New Casinos In The Philippines

Recently it became known that Melco Crown Entertainment, a game company from Macao, together with the richest man in the Philippines, are planning to build a billion-dollar casino in Manila, the capital of the Philippines, which clearly indicates a trend towards the expansion of the gaming industry in Southeast Asia. On July 5, 2012, Melco announced the development of the project together with three companies of the Philippine tycoon Henry Si. Melco itself is run by Lawrence Ho, the son of Stanley Ho's "casino king," and James Packer, the son of Australian media tycoon Kerry Packer. Melco signed an agreement with the investment company C - SM Investment Corp., its real estate company Belle Corp., and its entertainment division Premium Leisure and Amusement Inc.

The Philippine Gambling Commission has already issued a license for the group to operate a casino, which, as planned, will include, in addition to gambling halls, a hotel and a shopping and entertainment center. The building is going to be located in the Bay of Manila, in a prosperous area, mostly occupied by the middle class. At the moment, the company is ready to invest up to $ 580 million in the project. Interestingly, the company has so far avoided investing in enterprises outside Macau, where it owns two successful casinos, and is already developing a third.

A representative of the President of the Philippines, Benino Aquino, said that the entertainment center will consist not only of casinos, but mainly of shops and all kinds of entertainment. We are not just pushing people to play in a casino, says Edwin Lacerda, another representative of the presidential administration - a modern urban dweller needs much, much more

Melco says that the time chosen for construction is designed to maximize the benefits of the expected growth of the tourism industry in the Philippines, and a sharp increase in recent years, the number of people and the middle class in all Asian countries. Currently, the Philippines is one of the developing tourism regions. In 2008, the Philippines visited more than 4 million tourists, the authorities forecast a doubling of the region's attendance by 2014. In this case, the hopes of investors and the government's calculation of the flow of funds into the state treasury are justified. Wait and see.