Pagcor eyes penalty for Japanese casino developer

Kazuo Okada. AP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — The county’s casino gambling regulator is likely to penalize the local unit of Japan’s Universal Entertainment Corp., led by billionaire Kazuo Okada, if it fails to open its $2-billion project in the Entertainment City complex by Manila Bay by March next year.

March 2015 was the deadline that Universal Entertainment’s local unit, Tiger Resort Leisure and Entertainment, had originally committed to the government, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. chairman Cristino Naguiat Jr. told reporters late Tuesday.

However, in recent weeks, Tiger Resort, which has yet to settle a foreign land ownership issue relating to its Entertainment City property, said they would open by the end of 2015 at the earliest.

“Our lawyers are looking into it; I’m sure there will be a penalty,” Naguiat said, referring to a P100-million performance bond that could be forfeited by the company.

“They announced [recently] they will open in December 2015. They did not mention our deadline,” Naguiat added. “Based on their project implementation plan, they are supposed to finish by March next year.”

This development comes amid a dispute between Tiger Resort and partner Century Properties Group Inc.. A local court recently barred Okada from terminating the partnership seen as crucial in addressing a thorny foreign land ownership issue.

Lawmakers here said that Tiger Resort’s project, called Manila Bay Resorts, cannot open its doors until the land ownership issue is settled.

Tiger Resort is expected to be the third of four integrated casino and entertainment complexes to open in Entertainment City, a development that the government hopes would be able to one day compete with regional gaming hubs like Macau and Singapore.

The first to open was Enrique Razon Jr.’s Solaire Resort and Casino, which went into operation in 2013. City of Dreams Manila, a venture between Filipino billionaire Henry Sy and Macau’s Melco Crown Entertainment, is set to open later this year.

Bayshore City Resorts World, a venture between Filipino billionaire Andrew Tan and Malaysia’s Genting Group, plans to open its doors in the fourth quarter of 2018.

Tiger Resort did not immediately respond to an Inquirer request for comment on Wednesday.

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