New Philippines Casino Resort Coming to Former Manila Jockey Club Track

Posted on: November 23, 2022, 08:15h. 

Last updated on: November 23, 2022, 09:56h.

Erik Gibbs Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Gaming Business, Global Gaming.

Megaworld Corp has mega-big plans for the Philippines. The property developer already has a number of properties in the country, but is now eyeing a new integrated resort (IR) in Manila that will add another casino to the city.

Manila, Philippines
A boat sits anchored in Manila Bay in the Philippines. The city could add another casino in the near future through the Winford Resort integrated resort project. (Image: Shutterstock)

Megaworld announced this week that it will invest around PHP15 billion (US$261.34 million) in a “new integrated lifestyle community” in Manila. The three-hectare (7.4 acres) mixed-use community will also include a casino.

The “Winford Resort” development will be built where once stood a horse racing track in San Lazaro, near Manila’s Chinatown. The company bought the property from the Manila Jockey Club earlier this year for PHP1.89 billion ($32.92 million).

Digging Into The Philippines Market

Megaworld, an affiliate of Travellers International Hotel Group, already has several properties in the Philippines. It operates the Newport World Resorts integrated resort, formerly Resorts World Manila, and also wants an IR at its Boracay Newcoast development on Boracay Island.

The development will include a casino complex, hotels, and commercial developments, as well as a mixture of residential condominiums. The company said in a filing with the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) that it took inspiration for the project from Old Manila, with structural designs that are reminiscent of the pre-war era.

Part of the development includes a One Crown Suites condo tower that will offer 389 smart-home-equipped units. This, according to Megaworld, will generate as much as PHP3 billion (US$52.62 million) in sales and will be ready by 2028.

Winford Resort will include a “Promenade,” which the company hopes will “become a major tourism destination in this side of Manila.”

Megaworld Keeping Busy

Megaworld is one of the “best companies to work for” in the Philippines. This is according to Malaysia-based Business Media International and its HR Asia Media arm’s “Best Companies to Work for in Asia Awards.”

The company, which now employs over 3,000 people, just celebrated its 33rd anniversary. It’s not slowing down, either, as it has other projects besides Winford Resort in the works.

One is a new hotel project, which is coming to the city of Bacolod. The Kingsford Hotel Bacolod, according to a company filing, will open in 2028, and will be located in The Upper East township between the One Regis, Two Regis, One Manhattan, and Herald Parksuites condo towers.

The hotel will have just under 300 rooms offering a variety of different accommodation types. They range from 269 square feet for the small rooms to over 1,076 square feet for the “curated Presidential Suite.”

A week ago, Megaworld’s MREIT Inc., its real estate investment trust (REIT) company, provided a financial update that reflected strong results. Across the first nine months of the year, it recorded net income of PHP1.9 billion (US$33.32 million). That is more than double the PHP807 million (US$14.15 million) from a year ago.

The company added that the results were off of strong sales, with MREIT recording an average occupancy of 96% throughout the period.

MREIT has been trading on the PSE for just over a year. Since its launch, it has increased the physical size of its portfolio by 25% and its value by 20%.