GGRAsia – New Philippines casino soft opening this week

New Philippines casino soft opening this week

Apr 25, 2016 Newsdesk Latest News, Philippines, Top of the deck

Midori Clark Hotel and Casino in the Philippines is to have a soft opening this week for the casino only, initially with 12 gaming tables and 140 machines. The property will eventually have 39 tables and 160 gaming machines.

“The grand opening including the hotel will be end of June or first week of July,” said the marketing team of the property in an email to GGRAsia.

The property is at Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga, on Luzon Island. It is described as a five-minute drive away from Clark International Airport and fewer than two hours’ drive from the north of the country’s capital Manila.

“We are opening only two food and beverage outlets at the moment for the casino operations,” the marketing team said.

The property covers 9,900 square metres (106,500 sq feet) and is slated to have 111 rooms (one shown here in a rendering) using eight different floor plans and sets of room fittings. The venue will also have a ballroom with capacity for 400 guests, according to a press release.

Other facilities will include five dining outlets, a spa, gymnasium, swimming pool, mahjong rooms, and a karaoke venue.

The marketing team confirmed to GGRAsia that the resort’s developer is BB International Leisure and Resort Development Corp, whose president is Irineo ‘Bong’ Alvaro. The hotel’s registered name is Central Summit International Leisure Hotel Inc, while the casino is Midori Casino.

In other developments in the country’s gaming sector, the Philippine Star newspaper reported on Monday – quoting the entrepreneur – that Enrique Razon would build a second casino in that country, starting next year.

It will be on a PHP1.9-billion (US$40.6-million) plot, covering 15,676 square metres (168,735 sq feet) in Quezon City, north of Metro Manila.

Mr Razon’s firm Bloomberry Resorts Corp – which controls the Solaire Resort and Casino in Manila – bought the land for the new project from the National Housing Authority last year. It did so via Bloomberry’s hotel and resort development arm Sureste Properties Inc.

“It [the new project] would be more similar to Solaire. There may be some mixed-use because there is no height restriction. There will be a casino,” Mr Razon told the Philippine Star.

In a statement to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday, Bloomberry Resorts confirmed the statement made by Mr Razon. “However, we note that these plans are subject to relevant regulatory and government approvals,” said the firm.