Posted on December 10, 2014 11:07:00
PM
THE LOCAL UNIT of Macau casino giant
Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. yesterday announced that City of Dreams Manila
will open its doors to punters this weekend for a sneak peek of its
gold-turreted casino-resort in state-run Entertainment City, before a grand
launch early next year.
AN ARTIST rendition of integrated
casino City of Dreams Manila -- CITYOFDREAMS.COM.PH
In a disclosure to the Philippine
Stock Exchange, Melco Crown (Philippines) Resorts Corp. said it received on
Tuesday a “Notice to Commence Casino Operations” from the Philippine Amusement
and Gaming Corp., the country’s casino regulator.
The 6.2-hectare project, operated by
Melco’s wholly owned indirect subsidiary MCE Leisure (Philippines) Corp., will
commence operations on Dec. 14.
A grand opening is scheduled before
Chinese New Year in 2015, which falls on Feb. 19.
The company is the local unit of
Macau-based Melco Crown. The parent company is controlled by Australian media
mogul James Packer and billionaire Lawrence Ho, son of Macau gambling industry
legend Stanley Ho.
City of Dreams Manila is a joint
venture with SM Group’s Belle Corp. located in Parañaque City. It will have
entertainment
, hotel, and retail components, while
its gaming space will include 380 gaming tables, 1,700 slot machines, and 1,700
electronic table
games
.
The casino will be bringing in
Singapore’s Pangaea luxe lounge and Japanese restaurant Nobu, among others.
The integrated casino will be the
second of four to open in Entertainment City along the Manila Bay.
Bloomberry Resorts Corp. of port
magnate Enrique Razon opened the first phase of its $1.2 billion Solaire Resort
& Casino last year.
The two other licensees in the
100-hectare Entertainment City are Resorts World Bayshore of Travellers
International Hotel Group, Inc. -- which is a partnership of tycoon Andrew L.
Tan and Genting Hong Kong Ltd. -- and Tiger Resorts and Entertainment, Inc. of
Japanese casino mogul Kazuo Okada.
On June 18, Melco Crown Philippines
said its board has approved a 32% increase in the project’s budget, to P37
billion from P28 billion.
On Wednesday, shares in the company
lost 10 centavos or 0.76% to end trading at P13 apiece. -- Daphne J. Magturo
