Macau gambling junket investor Tak Chun Group is to launch on Tuesday a new VIP gaming club at casino resort Okada Manila (pictured) in the Philippines, a Tak Chun representative confirmed to GGRAsia.
The new high-roller facility at Okada Manila, a property operated by a unit of Japanese gaming conglomerate Universal Entertainment Corp, will feature 18 gaming tables in five rooms, and marks an expansion of Tak Chun’s VIP gaming business in the city, said the company’s spokesperson.
According to the person, this will be Tak Chun’s third VIP gaming club in the Philippines market. The junket investor already promotes two VIP clubs in Manila: one at Solaire Resort and Casino, a property owned and operated by Bloomberry Resorts Corp; and another VIP facility at City of Dreams Manila, a property operated by a unit of Asian casino investor Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd.
Tak Chun has been expanding its operations in Macau and other neighbouring jurisdictions.
Universal Entertainment had said last month that the “start of full-scale operations of a VIP casino” in 2018 was “expected to make a big contribution to sales” at Okada Manila.
Okada Manila, promoted by Universal Entertainment’s unit Tiger Resort, Leisure and Entertainment Inc, had a progressive soft opening, starting in December 2016 with some amenities but excluding at that time the hotel accommodation.
Brokerage Morgan Stanley Asia Ltd suggested in a report in January that Okada Manila is likely to make this year an outsize contribution to private-sector casino gross gaming revenue (GGR) in Manila. The institution said it expected Okada Manila to take market share from the three established private-sector gaming resorts there.
