Inside Asian Gaming

IAG JAPAN DEC 2019 26 The golf course at Sun Valley – one of 11 courses and 198 holes that Clark will offer once current developments are complete. サンバレーのゴルフコース。現在開発中のものが完成すれば、クラークが提供するゴルフ施設数はこのコースを含め11コース、198ホールとなる COVER STORY and is on track to rise by another 37% to Php11.81 billion in 2019. The Innovation Group’s Michael Zhu says Clark casinos will rake in around Php13.07 billion in 2020 and Php14.64 billion in 2021 – representing a better than 100% increase in five short years. And all thanks to Korea, with Clark’s number one source market providing around 20% of visitors to the area but 70% of its GGR, according to Royce Hotel and Casino’s General Manager – Casino, William L. Avendaño. “When Fontana was still open they were able to produce an average of Php6 billion to Php9 billion from phone (proxy) betting every year,” Avendaño explains. “Since the closing of Fontana we don’t get the same phone betting numbers but we do produce the same gross gaming revenue in total now, and most of that comes from Koreans.” Figures released by PAGCOR in November show that Clark produced record quarterly revenue of Php3.31 billion in 3Q19, up 55.8% year-on-year. “That’s the market,” agrees Widus Hotel & Casino’s Assistant Vice President – Corporate Planning and Compliance, Neki Liwanag. “Clark has this unique mix of features that Koreans like – golf, casinos and nighttime entertainment.” Indeed, Clark’s casino operators recognize the vital role golf plays in luring Koreans to the area, with 11 world-class courses either already operational or in development. Those open for business include two 18- hole courses at Mimosa, two more at Sun Valley and an 18-hole course next to the shuttered casino at Fontana. A recently announced development by Widus on 450 hectares in nearby New Clark City will include four more golf courses, while another three can be found 45 minutes away in Subic. “The Korean story is all about the fact that it’s