Manila Bay Casino | |
---|---|
Location | Manila Bay, Philippines |
Opening date | 1977 |
Closing date | 1979 |
Casino type | Floating casino |
Owner | Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation |
The Manila Bay Casino was a casino situated off Manila Bay. Described as a "floating casino" it was hosted on the MS Philippine Tourist.
The Manila Bay Casino was established by state-owned enterprise Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) during the Martial Law era under president Ferdinand Marcos. It is the first ever casino of PAGCOR. [1] [2]
PAGCOR entered a contract with the Philippine Casino Operators Corporation (PCOC) on July 5, 1977, for the operation of a floating casino off Manila Bay. [3] Manila Bay Enterprises Inc. which was majority owned by Macanese firm SJM Holdings of Stanley Ho was also involved in the project. [1]
The casino operated on all three decks of the marine vessel MS Philippine Tourist. [4]
The ship was gutted by fire in 1979. [2] Arson by the Light-A-Fire Movement was alleged. [5] [6] [7]
Stanley Ho proposed another floating casino during the administration of president Joseph Estrada. He acquired the Jumbo Kingdom floating restaurant from Hong Kong to towed it to the dock at Manila Bay near the Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex for the purpose of a new casino. The casino never went operational and was moored in Manila Bay. [8] [9]
Metropolitan Manila, commonly shortened to Metro Manila and formally the National Capital Region, is the capital region and largest metropolitan area of the Philippines. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay, the region lies between the Central Luzon and Calabarzon regions. Encompassing an area of 636.00 km2 (245.56 sq mi) and with a population of 13,484,462 as of 2020, it consists of sixteen highly urbanized cities: Manila—the capital city—Caloocan, Las Piñas, Makati, Malabon, Mandaluyong, Marikina, Muntinlupa, Navotas, Parañaque, Pasay, Pasig, Quezon City, San Juan, Taguig, and Valenzuela, along with one independent municipality, Pateros. As the second most populous and the most densely populated region in the Philippines, it ranks as the 9th most populous metropolitan area in Asia and the 6th most populous urban area in the world.
Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation is a government-owned and controlled corporation established in 1977 through the Presidential Decree No. 1869. PAGCOR is the Philippines' largest contributor of revenue to the government after the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs.
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Bay City, also known as the Manila Bay Freeport Zone and Manila Bay Area, is the name for the reclamation area on Manila Bay located west of Roxas Boulevard and the Manila–Cavite Expressway in Metro Manila, Philippines. The area is split between the cities of Manila and Pasay on the north side and Parañaque on the south.
The Manila Hotel is a 550-room, historic five-star hotel located along Manila Bay in Manila, Philippines. The hotel is the oldest premiere hotel in the Philippines built in 1909 to rival Malacañang Palace, the official residence of the President of the Philippines. It was opened on the commemoration of American Independence on July 4, 1912. The hotel complex was built on a reclaimed area of 35,000 square metres (380,000 sq ft) at the northwestern end of Rizal Park along Bonifacio Drive in Ermita. Its penthouse served as the residence of General Douglas MacArthur during his tenure as the Military Advisor of the Philippine Commonwealth from 1935 to 1941.
Melco International Development Limited, formerly The Macao Electric Lighting Company Limited, is a multinational investment holding company based in Central, Hong Kong. Melco International invests in casino and hospitality business and other businesses in Hong Kong, Macau, the Philippines, and Cyprus. One of the 100 oldest companies in Hong Kong, it was founded in 1910 and listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 1927. Originally an electricity supplier to Macau, around 2001 Melco International diversified into casino development and operations, building casino resorts such as Studio City Macau, City of Dreams Macau, City of Dreams Manila, and Altira Macau. Currently the major subsidiary that Melco International operates is Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited.
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Gambling has been present in the Philippines since at least the sixteenth century. Various legal and illegal forms of gambling are found almost all over the archipelago. The government manages gambling through the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) a state-owned enterprise which both operates a number of individual casinos and in turn acts as a regulator to privately owned casino operators. Since 2016 PAGCOR has also granted operating licenses and overseen the regulation of growing online gambling sector serving offshore markets. Casino gambling and integrated resorts have become a key component of the Philippines appeal as a tourist destination with more than twenty casinos found in Metro Manila alone.
Gambling in Metro Manila has been regulated since 1976 when the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) was created through Presidential Decree 1067. Under its charter promulgated in 1983, the 100% state-owned PAGCOR, running under the direct supervision of the Office of the President, serves three crucial roles: to regulate and operate all games of chance in the country, particularly casino gaming; generate funds for the government's infrastructure and socio-civic projects; and boost local tourism.
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The original 5,000-ton Manila vessel, dubbed the "Philippine Tourist," was purchased in late 1975 in Oslo for about $4 million
A floating casino in Manila Bay and one hotel were completely destroyed last year