Lone gunman had been banned by PAGCOR
Officials of Resorts World Manila have conceded that there were lapses in security when a lone gunman stormed the facility, inciting a panic that eventually caused the deaths of 38 people and injured dozens of others.
The resort has been temporarily closed “for a period of mourning,” said Resorts World Manila President Kingson Sian. “We have not determined yet when we will open. Obviously there is an ongoing investigation, so we will cooperate with the various regulators and various government agencies.”
Travellers International Hotel Group Inc., which operates the resort, also postponed its annual stockholders meeting, originally set for June 9, to a “more appropriate” date.
At a government hearing, Resorts World Chief Operating Officer Stephen Reilly admitted that videos of the June 2 attack showed security was lax in certain areas when the gunman burst in.
“When we played the first videos, I pointed out there should have been security personnel posted on certain points and they were not present. We admit openly there were some lapses in security,” he said.
But Sian pointed out that thousands of guests were safely evacuated during the attack, which was first reported as a terrorist attack.
According to reports, the assailant, Jesse Javier Carlos, a former tax official, was also a compulsive gambler who had been banned from all casinos by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. at the request of his family.
The Philippine Star reported that he was one of 450 gambling addicts barred from playing in casinos by PAGCOR.
“This could have probably triggered him, which is why he was so angry at the casinos,” National Capital Region Police Office chief Oscar Albayalde said at a June 4 press conference. “He knew that he couldn’t just go into a casino to gamble because his picture would be posted there and he wouldn’t be allowed inside.”
Carlos also stole boxes of casino chips before committing suicide, reported ABS-CBN.com. Gaming security analyst Shaun McCamley said the action was strange as the chips have no value outside the casino. “To steal chips is just not really heard of very often. It’s highly unusual for someone to come in and try to rob a casino.”
In the wake of the attack, Macau Secretary for Economy and Finance Lionel Leong Vai Tac asked the Chinese territory’s casino operators to submit immediate reports detailing their own security measures, GGRAsia reports.
The people who died—including 13 casino employees—were hiding out in restrooms and a gaming area when Carlos set casino tables and carpets on fire. They died of smoke inhalation. The second floor of Resorts World Manila’s gaming area was badly damaged by the fires. Carlos later died in a hotel room of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Casino magnate Lawrence Ho, whose Melco Resorts & Entertainment owns City of Dreams Manila near Resorts World, has pledged to ramp up security at his own property. “This is certainly an issue we will buckle down on,” Ho told Reuters.
If found guilty of lax security measures, Resorts World may be reprimanded or have its license suspended or rescinded, said Domingo. The aftermath of the attack also included a drop in Philippine casino stocks. Travellers, a joint venture between Malaysia’s Genting Group and the Philippines’ Alliance Global Group, “led the losers,” reported the Nikkei Asia Review. Bloomberry Resorts, which runs Solaire casino, lost 5.58 percent. City of Dreams Manila owner Melco Resorts and Entertainment Philippines dropped 4.26 percent. Belle Corp., which owns the real estate where City of Dreams is located, saw a dip of dropped 4.03 percent.
