Tiger Resort, Leisure and Entertainment Inc is currently in the process of developing Manila Bay Resorts, a multi-billion dollar project in the Philippines. The company recently announced that it had hired veteran casino consultant Steve Wolstenholme to serve as the company’s chief operating officer.

The Philippines and South Korea are considered to be extremely lucrative markets for the casino industry as VIP gamblers from Mainland China have preferred to travel to these countries and spend large sums of money, ever since Macau launched its anti-corruption campaign.

Wolstenholme will now take on the responsibility of overseeing the Manila Bay project which includes a massive entertainment complex and casino. The project is expected to be completed before the end of 2016 and Wolstenholme will have to work hard to ensure that there are no delays as the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) has come down hard on gambling establishments who have failed to meet project deadlines.  The Manila Bay Resorts project is expected to cost over $2 billion and will be completed in a multi phase roll-out.

Wolstenholme has spent over 30 years in the casino industry and has worked with some of the leading brands in the business. Before joining Tiger Resort, he was with the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino in Reno, Nevada where he served as the chief operating officer and president. Wolstenholme also served as the chief operating officer for the Galaxy Macau casino and ran one of the biggest casinos floors in the world. Wolstenholme has a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Western Ontario in Canada.

Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada and chairman of Tiger Resort said that the company had full faith in Wolstenholme abilities as his past record has shown that he is a great leader and a strategic thinker. Wolstenholme has played a key role in a number of crucial projects including launching a pre-opening phase of a Macau gaming project and revamping a 2,000-room gaming resort in Nevada with a budget of $100 million.

In a statement, Wolstenholme said “The growing demand for entertainment properties in the Philippines is an exciting challenge and I am honoured and delighted to be part of the Tiger Resort team. The company’s objective is to push the boundaries in the industry through innovation to deliver our customers’ needs and wants and this is what I aim to achieve”.