Inside Asian Gaming

IAG DEC 2022年12月 亞博匯 66 PHILIPPINES Ben Blaschke: Byron, it’s been a challenging few years for the industry but the Philippines is open for business again and casino floors are looking increasingly busy. Can you provide some insight into the recovery trajectory at Okada Manila and what the recent numbers are looking like? Byron Yip: We recently released our Q2 results which can be found on the Universal Entertainment Corporation (UEC) website. The numbers we disclosed include the gross gaming revenue for the second quarter of the fiscal year 2022. The business really picked up in the second quarter, which coincided with the loosening of operating restrictions and the resumption of tourism. Our 2Q22 gross gaming revenuewas approximately Php8.3 billion (US$144 million) compared to 2Q19 revenue of Php8.1 billion (US$141 million), indicating that our gaming revenues in 2Q22 slightly exceeded our pre-pandemic amount for the same period. BB: Okada Manila itself has seen significant additions since pre-pandemic times with new facilities being completed and opened. What’s new in 2022 compared with 2019? BY: We’ve added several amenities for our guests. In 2019, we had roughly 680 hotel rooms at the end of the year. That number was roughly 963 at the end of 2Q22, which is a significant increase. Included in the additional rooms are the Villas at the Coral Wing, which cater to our VIP and high- end guests. These villas have stunning views of Manila Bay. In terms of retail tenants and dining, there are new tenants at our property that have resulted