State-run Philippine Entertainment and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) has already received a concept offer for the casino resort from Caesars Entertainment Corporation, but Philippine gaming regulators say they will wait for “significant completion” of Entertainment City before deciding on a new license.
Caesars plans to invest more than $1 billion in a casino resort near Manila International Airport. Caesars’ plans could also include redeveloping the capital’s airport and adding light rail links for terminals 1 and 2, according to local media reports.
Pagcore told Philippine newspaper Business World that he had met with Caesars executives twice, but said the discussions were “just a conceptual step.”
“In both cases, Pagcor said it preferred entertainment cities to be largely completed to better feel the market’s capacity to absorb new supplies before considering the possibility of a fifth license,” the regulator cited by BusinessWorld said.
The Philippines is currently developing a 120-hectare landfill (entertainment city) close to Manila as a casino cluster to mimic the success of Macau’s Kotai district.
The minimum price for each entertainment city resort is US$1 billion. The first hotel, Soler Resort and Casino, opened last year and is owned by Bloomberry Resort. The second location, City of Dreams Manila, will open in December and is sponsored by the city of Henry, the richest man in the Philippines, and Melco Crown Entertainment, a Macau-based game operator.
Other license holders include: Alliance Global Group, which manages already operational Resorts World Manila, near the capital’s airport, and Genting Hong Kong Inc, and Universal Entertainment Inc, owned by Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada.
Asked if he was concerned about Caesars’ finances, Pagcor told BusinessWorld: “It’s too early to think about whose financial capacity it is.”
Bloomberg News, citing two people familiar with the negotiations, reported a net loss of $988 million in the third quarter.
Caesars consolidated business long-term debt fell to $22.9 billion at the end of September from $24.2 billion at the end of June.
Caesar’s president of international development, Stephen Tait, said in October that the corporate debt burden would not be a barrier to the Manila project. 카지노사이트 모음
He told GGRAsia: “We’ve now created Caesars Growth Partners, LLC, a new corporation that can be a vehicle to invest in projects. They [the corporation] certainly have the right resources and a very strong balance sheet.”
