Villar makes bet on casino business

MANILA, Philippines — Tycoon Manuel Villar Jr., the country’s richest man, is set to open his casino next year, as he rolls the dice on the lucrative gaming sector for the first time.

In a recent interview with The STAR, Villar said his group is on track to opening the first of two planned integrated casino resorts as early as mid-2025, with a planned investment of roughly $1 billion.

“We can open mid to latter part of next year, but most likely the latter part. The structure is there already, we will just convert the mall,” Villar said.

He has not yet decided on the name of the casino as well as on the number of rooms and gaming tables.

“To me, the canvas is ready. How many tables, I don’t know yet,” he said.

Villar said the first of the two casinos would open on the redeveloped 18,000-square-meter Vista Mall Global South situated along C5 Extension in Las Piñas.

The mall is also in close proximity to Brittany Hotel Global South, formerly known as the four-star Mella Hotel Manila, which is also owned by the Villar Group.

With a hotel in the area, Villar said, it would be easier and faster to open the first integrated casino resort.

Asked about the viability of opening a new casino given the competition from the 100-hectare Entertainment City, Villar said his planned casino is closer to the Ninoy Aquino Terminal 1 compared to other casinos in Entertainment City in Paranaque.

This means easier access for visiting casino junket players, he said.

Aside from this, he plans to put up a second casino at the heart of Villar City, which is his most ambitious property development to date

Villar City is a new masterplanned mixed-use 3,500 hectare-estate in the south which spans 15 towns and cities in Metro Manila and Cavite.

There will be other anchor developments in Villar City including an amusement park, an arena big enough to host a Taylor Swift concert, schools, cultural centers, museums, hospitals, universities, churches and nature parks, aside from the casino.

Villar City will span 15 cities, namely: Taguig, Las Pinas, Paranaque, Muntinlupa, Bacoor, Dasmarinas, Imus, San Pedro, General Mariano Alvarez, Silang, General Trias, Tanza, Trece Martires, Carmona, and Tagaytay.

Earlier, the Villar Group through Prime Asset Ventures Inc. (PAVI) acquired the four-kilometer Muntinlupa-Cavite Expressway (MCX) to improve access to Villar City, along with other major thoroughfares such as Daang Hari.

The Villar Group’s casino license was obtained during the time of former president Rodrigo Duterte and even before Duterte set a moratorium on the issuance of new casino licenses in 2018.

The moratorium was lifted after three years or in 2021.

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) reported that Philippine gaming industry gross gaming revenue or GGR grew by 19.21 percent to P194.743 billion in the first half of the year compared to last year.