By Jenniffer B. Austria | Posted on
Oct. 18, 2012 at 12:01am |
[ manilastandardtoday.com ]
Global Gaming Asset Management
president Bradley Stone (left) presides over a press briefing at the Peninsula
Manila Hotel in Makati City. With him (from left) are Bloomberry Resorts Corp.
director Don Almeda and Solaire Resorts & Casino chief operating officer
Michael French. Bloomberry chairman and president Enrique Razon Jr. (inset)
delivers a speech.
Solaire Resorts & Casino, the
$1-billion integrated gaming and resort project of listed firm Bloomberry
Resorts Corp., said Wednesday it is set to open in March next year.
Global Gaming Asset Management
president Bradley Stone said in a press briefing held at the Peninsula Manila
Hotel in Makati City Solaire was ready to open the first phase of the project,
which includes a 500-room five-star hotel, 18,500 square meters of gaming space
and high-end retail establishments.
Global Gaming is providing management
service to Bloomberry for the Solaire project.
Investment in the first phase is
expected to reach $750 million, while the next stage, which will include the
development of another 300-room hotel, spa and fitness facility, 1,800-seat
theater and other retail and entertainment establishments, will cost another
$250 million.
The components of the next stage will
be ready for operations by 2014.
The gaming area will include 1,200
slot machines, 300 gaming tables and 6,000 square meters of premium VIP gaming
salons.
Stone said the company was confident
about the prospects of the project, given the overall outlook on the Asian
gaming industry, especially in Macau and Singapore, as well as the favorable
tax environment in the Philippines.
He noted the gaming supply in the
Asian region was constrained by regulation, which could create opportunity for
the country.
Stone said Solaire would achieve
higher returns starting on the second year of operations.
“We are looking to ramp up our
business by attracting foreign VIPs,” Stone said.
He expects VIPs, or high rollers, to
account for 45 percent of gaming revenues and the mass market by 55 percent.
Foot traffic may range between 5,000 and 10,000 daily.
Solaire chief operating officer
Michael French said the Solaire project would generate an estimated 4,600 jobs.
“Our goal is to simply raise the bar
for entertainment offerings in Manila, as it is our ambitious vision to be the
ultimate gaming resort in the country,” French said.
The 8.3-hectare Solaire will be the
first integrated resort to open in the government-sponsored Entertainment City
in Parañaque City.
Three other companies that will open
in the area are Belle Corp., Tiger Resorts and Leisure of Azure Corp of Japan
and Bayshore Manila of Travellers International Holdings Inc.
The Philippine will have a
$3.3-billion gaming industry by 2016 once all the four casino projects are
completed. Jenniffer B. Austria
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