The NUSTAR Resort & Casino has officially opened on the Philippines’ Cebu Island, becoming the popular destination’s first-ever integrated resort (IR).
According to NUSTAR’s operators, Universal Hotels & Resorts, the new IR will feature a casino floor of over 200,000 square feet, with approximately 500 tables and 1,500 slots and other gaming machines. The property also touts three hotel towers as well as a high-end shopping center.
NUSTAR was originally slated to open in March, but operators held back due to uncertainties surrounding rising COVID-19 cases. Other casinos in the Philippines, however, have operated at full capacity since March 1 when previous restrictions were lifted.
Cebu Island, a top tourist destination in the Philippines alongside Manila, currently features seven other casinos, but most are small-scale intimate clubs. Some of those properties are operated by the Philippine government, but NUSTAR will mark the first luxury IR on the island.
Ever since the country opened its borders to vaccinated foreign travelers in early February, there has been a strong resurgence of visitor arrivals, specifically from South Korea and China, which have historically been the Philippines’ two largest tourist demographics. Chinese arrivals in particular have increased nearly 40 percent since the beginning of the year, according to the Philippine Department of Tourism.
In 2021,the Philippines Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) reported gross gambling revenue (GGR) of just under $2.2 billion for the year, which was a 14 percent jump from 2020. Those figures, however, are still less than half of pre-COVID averages.
