Entertainment City Ramps Up in Manila
When the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) first proposed the Entertainment City development, consisting of four integrated resorts on a patch of reclaimed land adjacent to Manila Bay, the agency struggled to sign up owners and operators for the tracts. Company after company turned down inducements to join the development, including Las Vegas Sands, Wynn Resorts, MGM Resorts, Crown Casinos, Caesars Entertainment and many others. The insistence that the company invest at least US billion was part of the reason for the disfavor, but others included the congestion of Manila, the irregular regulatory system in the Philippines and uncertainty about the market.
But when Genting opened a smaller resort, Resorts World Manila, adjacent to Manila’s airport, profits rolled in and companies came back to take a second look. Those results changed minds, and Genting was the among the first to commit to a second resort. Last month, Genting HK announced that it would soon begin construction of the first phase of a $1.1 billion project. The announcement was made at the groundbreaking of the third phase of Resorts World Manila, which Genting owns along with local magnate Andrew Tan’s Alliance Global Inc.
Resorts World Bayshore will eventually contain 800 rooms in two upscale hotels, a 3,000-seat opera house, a mall and two residential towers—not to mention a casino twice the size of Resorts World Manila. Genting’s partner in the project is Travellers International Hotel Group Inc.
The announcement follows the conclusion of a deal that puts Melco Crown as part owner, along with Philippine property developer Belle Corp., and operator of the Belle Grand project, which is already under way with the first phase slated to open in 2014.
Solaire will be the first resort to open in Entertainment City sometime late next year. Owned by Enrique “Ricky” Razon’s Bloomberry Resorts Corp., the operators include veterans from Las Vegas Sands in Las Vegas and Macau.
The fourth parcel is the now-disputed project by Kazuo Okada’s Universal Entertainment. Construction has begun, but its future is uncertain until allegations that Okada bribed Philippine officials to acquire the license are fully investigated.
