Third of four IRs planned for Entertainment City
Okada Manila opened its doors last week in what it called a preview period ahead of its grand opening early next year. The preview—which the operator insists is different from a “soft opening”—featured a free Christmas concert with Filipino headliners Lani Misalucha, Regine Velasquez and Bamboo and a fireworks and laser lights display.
The $2.4 billion complex in Manila’s Entertainment City is run by Tiger Resort, Leisure and Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Universal Entertainment Inc., owned by Japanese billionaire and pachinko tycoon Kazuo Okada.
Phase I of the project covers half of the total 44-hectare (109-acre) parcel in Parañaque. As the third property to open in Entertainment City, the facility includes a 993-room hotel; a casino with 500 table games and 3,000 electronic gaming machines; 21 food and beverage outlets; and a dancing fountain “that would rival the best in Las Vegas and Dubai,” according to a company release.
Okada said last week that his company will hire about 20,000 Filipinos through 2018 for the property. He said he plans to bid for a Philippine airport and develop resorts on the islands of Palawan and Boracay. At the end of next year, he added, he plans to list his casino business on the Philippine Stock Exchange.
The other casino resorts operating in Entertainment City are Solaire Resort and Casino, from Bloomberry Resorts Corp., which opened in March 2013; and City of Dreams Manila, operated by a unit of Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd, which opened in December 2014.
