Inside Asian Gaming

IAG FEB 2023年2月 亞博匯 38 taking shape in Manila. Solaire Resort in Entertainment City opened its doors in March 2013 – a veiled warning to the rest of Asia that the Philippines was determined tomake its presence felt on the regional gaming scene. The city’s second true integrated resort following the 2009 launch of Resorts World Manila (recently rebranded as Newport World Resorts), Solaire put Manila’s IR bona fides on a whole new plane with a level of glamour and hospitality at least on par with anything Macau or Las Vegas has to offer. By 2015, Manila was well and truly on IAG ’s radar with a lengthy cover feature following the opening of its third IR, City of Dreams Manila, and looking ahead to the eventual opening of a fourth, Okada Manila, and a soon-to-be fifth, Westside City. “The Philippines is clearly focused on developing its tourism industry, and with over 7,000 beautiful islands it has the opportunity to do that,” explains Jolly. “The IRs have lifted the quality of casino offering [in the Philippines] and it can now boast some of the best presented casinos globally, helping to fuel tourism growth. “When you look at Asian gaming now compared to 2005, it has certainly developed to be a stronger and more presentable market. The Philippines has risen to become a dominant Asian market and pre-COVID Macau has shown the world the value of Asian gaming.” With a brief to bring our readers genuine insight into how the industry is unfolding, IAG has been at the forefront of countless other developments COVER STORY