Property acquired in 2015
Philippines gaming giant Bloomberry Resorts Corp., which owns and operates the Solaire Resort and Casino in Manila’s Entertainment City, will break ground soon on a new resort project in Quezon City.
Bloomberry Chairman Enrique Razon Jr. said the company hoped to officially break ground on the project this year, but was forced to delay it because “informal settlers” are still living on the site.
“We may start construction early next year,” he said, adding that his company is already at work with Ayala Land Inc. to clear the property. Ayala Land is developing a substantial portion of Vertis North, a 45-hectare (111-acre) master-planned development in the North Triangle property that included the Trinoma Mall.
Solaire was the first integrated resort to open in state-run Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.’s Entertainment City project in Parañaque City. The company posted a net income of P2.32 billion (US$46.4 million) in 2016, up sharply from the P3.37 billion net loss in 2015 on record gaming and non-gaming revenues, reported the Manila Standard. Gross revenues rose 19.1 percent last year to P40.9 billion from P34.2 billion in 2015; gaming revenues accounted for 94.2 percent of total revenues.
Razon said he’s confident the company will remain profitable this year despite new competition in Entertainment City with Kazuo Okada’s $2 billion Okada Manila.
Last year, Razon said he planned to develop the Quezon City property into a mixed-use development with hotel and casino elements that are “similar to Solaire.
“There may be some mixed-use because there is no height restriction. There will be a casino,” Razon said.
