Inside Asian Gaming

IAG NOV 2022年11月 亞博匯 100 26-50 CHAIRMAN AND CEO Hann Philippines Inc 主席兼行政總裁 Hann Philippines Inc CLAIMS TO FAME 名成事跡 POWER SCORE 權能指數: 669 POSITION LAST YEAR 去年排名: NIL 無 Driving force behind Clark Freeport Zone’s emergence as a world-class gaming destination 推動克拉克自由港區發展成新的國際博彩目的地 DAESIK HAN 34 KOREAN-BORN Daesik Han had no gaming experience when he first visited Clark – the isolated Pampanga township best known as the former Philippines base of the US Air Force – back in 2005. But he could see potential, opening his first hotel, Widus, in the area in 2008 on the anticipation that, one day in the future, the airport would be revived and transport connections with Manila brought up to scratch. Fast forward 15 years and Han’s vision is rapidly becoming reality. From a modest 24 tables and 150 slot machines when Widus opened its original casino back in 2009, his latest expansion project – which has seen Widus Hotel & Casino rebrand as Hann Casino Resort – launched earlier this year with 147 tables and 868 machines. All told, the Hann expansion covers 130,000 square meters including 380 hotel rooms across 19 storeys of the Philippines’ first ever Swissôtel, specialty dining options, retail outlets, a swimming pool, an executive lounge and event venues such as a ballroom and function rooms – not dissimilar to the spectacular integrated resorts that comprise Manila’s Entertainment City. Han’s lead is being followed across Clark via the likes of fellow casino resorts Royce – which is close to launching its own expansion project – D’Heights and Midori. But he isn’t finished yet, with plans to develop three golf courses and four hotels on 450 hectares of land in New Clark City – part of a vision to transform Clark into a unique gaming and golfing destination. “The idea is that if we are thinking about VIP players and if they are serious golfers, then 10% of them will look for [something like] this,” Han told IAG in a recent interview. "They’re going to be very happy to look for an IR where they can enjoy themselves and play golf. In five years’ time there will be quite a lot more golf courses, and this is going to be a golfing destination.” 韓國出生 的Daesik Han於2005年首次造訪克拉克時，尚對博彩業一無所 知。克拉克原是邦板牙省的小鎮，以前美國空軍菲律賓基地而聞名。但他 留意到當地的發展潛力，於2008年在克拉克開設了首個酒店物業Widus， 預期當地機場在未來將恢復活力，與馬尼拉的交通連接亦會發展起來。 快轉至十五年後，Daesik Han當年的願景正迅速地變成現實。Widus 於2009年開設賭場，當時只設有24張賭桌和150台角子機，而他今年早前 提出的最新物業擴展計劃是，將Widus Hotel & Casino更名為 Hann Ca- sino Resort，並將項目的博彩規模擴至147張賭桌和868台角子機。總而 言之，Hann Casino Resort的擴建佔地13萬平方米，新增設施包括菲律賓 首家樓高19層、設380間客房的瑞士酒店（Swissôtel）、特色餐飲場所、 零售商店、游泳池、行政酒廊，以及宴會廳和多功能廳等活動場所，這設 計與馬尼拉娛樂城的綜合度假村項目的規模相差不大。 Daesik Han在克拉克的舉動，獲當地其他賭場度假村項目跟隨，包括 Royce （即將推出擴建計劃）、 D'Heights 和 Midori。 但Daesik Han的大計不止於此，他計劃在新克拉克市一幅佔地450公 頃的土地上開發三個高爾夫球場和四家酒店，將克拉克變身成為一個獨特 的博彩和高爾夫球目的地。 「我們的想法是，如果考慮高端（VIP）玩家，當他們是真正的高爾 夫球手時，那麼至少有10%的玩家會尋找這樣的地方。」Daesik Han最近 接受《亞博匯》訪問時稱：「他們會樂於尋找一個可以讓他們享樂及打高 爾夫球的綜合度假村。未來五年，這裡將有更多的高爾夫球場，這裡將成 為一個高爾夫球目的地。」