Emerald Bay Resort and Casino opening pushed back to 2022

The casino will have 146 gaming tables and 1,186 slot machines to be positioned in the 7,585 square meters gaming floor

Emerald Bay, the first integrated resort in the tourist island Cebu, Philippines, has pushed back its completion schedule for the first phase of the project to first quarter of 2022, according to PH Resorts Group Holdings, gaming and hospitality unit of Udenna Corporation.  

Construction started for the property in December 2017 and initially planned to open its first phase this year. It is designed by renowned American designer Paul Steelman, whose work include Galaxy Macau and Solaire Resort and Casino in Manila, and boasts 838 hotel rooms, 8,000 square meters of retail, 18 restaurants, a convention center, and the casino, all located in a 12.5 hectares prime beach property in Mactan Island, Cebu.  

Emerald Bay Resort and Casino, dubbed as the ‘next Las Vegas of the Philippines’ is developed by Udenna Group of Companies who also owns Phoenix Petroleum and Mislatel, the 3rd Telco, among others.

The casino will have 146 gaming tables and 1,186 slot machines to be positioned in the 7,585 square meters gaming floor.  

The group also announced expansion to its subsidiary, Donatela Hotel, a 7.5–hectare upscale resort located in neighboring island Bohol, a 60-minute ferry ride from Cebu.  

PH Resort Group is currently designing a new casino resort, The Base, located in Clark Freeport and Special Economic Zone, and will be expected to have 600 electronic gaming machines, 100 gaming tables, 400-room hotels, retail shops and restaurant outlets.  

Clark Freeport is an hour drive north of Metro Manila and houses several casino and hotel properties. Last year, Oriental Gaming, one of the biggest Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) in the country announced that they have invested billions in pesos to develop two massive POGO hubs, one of which will be located in Clark Freeport, which would accommodate 5,000 employees. Further, POGO hubs will house government offices for Bureau of Immigration, Bureau of Internal Revenue and regulator PAGCOR.  

At present, PAGCOR operated and regulated casinos in Metro Manila are still on suspended operations while casinos in other areas in the country are in progressive reopening, following the guidelines set by the government. Online casino operations or POGOs, have been given the green light to operate early last month, upon compliance to PAGCOR.  

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