Inside Asian Gaming

IAG NOV 2022年11月 亞博匯 112 26-50 PRESIDENT Tiger Resort, Leisure and Entertainment Inc 總裁 Tiger Resort Leisure and Entertainment, Inc CLAIMS TO FAME 名成事跡 POWER SCORE 權能指數: 564 POSITION LAST YEAR 去年排名: 48 Former Deutsche Bank and Union Gaming investment banker 曾在投行德意志銀行及Union Gaming任職 BYRON YIP 46 IT’S BEEN a tumultuous few months for Byron Yip. In late May, a group representing the former Chairman of Okada Manila operator Tiger Resort, Leisure and Entertainment Corp, Kazuo Okada, stormed the Philippines integrated resort and took control, claiming a recently issued court order gave them the right to do so. In the blink of an eye, Yip and his executive team were locked out of their own property – sparking a series of legal and public relations battles over who is truly entitled to control of Okada Manila. That question appears to have been answered to some extent, with Philippines gaming regulator PAGCOR ordering the Kazuo Okada group out in early September, and Yip reinstated under the guidance of Okada Manila’s ultimate parent company, Japan’s Universal Entertainment Corp. While the drama delayed plans for TRLEI to list on the NASDAQ via a previously agreed SPAC merger, there is at least reason for optimism looking forward, with the Philippines enjoying a post-COVID resurgence. Shortly before Yip’s reinstatement, TRLEI announced that gross gaming revenues in 2Q22 had grown by 38% over the March quarter with expectations of ongoing growth well into 2023. That’s great news for Okada Manila, which used the pandemic period to ensure the last of its 1,000 hotel rooms – the most among Manila’s IRs – were finally fitted out and ready for guests. 對 Byron Yip而言，過去幾個月無疑頗為動蕩。5月下旬，一個代表岡田馬 尼拉營運商Tiger Resort, Leisure and Entertainment Corp公司之前任主 席岡田和生的派系公然闖入並強行控制了該綜合度假村，並號稱是早前法 院頒佈的令狀賦予其為此的權利。 轉眼間Yip及其管理團隊被逐出自己的物業，並由此引發一系列關於 誰享有岡田馬尼拉真正控制權的法律及公關之爭。這一問題的答案某種程 度上似乎已經浮現。菲律賓博彩監管機構PAGCOR於九月初下令岡田和生 派系離開物業。而Yip則在岡田馬尼拉的母公司日本環球娛樂的指導下恢 復工作。 儘管這一戲劇化事件推遲了TRLEI通過此前合意的SPAC併購及在納 斯達克上市的計劃，但至少有理由樂觀展望菲律賓的疫後復甦。 就在Yip恢復工作不久之前，TRLEI披露2022年第二季度的博彩總收 入較第一季度增長38%，預計這一增長將持續至2023年。這為岡田馬尼 拉而言是好消息。該酒店疫情期間完成其1,000間酒店客房中最後一批的 升級裝修，為迎接賓客做好了準備。