PAGCOR to open new casino by year-end

State-run Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) is targeting to open its casino in the Army Navy Club complex in Manila by the year-end.

Philippines.- The Oceanville Hotel and Spa is in the process of restoring and developing the Army Navy Club (ANC) into a world-class heritage boutique style hotel. They have subleased 6500 square meters of the lot behind the ANC to PAGCOR. The state regulator awarded Vanderwood Management Corp. with a 15-year contract for leasing that space. The facility will have five-star accommodations, upscale dining, as well as wellness and fitness centers.

In anticipation of the impending expiration by end-2015 of its lease with Manila Pavilion, PAGCOR started looking for another casino site as early as 2014. Aside from seeking competitive rates, the amusement and gaming corporation was looking for a better place to compete with the giant, gleaming casinos in Entertainment City in the reclaimed bay area. Vanderwood was the only one who made the offer, and ended up winning the contract.

As the opening of the Casino nears, the project is now a constant target of black propaganda from “hidden detractors who want to scuttle its deal with the state-owned gaming operator.” They attempted to cast doubt on the lease contract awarded by PAGCOR to Vanderwood.

There is an online petition calling for President Rodrigo Duterte to stop the project for being “a threat to the historical and cultural heritage of children’s museum, Museo Pambata.” PAGCOR, however, brushed aside the petition which they said “have absolutely no basis in law and in fact.”