Widus International plans expansion of Clark casino

Dec 18, 2014 Newsdesk Latest News, Philippines, Top of the deck  

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Widus International Leisure Inc, the South Korean developer and operator of Widus Hotel and Casino (pictured) at Clark Freeport Zone in the Philippines, plans to invest US$100 million to expand the property. The third tower will feature more hotel rooms and a bigger casino, said Widus International president and chief executive Daesik Han.

Local media quoted Mr Han saying: “I plan to invest an additional US$100 million for hotel and other facilities like restaurants, and bigger casino.”

The investment would be made over a period of four to five years, complementing the US$70 million the company has put into the business since 2008, he added.

The first hotel tower opened in 2008, followed by the casino in December 2009. A second tower was opened in 2012 bringing the total room count to 233. The new hotel tower will add 250 to 300 rooms to the property.

The casino floor was expanded last month, doubling its gaming tables to 52 and adding 100 slot machines to the existent 150.

Mr Han told reporters he would sign a contract to lease an additional site from Clark Development Corp to house the third tower, adding that construction could start as early as May 2015.

There are direct flights from South Korea’s Incheon airport to Clark International Airport. The Clark airport is also served by domestic flights and airlines flying from Macau, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia’s capital city Kuala Lumpur.

“Business is very good from both Korean and local guests,” Mr Han said, according to media reports.

Widus International CEO said most of the clients of the casino are “foreign premium players”, which may spend between PHP300,000 (US$6,709) to PHP1 million during their stay, reported ABS-CBN News.

Mr Han also disclosed plans to hold an initial public offering of 20 percent of the company’s shares by the end of 2015 or early 2016, to fund further expansion.

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