Philippines casino industry is going through many uncertainties and at one side there are new properties opening and taking shape offering hope to the industry while at the same time other properties are witnessing closure for some or the other reasons. This is something which needs to be understood well and a strong balance need to be worked out for the industry. Recently in the Philippines, the Casablanca Casino inside the Hotel Stotsenberg has reportedly been forced to close with the loss of 200 jobs after its new owner was unable to meet an escrow requirement from the Philippine Amusement And Gaming Corporation regulator of around $5.13 million.
As per reports published from the Sun. Star Pampanga newspaper, the Casablanca Casino had offered 190 slots as well as 36 gaming tables and was purchased along with the adjoining 239-room Hotel Stotsenberg by Sydney-listed Frontier Capital Group Limited for approximately $26 million in January.
The newspaper reported that the “scrip only payment” deal for the venue inside the Clark Freeport Zone near Angeles City had contained a $25 million profit guarantee over five years from venue manager E!xcite Gaming And Entertainment Incorporated while Andrea Domingo, Chief Executive Officer for the Philippine Amusement And Gaming Corporation, explained that Frontier Capital Group Limited had not been able to meet the escrow obligation despite being granted “several extensions”.
The Sun.Star Pampanga moreover reported that past federal representative and Angeles City mayor Carmelo Lazatin, who reportedly held shares in former venue owner Stotsenberg Leisure And Hotel Corporation, had blamed Sydney-based Frontier Capital Group Limited for the casino’s closure although the hotel portion of the enterprise is set to remain open.
With the closure, there are now five casinos in the Clark Freeport Zone, which is the site of a former United States Air Force base, encompassing the Casino Filipino Angeles, the Midori Clark Hotel and Casino, the Royce Hotel And Casino, the Casino Filipino Mimosa and the Widus Hotel And Casino Clark. Last year saw officials shutter the gambling operation at the nearby Fontana Leisure Parks And Casino after some 1,316 allegedly illegal Chinese workers were found to have been employed in violation of the conditions of their visas and engaging in an unlicensed online gaming enterprise.
