Adding non-gaming amenities at COD
Belle Corp. and Melco Crown Philippines, partners in the $1.13 billion City of Dreams casino resort in the Philippines’ Entertainment City complex, plan to expand inside and/or outside metropolitan Manila, according to the Philippine Star.
At Belle Corp.’s annual stockholders’ meeting, Vice Chairman Willy Ocier said the partners are scouting for a second casino site beyond the casino zone in Parañaque City and would seek a second gaming license with the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., the state-run gaming regulator, according to the Manila Standard. “We are looking for neighboring site or land contiguous with COD,” Ocier said. “We are open also for a joint venture partnership.”
City of Dreams Manila opened in December 2014 and reported net revenues of $491.2 million in 2016, up from $300.4 million in the prior year. VIP gaming volume at the resort grew 110.1 percent to $6.83 billion, while the mass-market segment was up 24.7 percent to $550.5 million in volume.
Ocier said the Entertainment City resort is currently operating at “full capacity,” and the partners will also expand at that site. Belle Corp. owns an 8,000-square-meter (86,000-square-foot) property adjacent to City of Dreams Manila, which the company could use to build additional non-gaming facilities.
“It could be retail, hotel or office space,” Ocier said.
