Solaire could drop to second place as COD comes online
With the grand opening of Melco Crown’s City of Dreams in Manila, the Philippines could see a great leap forward in its status as a global gaming destination.
The Asia Gambling Brief said the opening “is expected to be a game changer” for Manila, giving guests “a Macau experience” without the high tax rate?or the intimidating government scrutiny. Solaire, which opened in 2013, is currently the largest casino in the country, with an estimated market share of 29.4 percent. That beats Resorts World Manila, which now corners 28.8 percent of the market.
“On our estimates, City of Dreams Manila will become the market share leader and capture 23 percent of total market share by 2018, followed by Solaire at 20 percent and
Resorts World Manila at 16 percent,” said a report from Citi.
Travellers reported gross gaming revenue of PHP 7.2 billion ($US1.6 billion) in the third quarter of 2014. Bloomberry Resorts saw better returns, reporting more than the PHP 7.7 billion ($US1.7 billion). When the numbers are in, they could show a tumble in gross gaming revenue at Resorts World of as much as 9 percent for the year. That number could fall another 6 percent in 2015 as City of Dreams opens.
“We believe the exceptional growth in the Philippines gaming market seen in 2014 was a perfect example of ‘Build it and they will come,’” the report said.
