Opening of new Philippines integrated casino resort to be delayed by coronavirus

In the Philippines and the billionaire boss of Bloomberry Resorts Corporation has reportedly announced that his firm’s plan to open a Quezon City integrated casino resort may have been delayed by up to a year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

According to a report from GGRAsia, Enrique Razon (pictured) serves as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer for Manila-listed Bloomberry Resorts Corporation and he used a Thursday shareholders meeting to detail that the company’s envisioned Solaire North venue will now not likely begin welcoming gamblers until early in 2023.

Initial intent:

Bloomberry Resorts Corporation is already responsible for the Solaire Resort and Casino in the Entertainment City district of metropolitan Manila and it had reportedly been hopeful of being able to open the counterpart Solaire North facility by the beginning of 2022. However, 60-year-old Razon purportedly told investors that work on the enterprise located within Quezon City’s under-construction Ayala Malls Vertis North development had been seriously delayed due to the imposition of coronavirus-related counter-measures and quarantine protocols.

Careful consideration:

GGRAsia reported that the 800-room Solaire Resort and Casino has been shuttered since March 15 as part of a government-led drive to curb the spread of a highly-contagious coronavirus strain that has already killed some 1,177 locals. This closure is set to run until at least the end of the month although Razon purportedly stated that his firm had ‘gone to extreme lengths’ and ‘invested heavily’ so as to make sure the venue is ‘as safe as possible’ when its re-opens.

Financial vigilance:

Finally, Razon reportedly told shareholders that Bloomberry Resorts Corporation would be exercising ‘prudence and restraint’ in managing its balance sheet during the pandemic as its Solaire Resort and Casino will likely be asked to re-open featuring fewer gaming positions so as to help customers better observe social distancing protocols. The firm recently purportedly cited the coronavirus-linked temporary closure of its main venue as the chief reason behind a 37.7% year-on-year drop in its first-quarter net income to approximately $27.2 million with its associated aggregated revenues having tumbled by slightly over 12.4% to about $186.7 million.