Frontier Capital’s casino to launch on Sunday: firm

Jul 24, 2019 Newsdesk Latest News, Philippines, Top of the deck  

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Australia-listed casino investor Frontier Capital Group Ltd says it will recommence gaming operations at its casino resort in the Philippines on Sunday, July 28. The company says it had a “soft launch” on June 10, attended by “inspectors” of the country’s casino regulator, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor).

Pagcor officials at the soft opening “verified” the casino’s “compliance”, said Frontier Capital in a Tuesday filing.

The company has controlled since February 2016 the Hotel Stotsenberg (pictured) and the casino facility inside, located at the Clark Freeport Zone, in the Philippines. The gaming venue was previously known as Casablanca Casino, but its operations had been suspended for a number of years as the company had not met Pagcor’s compliance requirements, according to previous filings.

The company had been required by the Philippine casino regulator to settle an escrow account in the amount of PHP225 million (US$4.39 million at current exchange rates). In an April filing the firm said it was “in full compliance” with requirements for reopening its casino. Trading in the firm’s shares is currently suspended.

Tuesday’s filing quoted Henri Ho, Frontier Capital’s chairman, as saying: “The company is pleased to have passed all hurdles and reinstating operations of the casino at our Stotsenberg Hotel.” The gaming facility will operate under the branding FortuneGate Casino, according to the filing.

Mr Ho added in his comments: “We look forward to our official launch on 28 July and to working with FortuneGate, who have a well-established track record in profitable casino operations.”

According to the latest filing, FortuneGate Holdings Philippines Inc has been appointed to manage the casino “on customary commercial terms”. Frontier Capital did not disclose in the filing neither the details of the management contract nor of the number of gaming tables and electronic gaming machines.

FortuneGate Holdings is described in the filing as a Philippine registered company that invests in casino resort projects, as well as a provider of casino operations and management services. The company has as its majority shareholder a British Virgin Islands-registered firm called Tech Innovation Management Ltd.

Frontier Capital said that FortuneGate Holdings has a “strong support in VIP markets, with a focus on the Philippine market.” It added: “The Casablanca Casino has been rebranded ‘FortuneGate Casino’ to capitalise on FortuneGate Holdings’ southeast Asian market presence.”

(Updated on Jun 25, 9am, to amend the name of the parent company of FortuneGate Holdings)

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