Philippines Okada Manila Casino To Open This December

Construction for Phase 1 of the mega casino resort project Okada Manila which is being built in Manila, the capital city of Philippines is on track according to filings submitted to the Tokyo Stock Exchange by its developer Universal Entertainment Corp.

Universal Entertainment is owned by Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada. According to the schedule, the first set of facilities of the integrated resort will be opened by end of next month, although no specific date has been revealed yet.

In a statement, Universal Entertainment said

The initial opening of the property, including the hotel (except staterooms for VIPs), food and beverage outlets, casino and other major attractions, will take place at the end of December.

Universal Entertainment also stated in its filing it has raised $400 million for the Phase 1 development enabling it to complete construction in time.

Okada Manila

Philippine gaming regulator PACGOR ‘s Head Andrea Domingo had mentioned last month that Phase 1 of the Okada Manila casino will open its doors by December 2016. Scheduled to initially open by March 2015, the project faced several delays due to a number of reasons. The company subsequently got its deadline extended after making a request to PAGCOR.

Okada Manilla is being constructed within Manila Entertainment City, a dedicated zone for casinos which will host four major casino complexes, two of which have already commenced operations in the Solaire Resort and Casino and the City of Dreams Manila. Okada Manila will be the third casino resort to open and will be operated by a local subsidiary of Universal Entertainment, Tiger Resort, Leisure and Entertainment. The fourth casino resort will be Resorts World Bayshore which is scheduled to finish construction in 2018.

The first phase of the project will be spread across 22 hectares of the total 44 hectares of land available. Around 41,000 square meters of this will have a casino featuring around 3,000 electronic games and 500 table games. Other amenities include a hotel with over 900 rooms, luxury shopping operations, a beach club, a large spa, and several food and beverage options.

Tiger Resort has ramped up hiring for the casino operations according to local media reports. Around 8,000 people for both operational and management roles have so far been hired. More than 19,000 construction workers were employed by the company during the development phase. Tiger Resort is working towards ensuring that the facility is ready according to the schedule committed to PAGCOR.