In the Philippines and casino operator Landing International Development Limited has reportedly announced that it has been given more time to find a suitable Manila home for its envisioned NayonLanding development.

According to a Sunday report from Inside Asian Gaming, the Hong Kong-listed firm had originally intended to construct the giant integrated casino resort complete with two theme parks and a 301,400 sq ft gaming floor on a 23.6-acre parcel of land located within the capital’s Entertainment City district. The source detailed that this planned facility with its $1.5 billion price tag had been due to sit between the already-open Okada Manila and Solaire Resort and Casino venues and moreover feature a convention center, a luxury hotel and an indoor waterpark.

Heinous hindrance:

However, this scheme suffered a serious setback in August of 2018 when Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte (pictured) abruptly terminated an earlier 50-year land lease deal Landing International Development Limited had inked with the Nayong Pilipino Foundation. The 75-year-old leader purportedly later sacked the entire board of this state-controlled property organization after determining that it had inked an agreement with the casino firm that had not been beneficial to the country or its people.

Lucky lifeline:

Landing International Development Limited, which is already responsible for South Korea’s massive Jeju Shinhwa World development, was subsequently given 180 days to find a new site for its NayonLanding scheme before its provisional gaming license was to be revoked. Although this deadline ended in March, the operator reportedly explained that the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCor) regulator has now extended this cut-off date for an unspecified period owing to local impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Reportedly read a statement from Landing International Development Limited…

“Due to the lockdown and travel restrictions in the Philippines, the group has faced difficulties in identifying another lease of land as required by PAGCor for the development of an integrated casino resort in the Philippines. But the group has been granted a suspension by PAGCor of the prescribed period provided… under which the group is allowed to have further time to submit a remedy for the provisional license.”

Financial fallout:

Landing International Development Limited additionally purportedly recently pronounced that it had posted a first-half deficit of approximately $102.2 million due to the coronavirus-induced slowdown in business at its Jeju Shinhwa World facility. Nevertheless, the operator purportedly proclaimed that its aggregated gross gaming revenues for the six-month period had improved by 26.6% year-on-year to top $13 million with its loss dropping to $9.1 million.