The second floor at Resorts World Manila opened last week, according to industry sources.
The new floor caters to high rollers but not to junkets, say our moles.
The Asian Gaming Intelligence tunnel-diggers add that Pagcor—the Philippines’ gaming operator-cum-regulator—does not appear to be welcoming developments at Resorts World Manila with entirely open arms. They say Pagcor is insisting that any players brought in by the resort operator Genting Hong Kong (formerly known as Star Cruises) must be ‘registered’ with Pagcor first. And how and when do players get registered? In Pagcor’s own sweet time, say our snouts.
In case this looks to the casual observer like passive resistance, it’s worth bearing in mind that Pagcor—the Philippine Gaming and Amusement Corporation—directly runs several of its own casinos in Manila. This arguably creates something of a conflict of interest between Pagcor in its regulatory role as the go-between for foreign investors such as Genting Hong Kong and Pagcor the operator. That’s especially the case when the newcomer is part of a Malaysian company producing world class gaming resorts and Pagcor is a local brand that has not thus far been covered in glory when it comes to standards of corporate and resort management.
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