Inside Asian Gaming

IAG JAPAN DEC 2019 24 FONTANA ROYCE FORTUNEGATE WIDUS D'HEIGHTS CASINO FILIPINO MIMOSA MIDORI CLARK FREEPORT ZONE CASINO MAP クラーク・フリーポートゾーン・カジノ地図 COVER STORY Build, Build” national infrastructure program that has spurred the sudden surge in development within Clark over the past three years. In 2020, the first of four new passenger terminals planned for Clark International Airport will be complete, tripling the annual passenger capacity from its current level of 4.2 million to 12.2 million. By the time the fourth is open in 2025, annual capacity will be a massive 110 million people. If recent trends are anything to go by, the bigger the better, with passenger arrivals rising by 73% to 2.61 million in 2018, up from 1.51 million 12 months earlier. Complementing the air access is better road and rail infrastructure, most notable being the US$15 billion North-South Commuter Railway connecting Clark and Manila, including a link to Clark International Airport, opening in stages from 2021. A second line connecting Clark and Subic will commence construction next year. It is with this in mind that Clark has seen its gaming and leisure industry launch explosive growth of its own. As 2019 draws to a close, Clark is home to six casinos, including Royce and Widus – both in the midst of major expansions – D’Heights which opened earlier this year, Fortunegate (formerly Casablanca) which re- opened after two years in June, plus Midori Clark Hotel and Casino and Casino Filipino Mimosa. Another two properties, one by Filinvest Development Corp and another by PH Resorts Group, are already in the works while there is talk that Fontana – once Clark’s most prosperous casino until authorities shut it down in 2016 for the hiring of illegal Chinese workers – could also re-open under new ownership. The revenue trajectory has been just as sharp. In 2018, Clark’s casino GGR grew 22.4% to Php8.62 billion