Dennis Uy’s Cebu resort perfect for Okada expansion

MANILA, Philippines —  Tiger Resorts, Leisure and Entertainment Inc. (TRLEI), the operator of Okada Manila casino resort in Entertainment City, sees the potential acquisition of Dennis Uy’s PH Travel and Leisure Holdings as the perfect fit for its expansion plans outside Manila.

PH Travel and Leisure Holdings is a subsidiary of listed PH Resorts Group Holdings Inc., the company behind the unfinished Emerald Bay Resort in Cebu.

“We’ve been operating this property since 2016. It’s been seven years,” Okada Manila chief managing director Kenji Sugiyama said.

“So we’ve been looking for another opportunity to expand our business. So that project could be the one fitting into our next step,” he said.

Okada Manila in Parañaque is TRLEI’s maiden casino project in the country.

TRLEI earlier said it has entered into a preliminary agreement to acquire a majority stake in the Emerald Bay project and complete the partially developed Emerald Bay Resort.

As an iconic and luxurious five-star integrated resort in Cebu, it will contain a five-star hotel adjacent to 300 meters of beachfront, with two 15-story towers accommodating 642 rooms, four pools, 18 food and beverage outlets, retail spaces, conference and exhibition facilities and a large-scale gaming floor with more than 700 electric gaming machines and over 140 tables,

It is targeted to be the premier entertainment destination in the country outside of Entertainment City.

“We just started negotiation with them. So let’s see. It will take several months to see the result of the negotiation. So we are excited to proceed the process of the negotiation,” Sugiyama said.

“If the negotiation will be successful, everybody’s gonna be happy,” he said.

The transaction is expected to be finished by July 2024.

The development of Emerald Bay Resort was suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic because of the challenging environment and financial reasons.

Meanwhile, Sugiyama said Okada Manila is bullish on its outlook for the gaming industry in the country next year.

“2024, we still see more opportunity and since after the COVID, the potential, the tourism, everything is going to be normalized. So we are looking for more better in terms of the revenue. So nothing negative, just positive,” he said.