Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | April 2008 30 Project name: Bagong Nayong Pilipino – Manila Bay Integrated City (translating as ‘New Town Philippines – Manila Bay Integrated City’). Project type: A series of individual though interconnected projects offering gaming, leisure, sport and cultural facilities, shopping malls, hotels and housing. Location: An 85-hectare site on reclaimed land at Manila Bay on the outskirts of the national capital. Estimated cost: US$15 billion. Timescale: A project with phased development of three stages over 10 years. Stage one is likely to be completed before the end of 2010. Expected highlights: Gaming facilities featuring the branding of ARUZE Gaming, Wynn Resorts and Genting Group; a Universal Studios theme park; internationally branded hotels; shopping centres; an observation tower (to be known as Pagcor Tower); a Ferris wheel (to be known as the Manila Eye); a sport stadium, cultural facilities including theatres and a museum; housing and a marina. Originators: The Euro-Asian Cooperation on Gaming Association (known as ECG) founded in 2006. It includes executives from Pagcor, ARUZE Gaming, WMS, SJM and Novomatic Group. Also listed as an ECG member is Ted Binion, the founder of Las Vegas- based Blizzard Asset Management. A filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission states that in July 2006, Mr Binion joined Wynn Resorts Ltd on a three-year, US$1.5 million per annum contract as chairman of Wynn International Marketing Ltd. Project participants: International gaming and leisure companies with some domestic development partners. Financial commitment: Pagcor’s terms of reference call for a minimum investment of US$1 Overview of Manila Bay Integrated City billion from interested parties wishing to develop one module of the integrated development. Of this, at least 50% should be equity. Announced partners: ARUZECorp. ,thecompanyfoundedbytheJapaneseslotmachine entrepreneur Kazuo Okada (a shareholder in Wynn Resorts ). Mr Okada confirmed at Asia’s Gaming & Entertainment plus Leisure Expo Manila 2008 (known as Asia’s GEM) that his company considered itself a partner in the venture. Using one of his senior advisors, Mikio Tanji, President of ARUZE Gaming America, as translator, Mr Okada told delegates:“The people of the Philippines provide the best hospitality in the world.It’s a great place for people to come to get away from the pressures of everyday life. We are pleased to have the opportunity to be involved in this project.” Local media reports say the ARUZE contribution will be called Okada Resort Manila Bay and feature 2,000 standard rooms and 300 VIP suites. The reports add it will include the world’s biggest oceanarium, theatres and a giant Ferris wheel similar to the London Eye to be called the Manila Eye. Mr Tanji told Inside Asian Gaming that a Wynn branded venue might also be featured in the project. Genting Berhard of Malaysia is expected to provide its own branded gaming facility and a Universal Studios theme park. Andrew MacDonald, Executive Vice President, Business Development for Genting, said creating large integrated resorts was “like bringing the Olympic Games to a city, but on an annual basis”. He told IAG the company would pay a licensing fee for the right to use the Universal Studios brand, in an arrangement similar to that used for the theme park at its ResortsWorld at Sentosa site in Singapore. He declined to comment on how much Genting was willing to invest in Manila Bay, but a source familiar with the negotiations told IAG the company was considering a commitment “substantially higher”than the US$1 billion investment mentioned in Pagcor’s terms of reference.