The Okada Group owned by Japanese casino mogul Kazuo Okada is in the process of constructing a massive $2.3 billion Manila Bay Resorts casino in Manila Bay, Philippines. The project is being developed by Tiger Resort, Leisure and Entertainment Inc and has been under construction for several years.

Back in October 2014, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (PAGCOR) issued a notice to Tiger Resort and asked the company to speed up its construction work and open the casino before the 1st quarter of 2015, failing which it would have to forfeit PHP100 million (US$2.26 million) which is deposited as a guarantee.

In a statement, Jorge Sarmiento the COO and President of PAGCOR said “The immediate effect is if they [Okada group] failed to finish by March 31, 2015, it would mean forfeiture of the PHP100 million bond they submitted to us”.

Tiger Resort will not be able to complete its project before the 31st of March and sent in an official request to PAGCOR asking for an extension. Tiger Resort has informed PAGCOR that they have decided to expand casino operations and add an extra 97,000-square-metres to build another hotel and increase parking space for the casino resort.

Tiger Resort is expected to spend an additional $700 million for the new expansion and construction costs and want PAGCOR to take this under consideration when evaluating the reason for the project extension request. Tiger Resort is yet to officially confirm on a project completion date but will most likely open its doors only in 2017.

PAGCOR is currently in the process of evaluating the progress of the casino and will submit its report for evaluation in a few weeks. If the reports confirm that less than 50% of the project has been completed, then PAGCOR will most likely take strict action by either suspending or withdrawing Tiger Resorts license.