City of Dreams Manila Opens Casino Resort
On Monday February 2nd 2015 a new colossal casino opened in Manila Philippines. Manila’s goal is to be a top contender against Las Vegas and Macau’s gaming revenues. This new City of Dreams Manila Casino resort opens as Manila vies to become a world gaming destination.
The casino is operated by Melco Crown Entertainment and boasts six golden towers surrounding a huge egg shaped dome on Manila Bay. This is a joint venture between the country’s richest man Henry Sy, Australian billionaire James Packer and Lawrence Ho, the son of Macau’s casino mogul Stanley Ho. Government and industry leaders hope it will attract high rollers from other parts of Asia. The casino will also cater to the growing number of tourists to the Philippines, but the chairman of the Philippine arm of Melco Crown Clarence Chung Yuk Man, says it would also target local gamblers who are estimated to have spent $2.3 billion last year. He also said that out of all the casino operators with licenses in the Philippines, Melco is the only one with a customer base in Macau and can bring in high rollers and VIP customers. “We will promote cross marketing and also try to promote this property to our customers so that there is additional choice for them,” Chung told a news conference.
The 6.2 hectare (15-acre) complex is the second of four mega resorts to open on reclaimed portions of Manila bay, just a few hundred meters from the city’s slum communities.
On Monday a concert featuring headliners Ne-Yo (R&B artist) and Kelly Rowland (Grammy award winning singer and former member of Destiny’s Child), was watched by a crowd of about 5000. As part of the celebrations a host of the top Philippine stars were also showcased. People Asia’s People of the Year, Gary Gary Valenciano, divine diva Zsa Zsa Padilla, R&B princess Kyla, and Jed Madela, the Aliw Awards 2014 Entertainer of the Year took part.
A prestigious red carpet entrance by some of Manila’s socialites paved the way to an impressive gala dinner event attended by government officials, business partners and VIP guests.
The Philippine’s economy seems to be having steady growth for the third straight year in a row, with it’s economy growing more then six percent in 2014.