Jun 01, 2022 Newsdesk Latest News, Philippines, Top of the deck  
The president of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor), that country’s casino regulator, was quoted on Wednesday as saying he was “shocked to read there was violence and intimidation” being alleged, concerning a Tuesday incident at the Okada Manila gaming resort.
The incident involved an on-site confrontation between the-then sitting management of Okada Manila on one side, and representatives of Okada Manila’s founder, Japanese businessman Kazuo Okada, on the other.
It culminated with Mr Okada’s side saying on Tuesday that he was “once again managing Okada Manila,” having been ousted from its operating entity Tiger Resort, Leisure and Entertainment Inc (TRLEI), in 2017. That year, he was also ousted from the group’s ultimate parent, Universal Entertainment Corp, the Japanese leisure conglomerate he founded.
Alfredo Lim (pictured in a file photo), Pagcor president, was cited by Reuters as saying the regulator’s board was meeting on Wednesday to discuss investigating the incident, and to ensure smooth operations at the casino resort.
Mr Lim said also that Pagcor’s “only concern in this corporate squabble between contending stockholders is that the operation is not disturbed.” He added that the regulator was still awaiting a full report from its staff.
GGRAsia has approached Pagcor for comment on the Okada Manila incident.
On Wednesday, a video was carried by local broadcaster ABS-CBN News, that appeared to show a group of people – some in a type of uniform – in a standoff with another group of people, at Okada Manila. It was shot in what appeared to be near-darkness inside the property.
Estrella Elamparo, a lawyer for the side claiming to be the legitimate representatives of TRLEI, was interviewed by the broadcaster after the video segment, and indicated the confrontation occurred near the end of a stockholders meeting, held at Okada Manila on Tuesday.
She said, referring to a Filipino associate of Mr Okada, there had been a “forced entry of the group of Mr Tonyboy Cojuanco,” with “goons… we call them goons because they were very, very violent”.
GGRAsia has approached Mr Okada’s side seeking a response to the allegations that force was used in Tuesday’s incident.
The attorney added in her comments to ABS-CBN: “While we were having the stockholders’ meeting,” the outsiders “all of a sudden turned off the electricity.., so there were no lights inside the conference room.” People described by Ms Elamparo as “guards”, then “swooped down on the ballroom, and forcibly evicted us”.
May 30, 2023
May 24, 2023
Jun 08, 2023
Jun 08, 2023
Jun 08, 2023
Macau recorded 158 “gaming-related” crimes in the first three months of 2023, up 24.4 percent on the 127 identified in the prior-year period, according to the latest statistics published on...Jun 08, 2023
Gaming content and equipment maker Konami says it is...Jun 07, 2023
Casino gaming content and hardware provider Light &...Jun 06, 2023
Electronic table games (ETGs) supplier Interblock dd is...Jun 05, 2023
Random number generator (RNG) testing tools are among the...Jun 01, 2023
Alfastreet, a manufacturer of electronic gaming machines,...Jun 01, 2023
Casino equipment maker Sega Sammy Creation Inc is tweaking...Jun 01, 2023
The iGaming segment in Asia “has grown rapidly” since...May 31, 2023
Showing slot machine players – via animations on the...May 31, 2023
Macau stocks in likelihood “have been punished too much...May 31, 2023
There are foreign companies still interested in investing...May 31, 2023
Thailand could pass the necessary enabling legislation for...May 30, 2023
China will remain a key market for Asian gaming...May 30, 2023
Alejandro Tengco (pictured in a file photo), chairman and...May 30, 2023
There are “plenty of reasons” for the global gaming...May 30, 2023
Gaming equipment provider International Game Technology Plc...May 30, 2023
The Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia 2023 Special Edition:...May 29, 2023
Austria-based gaming equipment maker and operator Novomatic...May 25, 2023
Sports betting and online casino operating platform...May 24, 2023
The business performance in Asia of gaming content and...May 18, 2023
The organisers of Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia 2023...May 17, 2023
Gaming content and equipment supplier Light & Wonder...May 16, 2023
Casino equipment maker Sega Sammy Creation Inc is to...May 09, 2023
Casino slot machine and digital gaming content provider...May 05, 2023
The Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia event in Singapore is the...May 04, 2023
An adviser to a Thailand parliamentary committee mulling...(Click here for more)
”I think the gaming sector has a huge potential in coming years. The situation around the pandemic drew a lot of attention from the casino operators to the ETG segment”
Michael Hu
President for the Asia-Pacific region at gaming supplier Interblock