Success in Manila: Solaire's Parent Company Posts Record Profits
The operator of Manila's Solaire Resort and Casino, the Bloomberry Resorts Corp., just reported record-breaking quarter and half-year profits according to a public filing on the Philippine Stock Exchange.
Solaire was the first casino to open its doors in March 2013 in Manila's Entertainment City, a relatively new gaming and entertainment zone supervised by state-run Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (PAGCOR). A few months later, Solaire decided to keep expanding and opened its first poker room in December 2013.
The group's quarterly net income was PHP 846.6 million ($19.3 million) for the period ending June 30, 2014. This represents a huge 3,730-percent increase from their quarterly earnings a year earlier of PHP 22.7 million ($519,000).
Even more dramatic was the casino operators growth in the half year. The group's Jan. 1 to June 30, 2014 net income was PHP 2.3 billion — a huge reversal of fortune from the PHP 1.0 billion loss for the same period in 2013. And then, Solaire's revenue continues to grow, posting PHP 6.5 billion in the first half of 2014 or a 66-percent growth from 2013. Not surprisingly, gross gaming revenue comprised of 95 percent.
Will Manila Become the Third Gaming Hub in Asia?
Looking at the numbers, the question isn't whether Manila will become the third gaming hub in Asia, but when. Some say it has already happened, with three casinos already opened and one more expected to open by the end of 2014.
PAGCOR's dream to provide a third gaming-entertainment alternative in Asia alongside Macau and Singapore began over a decade ago when reclaiming the land for Entertainment City in Manila Bay back in 2002.
In addition to Solaire, there are two other casinos now operating at Entertainment City, the Resorts World Bayshore and the Manila Bay Resort. The upcoming City of Dreams Manila should open their doors by the end of this year as the fourth and final casino located within Entertainment City.
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