Inside Asian Gaming

inside asian gaming January 2015 14 Weaving a Destination The Manila Bay entertainment district begins to take shape with the soft opening of City of Dreams Manila By Muhammad Cohen Cover Story The sneak preview attracted an estimated 13,000 people to the resort with the slogan “Where everything is above all else.” Above all else in the center of the main casino floor sits the high wattage Center Stage Bar featuring Philippine crooners, European dancers and lighting panels above that change color and can descend to envelop the stage, which also can rise and descend. The rectangular ground level main gaming floor surrounds Center Stage, with 120 of the 166 table games with minimums ranging from 300 Philippine pesos (US$7) to PHP3,000, and most of the 1,700 gaming machines. The roughly 5,000 square meter gaming floor layout is spacious, orientation is simple and signage is ample. The casino’s upper level, featuring a 12-table poker area, links to the developing retail mall, DreamWorks indoor theme park and nightclub impresario Michael Van Cleef Ault’s Pangaea and Chaos, all expected to open before Chinese New Year. Also coming soon, the premium-mass Signature Club, an understatedly luxurious members- C ity of Dreams Manila started small with its soft opening on Sunday, 14th December. Just the mass gaming floor opened along with a handful of food and beverage outlets. But the property’s elevated stage at the casino entrance, three international hotel brands and two famous name nightclubs say the first Macau casino operator in the Philippines aims to make a big splash. “It’s the only casino here that resembles Vegas or Macau,” Manuel Gana, executive vice president and chief financial officer of property co- owner Belle Corporation says, noting the entertainment factor and accent on flashiness and fun. “Quality-wise, it’s on par with Solaire,” the first casino resort in Manila’s bay front Entertainment City casino district that opened in March 2013 and began rolling out its Phase 1-A expansion in November. City of Dreams Manila, “the gateway to Entertainment City,” as it styles itself, occupies 6.2 hectares at the city end of the burgeoning integrated resort cluster, where twomore IRs are expected to open by 2018.