated resorts.

Tucked away in an overtly unassuming building on a small side street in Santa Mesa, Metro Manila, is Club Tropicana – a 1,000 square meter PAGCOR-held slots club that just so happens to be the most lucrative PAGCOR club per slot machine in the country.

It also provides a fascinating glimpse into the Philippines’ locals gaming market, where venues such as this – providing familiarity and comfort rather than the glitz and glamor of Manila’s IRs – saw income from the regulator’s licensed casino operations grow 19.4% in the first nine months of 2019 to Php21.11 billion.

“From our market profiling, it turns out that our players are very comfortable with us because we’ve sort of developed a community go-to entertainment venue for those who want to play, so the market has become very regular,” explains Kat Regalado-Trinanes, Club Tropicana’s Marketing and Logistics Consultant.

“We have seniors in the morning, we have middle aged in the afternoon and then everyone else in the evening. It has been very stable like that and I think that’s how we have maintained the revenues that we have.”

Opened in March 2007, Club Tropicana – which counts Solaire Resort & Casino owner Enrique Razon Jr among its early investors – currently houses 250 slot machines which average around US$200 in revenue per machine, per day.

It does so despite the increased level of competition brought to the Manila market by the emergence of Parañaque’s integrated resorts in the past six years.

According to Regalado-Trinanes, while the likes of Solaire, City of Dreams Manila and Okada Manila caused a definite ripple when first launched, the longer-term impact has been a maturing of the Philippines gaming market at all levels.

“It has changed a lot in the past few years because the market was not used to that sort of extravaganza 10 years ago,” she says.

“We had PAGCOR operations then but they’re nothing like an integrated resort, so when the resorts opened five or six years ago everyone just wanted to see them, to be there and get the experience.

“Immediately after the IRs opened we probably lost 20% of the market for quite some time. But fortunately for us our players are very attached to the location, to the venue and the service of our people so they eventually came back to their home base.”

A more tangible result, explains General Manager Paul Mamangun, can be seen on Club Tropicana’s gaming floor where banks of older slot machines have been replaced with the latest that Aristocrat, Scientific Games and others have to offer.

“We accept that our players have been to the IRs and so they see what’s new and give us information on what they want,” he says. “The market has learned a lot along the way thanks to the IRs.

“They (the IRs) have done a great thing in expanding the market. They have developed the market and brought in not only the tourist but also the local players who have tried it out and are continuing to play. So that has made a big difference to everyone.”

The big test for Club Tropicana and other nearby locations – Mamangun cites close to a dozen small to medium operations between three and five kilometers away – will come once Solaire’s second IR, Solaire North, opens in Quezon City in 2022.

But for all the luxury IRs have brought to the Philippines capital city, Regalado-Trinanes insists there will always be a place for Manila’s slot clubs.

“It’s really a community based market here,” she says. “We recently conducted a survey on demographics and it turns out it’s a very small percentage of our players in terms of origin or location that will go to the new place (Solaire North).

“It’s still easiest for our players to come here. The location is really something that cannot be replicated. It’s a very good location for this community and for this market.”

RelatedPosts

Invitational NUSTAR Golf Tournament 2025 attracts 120 players

Invitational NUSTAR Golf Tournament 2025 attracts 120 players

Thu 31 Jul 2025 at 11:37
Editorial – Better late than never

Editorial – Better late than never

Thu 31 Jul 2025 at 07:13
Angel’s Yasushi Shigeta

Angel’s Yasushi Shigeta

Thu 31 Jul 2025 at 07:08
The Magic Number

The Magic Number

Thu 31 Jul 2025 at 06:41
Load More
Share21Share4
Ben Blaschke

Ben Blaschke

A former sports journalist in Sydney, Australia, Ben has been Managing Editor of Inside Asian Gaming since early 2016. He played a leading role in developing and launching IAG Breakfast Briefing in April 2017 and oversees as well as being a key contributor to all of IAG’s editorial pursuits.

Current Issue

Editorial – Better late than never

Editorial – Better late than never

by Ben Blaschke
Thu 31 Jul 2025 at 07:13

Inside Asian Gaming has in recent weeks been hearing increasing chatter around a possible move by Vietnamese authorities to introduce...

Angel’s Yasushi Shigeta

Angel’s Yasushi Shigeta

by Ben Blaschke
Thu 31 Jul 2025 at 07:08

Yasushi Shigeta, Chairman and owner of one of the world’s largest gaming industry suppliers, Angel Group, sits down with Inside...

The Magic Number

The Magic Number

by David Bonnet
Thu 31 Jul 2025 at 06:41

In this in-depth deep dive into the evolution of the Asian gaming landscape, David Bonnet argues that many regional jurisdictions...

Rashid Suliman – A road well traveled

Rashid Suliman – A road well traveled

by Ben Blaschke
Thu 31 Jul 2025 at 02:45

Rashid Suliman, Vice President of Global Gaming Asia-Pacific for casino solutions provider TransAct Technologies, provides some insight into his unique...

Evolution Asia
Your browser does not support HTML5 video.
Aristocrat
GLI
Nustar
SABA
Mindslot
Solaire
Hann
Tecnet
HKUST
NWR

Related Posts

Angel’s Yasushi Shigeta

Angel’s Yasushi Shigeta

by Ben Blaschke
Thu 31 Jul 2025 at 07:08

Yasushi Shigeta, Chairman and owner of one of the world’s largest gaming industry suppliers, Angel Group, sits down with Inside Asian Gaming to discuss the company’s evolution into a true industry titan during his 30-year tenure. He recounts how Angel...

Macau’s IP Economy

Macau’s IP Economy

by Pierce Chan
Thu 31 Jul 2025 at 02:01

As Generation Z – those born between 1995 and 2010 – gradually becomes the main force in consumption, the IP economy has risen rapidly in mainland China. The Macau government is also seizing on this trend, introducing a series of...

Keeping it local

Keeping it local

by Newsdesk
Thu 31 Jul 2025 at 01:48

Melco’s House of Dancing Water provides the company a unique opportunity to help develop and nurture local talent while enabling that talent to learn from the world’s best. Melco Resorts & Entertainment’s reimagined House of Dancing Water debuted at City...

7 Deadly Sins

7 Deadly Sins

by Newsdesk
Thu 31 Jul 2025 at 00:28

Global betting company 1xBet threw a memorable party in Manila in June, featuring as brand ambassador none other than world-renowned actress and model Eva Elfie. On 3 June, global betting company 1xBet hosted a private interactive event for its top...

Your browser does not support the video tag.


IAG

© 2005-2025
Inside Asian Gaming.
All rights reserved.

  • SUBSCRIBE FREE
  • NEWSFEED
  • MAG ARTICLES
  • VIDEO
  • OPINION
  • TAGS
  • REGIONAL
  • EVENTS
  • CONSULTING
  • CONTRIBUTORS
  • MAGAZINES
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • ADVERTISE
  • 中文
  • 日本語

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

No Result
View All Result
  • 中文
  • 日本語
  • Subscribe
  • Newsfeed
  • Mag Articles
  • Video
  • Opinion
  • Tags
  • Regional
  • Events
  • Contributors
  • Magazines
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • About
  • Home for G2E Asia

© 2005-2025
Inside Asian Gaming.
All rights reserved.

  • 中文
  • English
  • 日本語