South Korean junket firm Dowinn Group has confirmed that it will partner with billionaire businessman Manuel Villar Jr. in his plan to develop and run two casinos in Las Piñas, Metro Manila.
According to Inside Asian Gaming, the South Korean company operates VIP rooms at multiple integrated resorts (IRs) in Manila and Clark. It will serve as a strategic alliance partner in the US$1 billion project proposed by Villar’s Vertex Entertainment and Resort Corp.
The Philippine Star reports that the casinos are part of a broader master-planned development known as Villar City. The first casino will target international high rollers as well as locals, according to reports.
Dowinn told IAG that the full project will comprise “casinos, hotels, theme parks as well as various other exciting components which will make this new project an iconic integrated resort within Metro Manila.
“This is going to be a work of a lifetime—even beyond my lifetime—because of its sheer size,” he said. “I won’t be able to see it through its full completion, but it would be a proud moment for all of us here now to say that we are the pioneers of Villar City.”
The plan includes 15 interconnected “satellite cities” including a tech sector, university town and “premier lifestyle hub.”
“We will open the Brittany Hotel here, hopefully by December this year,” Villar told the Star. “We will also build a golf course nearby, a church, a coliseum where local and foreign artists can perform concerts, as well as a casino. And that’s just one portion of Villar City. We have a lot more ambitious plans in the pipeline that will benefit the Filipino people.”
Besides its VIP rooms, Dowinn Group also operates its own casino in Rizal Park and will open a second at Manila’s Heritage Hotel sometime this year.
According to the Manila Standard, a Korean partner made sense for Villar, as Koreans comprised the largest group of foreign tourists to the Philippines as of April.
The Philippines hopes to double gross gaming revenues (GGR) within the next five years. Alejandro Tengco, head of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR), projects that the industry could $7.9 to $8.8 billion within by 2028. To that end, he said, at least six new casino projects worth a collective $3 billion are in the works.
