Solaire banks on expansion, competition to attract foreign high-rollers

Competition and the expansion of Solaire Manila Resort & Casino in Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.'s (Pagcor) 100-hectare Entertainment City next year will attract more foreign high-rollers to the casino, increasing foot traffic and its revenues, an official of Bloomberry Resorts Corporation said Monday.

"Average foot traffic is 10,000 to 15,000 a day...majority is local. Our goal is to switch that over time. It is the goal of the Entertainment City to bring in more foreign business players," Bloomberry chief operating officer Michael French told reporters after the company's annual stockholder's meeting Monday.

"Now, we're the only property [operating] in Entertainment City. Some other [casino operators] would help [bring in more players]," French added.

He brought up Belle Grande, another Pagcor licensee in Entertainment City.

"They're operated by Melco Crown and they're very well known in China and Macau, so they'll bring in a lot of foreign business. The more people selling the Philippines as a destination, the better," French said.

On Monday, Reuters reported that Melco Crown (Philippines) Resorts Corp., the Philippine unit of Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd., is on track to open its $1 billion gaming complex in Manila by mid-2014, targeting not just Chinese gamblers but Southeast Asian high-rollers as well.
 
Melco Crown, with partner Belle Corp., will build a 950-room hotel, open 240 tables and put up 1,250 slot machines in the integrated resort.

Meanwhile, Solaire's P20.5-billion Phase 1-A expansion is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2014, Bloomberry chairman Enrique K. Razon said.

"Phase 1-A is currently under construction, with construction cost estimated to reach P7.8 billion by end-2013," he said.

"As of May this year, construction is 40 percent complete.  Topping off of the last floor is expected in December this year, and we hope to inaugurate Phase 1-A in the third quarter of 2014," he added.

'Ramping up nicely'

Phase 1-A will include a 308-room all-suite hotel tower, high-end retail area, a 1,800-seater lyrical theater and more restaurants.  

"Next year will be stabilizing once our 1-A is complete. I think that would be good as well as when other properties open. We'll be at an advantage, we'll be bringing in more foreign players," French said.

For Solaire's performance, Razon said "everything has been ramping up nicely."

"As Solaire enters into its second quarter of commercial operation, plans are in the works to ramp up activities in all sectors. Solaire is thick into the process of further building up its gaming business," he said.

"A number of junket operators have signed up to bring in foreign VIP players. Concurrently, numerous promotional programs and strategic marketing activities are ready to be launched," Razon added.

In the first quarter, Bloomberry Resorts posted a net loss of P1.056 billion, way higher than the P133.91 million recorded in the same period last year as expenses overshadowed the revenues it earned during the 15-day operation of Solaire Manila Resort & Casino.

The firm has earned P578.3 million in total revenues in the first 15 days of commercial operations of Solaire.

Controlled by billionaire port operator Enrique Razon and run by Las Vegas-based Global Gaming Asset Management, the $750-billion Solaire Phase 1 officially started operations on March 16 and is the first development in Entertainment City.

The other licensees in Entertainment City are Andrew Tan's Travellers International Hotel Group Inc. and Kazuo Okada's Tiger Resorts Leisure and Entertainment Inc. — BM, GMA News