City of Dreams, the casino-type resort in the Philippines operated by subsidiary of Melco Resorts, confirmed it was undergoing trial runs of its casino operations. The management of the resort informed local outlet GGRAsia that despite the tests, the casino property is still waiting for a reopening date for full operations to be set.
PAGCOR Granted Casinos Some Leeway
By the end of August, the gaming regulator in the country, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (PAGCOR) confirmed that it had allowed some of the land-based gaming facilities to reopen with limited capacity. The information regarding the 30% cap on the number of visitors and the strict health countermeasures against the further spread of the coronavirus was first disclosed by the City of Dreams’ operator Melco Resorts.
“The trial run, as permitted by Pagcor, with invited guests at 30 percent capacity, continues, enabling us to fine-tune our services in compliance with government guidelines.”
Kevin Benning, Chief Operating Officer, City of Dreams
The Metro Manila area, where the City of Dreams is located is the region in the Philippine capital which encompasses the largest casinos in the city, and had its lockdown status eased back to general community quarantine from August 19, initially until the end of August, and then extended by President Duterte until at least September 30.
Dry Runs for Casinos in the Metro Manila Area
Casino resorts in the area that have been shut down since mid-March have been allowed to conduct “dry runs” of their casino operations during the period of quarantine relaxation. These dry runs have so far generated millions for at least three casino resorts, Solaire Resort and Casino, Resorts World Manila and City of Dreams Manila, according to their respective second quarter financial reports.
City of Dreams is a 6.2-hectare luxury resort located at the gateway of Entertainment City’s Manila Bay in the city of Paranaque, and is a premier leisure and entertainment destination in the Philippines and Asia. The casino floor consists of 301 table games and 2,273 slot machines, as reported prior to the capacity constraints applied.
The casino resort is still waiting for a final reopening date, but its chief operating officer outlined when the property reopens, 4 restaurants, Crystal Dragon, Red Ginger, Noodle 8 and Wave, will also have a capacity limitation of 30%, with the rest of the food outlets gradually reopening in the subsequent weeks.
The three hotels in the City of Dreams, Nuwa, Nobu and Hyatt Regency, and their amenities, will resume operations with no capacity constraints. The same rule would apply to the shops and on-site banks, while the entertainment centre DreamPlay, The Garage VR Zone, the food park and the two spas will reopen afterwards.
The reopening would be in compliance with government regulations and measures will include face masks and face shields, physical distancing in the gaming and other public areas, distance markers, thermal temperature checks and frequent disinfection of high traffic areas.