One of the Philippines’ richest people, Manuel Villar Jr, is planning to build a new integrated resort casino as the country’s gambling industry is picking up. Villar Jr has chosen the sight of the Global South retail shopping complex as the new location, which he owes, thus sparing himself some of the technicalities around buying the land.
Villar Jr Ready to Deliver on a Long-Planned Casino Resort
He is now committed to pouring a part of his $7.8 billion fortune into building the new casino and entertainment complex which should provide overseas travelers with many a good reason to travel and visit. To do this, he has around 200 acres with Global South located in Las Piñas and the shopping district itself is close to Manilas Entertainment City where the other three integrated resorts are located.
Throwing the new casino resort against City of Dreams, Solaire, and Okada Manila will make for an interesting competition, but one that Villar Jr is confident he can take on. But these are hardly the only plans for integrated resorts in the Philippines, as the upcoming IR will have to also compete against the Newport World Resorts, located east of Entertainment City and close to Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
Villar Jr already has a plan for how to execute the transformation at Global South. He will first start with the transformation of the mall into a casino floor. He has about 193,750 square feet to work around with, with the rest of the shopping complex turned into resort amenities. Those include restaurants and bars, outdoor pools, entertainment venues, spas, and so much more.
Forget Slots, Think High Rollers, and Focus on the Resort Experience
The upcoming project will focus on an audience of high rollers who are keen to get VIP treatment at the casino. Villar Jr is also trying to buck the trend whereby casino resorts have begun relying too heavily on slots. In a brief statement, he said that he is going to use the casino as an anchor, but the overall project will focus on the resort experience itself.
There is already interest from foreign-based operators, Villar Jr confirmed and said that all is going well for now. He won’t have to worry about obtaining a license from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation either, as he already has had one since 2019. He previously was hoping to build a project by the name of Gold Coast Entertainment City, but the COVID-19 outbreak put those plans on the back burner. Villar Jr. is now back.