In the Philippines and local developer Universal Hotels and Resorts Incorporated has reportedly announced that its Nustar Resort and Casino is expected to begin opening sometime next year complete with a trio of hotel towers offering over 1,000 rooms.

According to a report from GGRAsia, the $517 million project is being developed on a 20-acre plot of reclaimed land located some twelve miles from Mactan-Cebu International Airport and is destined to premiere featuring a 226,042 sq ft casino offering approximately 1,500 slots as well as 250 gaming tables. The source detailed that this will eventually be complemented by four floors of dining and retail space alongside a conference and exhibition facility capable of simultaneously accommodating up to 2,000 people.

Tentative target:

The Manila-headquartered developer reportedly declared that its Nustar Resort and Casino ‘is slated’ to begin welcoming visitors ‘in 2022’ after earlier receiving the necessary provisional gaming license from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCor) regulator. Universal Hotels and Resorts Incorporated purportedly moreover stated that the venue on the central island of Cebu will open offering sea views across the picturesque Mactan Channel in addition to ‘the biggest gaming floor outside of metropolitan Manila’.

Determined devotion:

Work on the coming Nustar Resort and Casino reportedly began in August of 2019 some two months before the head of Universal Hotels and Resorts Incorporated, John Gokongwe, died at the age of 93. The billionaire businessman and philanthropist had purportedly persevered with the impressive project despite an earlier decision from Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte to implement a partial moratorium on the building of any new resort casinos outside of Manila’s Entertainment City district.

Employment expectations:

The Cebu Daily News newspaper reported that the opening of the Nustar Resort and Casino could prove especially beneficial for the residents of nearby Cebu City as the coming facility is to be obliged to hand over 10% of its gross commercial, hotel and rental revenues as well as 15% of any profits from gaming in tax. The former mayor for this seaside community, Tomas Osmena, was purportedly a supporter of the plan to bring a Las Vegas-style resort casino to the area as he believed it would assist in the creation of up to 5,000 jobs including numerous security and construction positions.

Coming counterpart:

GGRAsia additionally reported that the opening of the Nustar Resort and Casino could well be prefaced by the debut of the Emerald Bay Resort and Casino development from local casino operator PH Resorts Group Holdings Incorporated. This $600 million project for a 13.5-acre plot of beachfront land on the neighboring island of Mactan topped off its two hotel towers in December and is now expected to begin welcoming guests sometime during the second quarter of next year.