In the Philippines and the Chairman for local casino operator Bloomberry Resorts Corporation has reportedly announced that his firm remains ‘on track to open’ its new Solaire North development before the end of next year.

According to a report from GGRAsia, the revelation from Enrique Razon (pictured) came during the Manila-listed firm’s annual shareholders meeting on Thursday almost three years after work began to bring the 40-story property to a 3.7-acre site adjacent to the Ayala Malls Vertis North retail complex in Quezon City. Nevertheless, the billionaire businessman purportedly also described the overall speed of construction as ‘limited’ owing to the lingering impacts of the coronavirus pandemic and a range of post-lockdown regulations.

Intended increase:

Bloomberry Resorts Corporation is already responsible for the 800-room Solaire Resort and Casino in the Entertainment City district of metropolitan Manila and it reportedly intends to utilize its Solaire North compatriot to exploit the Philippines’ growing mass-market casino scene. Razon purportedly told investors that the new development, which is to moreover come complete with a range of non-gambling amenities such as multiple restaurants and numerous meeting facilities, would ‘profoundly expand’ his company’s domestic footprint and allow it to take full advantage of what he believes will be ‘burgeoning post-pandemic domestic mass and regional premium-mass demand.’

Rapid revival:

GGRAsia cited global brokerage and investments firm Morgan Stanley in reporting that aggregated gross gaming revenues for the Philippines could reach 85% of their pre-pandemic levels by the end of this year. The source disclosed that this favorable forecast comes amid rising domestic demand, the termination of local capacity restrictions and the Asian nation’s wider re-opening to foreign tourists following the easing of a series of coronavirus-related lockdowns.

iGaming interest:

Adding to this sense of optimism and the 300-acre Solaire Resort and Casino reportedly posted an increase of 21.7% year-on-year in its own aggregated gross gaming revenues for 2021 to roughly $527.2 million while the associated net loss for Bloomberry Resorts Corporation improved by over 49% to about $80.1 million. Sixty-two-year-old Razon purportedly heralded these results in advance of additionally pronouncing that he was ‘hopeful’ online gambling, which his company premiered in November of 2020, would become a ‘large part of the business’ over the course of the ‘medium term.’

Razon reportedly stated…

“So far it has grown strongly and has been delivering substantial revenues monthly from zero a year-and-a-half ago. We are highly confident in this development and have been focusing on this area.”