PH Resorts Group says it has requested and received approval from Philippines gaming regulator PAGCOR to voluntarily suspend a provisional license it was previously granted to develop an integrated resort in Clark.
To be known as The Base, PH Resorts Group’s Clark IR was being prepared on 4.4 hectares of land within Udenna Group’s 177-hectare Clark Global City, with 600 electronic gaming machines, 100 gaming tables and 400 hotel rooms plus retail space and restaurants.
It had been scheduled to open in 2022 but the company announced Wednesday that its local subsidiary, Clark Grand Leisure Corp (CGLC), had asked PAGCOR for a voluntary suspension of its license “due to some lingering uncertainties surrounding the casino gaming industry, especially with more competition in the Clark, Pampanga location.”
The voluntary suspension, which can be lifted at a later date pending PAGCOR approval, will also allow PH Resorts Group to focus its resources on the construction and development of its larger IR project, the Emerald Bay Resort and Casino, in Cebu, it said.
“As present financial projections center on PH Resorts Group’s plans for the Emerald Bay project, the voluntary suspension of CGLC’s license will have no effect on current financial numbers,” the company explained. “Thus, PH Resorts Group expects that the suspension will have little to no impact on [its] business.”
Emerald Bay is currently on track for a full opening by 3Q22 with Phase 1 to include 122 gaming tables, 600 EGMs and 270 hotel rooms.