Tycoon Manny Villar disclosed last Friday that he plans on investing around $1-Billion to expand into the integrated gaming resort business, beginning with the redevelopment of Vista Mall Global South located along the C5 extension in Las Pinas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
With a 18,000 square meter (sqm) gross floor area, the mall will be converted into a Las-Vegas style casino roughly around the size of Solaire\u2019s gaming space. By redeveloping an existing structure, Villar would be saving about a year of construction work. He also mentioned that the casino will not necessarily focus on high rollers but will focus instead on slot machines for the mass market, in line with Las Vegas gaming hub models.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Villar\u2019s estate in the area spans to around 80 hectares. Hence, aside from the casino, he plans to develop residential and commercial properties as well as a theme park in the area. Further details regarding the project such as its name\/branding, their foreign partner and the scheduled opening will be revealed early next year during its launch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Villar is entering an underpenetrated industry that is exhibiting strong recovery from the pandemic. Currently, there are only 4 other integrated resorts located in Pagcor Entertainment City. With little competition, the integrated gaming resort business possesses a big growth potential for Villar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Aside from this, we have also seen the Philippines\u2019 local gaming industry perform well this 3Q 2022 due to the gradual reopening of the economy. As per Pagcor\u2019s 3Q 2022 data, the industry\u2019s gross gaming revenues (GGR) jumped by 113% YoY wherein the majority (78%) was accounted for by casinos. In terms of revenues, casinos posted a 105% YoY spike in revenues for the period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For as long as there is continued easing of mobility and travel restrictions and improved consumer confidence, the gaming industry should remain on track to reach pre-pandemic levels. Although the industry does have a lot of room for growth, we still need to keep a close eye on how well Villar executes his integrated gaming resort project against his competitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n