Philippines regulator PAGCOR says it will wait for “substantial completion” of the four resort casinos slated for Manila’s Entertainment City district before deciding whether to issue new licenses.
U.S. casino giant Caesars Entertainment is interested in developing a US$1 billion casino near the capital’s international airport and has submitted the idea to PAGCOR.
Officials with the agency say they have met twice with Caesars executives but they’ve said the discussions “are only at a conceptual stage.”
“In both occasions, PAGCOR disclosed that it prefers to see a substantial completion of the Entertainment City to have a better feel of the capacity of the market to absorb new supply before considering a possible fifth licences,” the regulator told the Philippines’ BusinessWorld newspaper.
Designed to boost foreign tourism and provide jobs, Entertainment City, a government-backed reclamation area totaling 120 hectares. The first of the four casinos planned for the district, Solaire Resort & Casino, owned by PSX-listed Bloomberry Resorts, opened last March.
The second, City of Dreams Manila, operated by Macau casino giant Melco Crown Entertainment, is due to have a soft opening in December in partnership with local retail conglomerate SM Group.
Universal Entertainment, controlled by Japanese machine gaming magnate Kazuo Okada, is slated to open the third in 2016: Manila Bay Resorts, it’s called.
The fourth, Bayshore City Resorts World, is targeting a 2018 opening with another Philippine conglomerate, Alliance Global Group, in control in partnership with Genting Hong Kong. The two also jointly run the country’s largest casino, Resorts World Manila, located near the airport.
Solaire, meanwhile, has already begun to expand, adding 66 VIP gaming tables and 223 slot machines at the end of November together with a second hotel tower consisting of 312 suites and attractions that include a 1,760-seat theater and meetings space.
