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Philippines – Okada predicts profit in first year at preview of Okada Manila

By - 23 December 2016

Universal Entertainment previewed its $2.4bn Okada Manila casino in the Philippines with Chairman Kazuo Okada’s claims that it could help the Philippines surpass Singapore in terms of gaming revenue.

Okada Manila, a joint venture between Okada and Filipino businessman Antonio “Tonyboy” Cojuangco, was originally supposed to be opened by Tiger Resort last November but was delayed due to worse-than-expected weather conditions. It is the third integrated casino-resort to open in Manila’s Entertainment City and is also the biggest with over 26,000 square meters (280,000 square feet) of gaming space. It will have over 3,000 electronic gaming machines and just under 500 table games with 70 table games linked to an Asian first progressive jackpot system.

The official opening is scheduled for the first quarter of 2017.

Universal Entertainment Chairman Kazuo Okada said: “A lot of Chinese are coming into the Philippines, and that will improve more as improving bilateral relations between China and the Philippines increase tourism here. The gaming market here in Philippines has a lot of room for growth. We are very positive. Our initial target is to have 30 per cent of the guests from the international segment, but we would eventually like to bring that up to 50 per cent. We are looking at China, Taiwan, Korea and Japan. If you think about it from proximity, a lot of our guests will initially be coming from China and Taiwan.”

A highlight of the preview event was a ‘spectacular firework display beautifully enhanced with a laser light show that can be seen as far as Quezon City.’

Okada Manila stated: “This spectacle of lights is the first of its kind in Manila and a preview to what guests can expect from one of the newest and most magnificent entertainment complexes in Asia.”

Mr. Okada believes the new casino will be profitable in its first year of operations and that it will give a return on his investment within three to five years.

He also believes it will allow the Philippines to challenge Singapore for the number two spot in Asia.

Rommel Rodrigo, an analyst at Maybank ATR Kim Eng, believes that GGR in the Philippines could reach $3bn this year and could rise to $3.6bn in 2018, which is still less than Singapore’s two casino resorts, which generated $4.8bn in 2015 and Macau, which despite two years of decline brought in $28.9bn in 2015.

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