Okada called out over recovery ‘false claims’

The ousted board of Okada Manila denounced “false and preposterous” claims made by the group of Japanese gaming tycoon Kazuo Okada after the $2 billion casino-hotel project enjoyed an upswing in business weeks after his camp seized the property.

It was revenge travel—not the violent takeover—that drove up Okada Manila’s revenues as foot traffic and hotel bookings returned in the postpandemic period, Tiger Resort Asia Ltd., the owner of nearly 100 percent of Okada Manila operator, Tiger Resort Leisure and Entertainment Inc., said in a statement on Tuesday.

“Now that we are at a more comfortable space into the pandemic, almost all of the businesses in the leisure, entertainment, gaming and tourism expect an upswing in booking requests, revenues and visits owing to the revenge travel phenomenon,” Tiger Resort Asia said.

“To claim that the Kazuo Group’s one-month seizure of Okada Manila magically resulted in significant growth in the company’s revenues is just plain and blatant falsehood,” it added. Control over Okada Manila remains in dispute and the case is pending before the Supreme Court.

The deposed board on June 1 said Okada ally, Filipino tycoon Antonio “Tonyboy” Cojuangco, led a party of armed guards and forcibly took control of Okada Manila, evicting their executives in the process.

The group cited an April 2022 Supreme Court “status quo ante order” supposedly recognizing Okada as the rightful owner of the casino project even as this appeared to contradict legal rulings involving foreign companies that ultimately own the Okada Manila development. The overseas firms, including Japan-listed pachinko and slot machine giant Universal Entertainment Corp. and parent firm Okada Holdings Ltd., are controlled by Okada’s estranged family.

Tiger Resort Asia maintained there was no formal turnover of management to Okada’s group.

“[T]here was, in fact, a violent takeover,” it said, citing video evidence and testimonies showing “the brute force used on the legitimate board to illegally take over Okada Manila.” INQ