The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) is set to close down Airport Casino Filipino, one of the biggest casinos it operates, because it has started to incur losses.
Pagcor chair and chief executive officer Cristino Naguiat Jr. said the regulatory agency would be closing down the casino this July in view of projections that it may have difficulty improving its financial standing given its location.
He cited the lack of commercial establishments around the casino that could have helped draw customers. The casino is located near Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Parañaque City.
“As much as possible we don’t want to close down any casino, but the decision depends on the viability of a casino,” Naguiat told reporters Tuesday.
The casino generates an average of P180 million in gross revenues a month, half of which is automatically remitted to the national treasury as dividends of the national government.
Naguiat said the remaining P90 million was not enough to pay for the casino’s expenses. He said the rent alone for the property housing the casino already cost P23 million a month.
He gave assurances, however, that the casino’s 800 employees would not end up jobless since they could be absorbed by the other casinos operated by Pagcor.
Naguiat said that, on average, Pagcor loses about 50 employees a month due mainly to resignations and retirement, and that the closure of the Airport Casino would not necessarily mean job displacement for the employees.
But he maintained that Airport Casino’s case was more of an exception rather than the rule, since the outlook for the country’s gaming industry in general remained positive for this year.
He said the industry’s revenues would be driven by incomes of privately operated casinos, particularly Resorts World and Solaire. Other casinos operated by Pagcor were also expected to generate profits this year, he said.
Besides Airport Casino Filipino, Pagcor operates five more casinos in Luzon and three in other parts of the country.
Last year, Pagcor posted a net income of P3 billion, up from P2.8 billion in 2012. Naguiat said Pagcor expected its net income to continue rising in 2014 and in the next few years.