Solaire ceiling leaks, floods casino

MANILA, Philippines - Water leaked from the ceiling of the newly opened $1.2-billion Solaire Resort and Casino and flooded its slot machine area before dawn yesterday.

Casino staff closed down the right wing of the casino as water poured from the ceiling and soaked several slot machines.

A few minutes after the leak, which lasted for about 15 to 20 minutes, all the toilets near the area reportedly malfunctioned. There was also a heavy downpour in Manila at that time.

“There was a pipe that burst and we were able to fix it,” Solaire’s public relations director, Joy Wassmer, said. “The properties are new and there are some flaws.”

She added that the resort’s engineering department is working to correct the flaws. “It’s not a big thing,” Wassmer said, noting that the slot machines are “being checked and fixed and… would be back in operation in no time.”

Wassmer said that as of yesterday afternoon, “we have no accurate count of machines that were affected.”

With its grand opening last March 16, Solaire is the first to occupy the so-called Entertainment City, the Philippines’ answer to the Las Vegas, Singapore and Macau gaming hubs. The Entertainment City is a 120-hectare property reclaimed from Manila Bay and owned by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.

The resort and casino is run by the Bloomberry Resorts Corp. of port magnate Enrique Razon Jr. Under a five-year contract, Solaire will be managed by US-based Global Gaming Asset Management, which owns a nine percent stake in the project.

The $750-million phase one of Solaire has 500 rooms, 18,500 square meters of gaming space and 15 luxurious dining options. The gaming area contains 1,200 slot machines and 300 gaming tables.

The hotel casino was designed by architect and designer Paul Steelman of Las Vegas based Steelman Partners with interior design provided by Steelman Partners’ affiliate company, Dalton, Steelman, Arias & Associates.