In the fourth quarter, more junk operators are expected to sign partnership agreements with Okada Manila, including the Sun City giant. It should be noted here that Sun City is often referred to as one of the biggest junk markets targeting VIPs.
Financial services firm Morgan Stanley added that Okada Manila's hotel room capacity cannot compete with City of Dreams Manila and Solaire, as it currently offers only 120 hotel rooms, which are 90% free. Free rooms are offered to high-rollers or regular casino customers as part of a promotional campaign, but the casino complex is expected to increase its capacity to 493 hotel rooms in early 2018, and completion by all means is critical.
More on Okada Manila
Philippine-based Tiger Resort, Leisure and Entertainment Inc., known to be responsible for the development and operation of the resort, originally promoted Okada Manila as Manila Bay Resort, where the entertainment complex under construction was renamed to its current name in 2016. The 44-hectare entertainment complex is known to be owned by Kazuo Okada, a Japanese businessman who invested about $2 billion in casino resorts, and is a casino-specific feature in Manila.
According to the original plan, Okada Manila was scheduled to open in 2015, but its business was greatly delayed due to various obstacles such as finding a casino venture partner, and the casino operator requested an extension of the deadline from local gambling regulator PAGCOR, and the business entered the final stage in more than three years.