Okada Manila, the casino in the Philippines operated by Tiger Resort, Leisure and Entertainment, saw an impressive month in July. Its gross gaming revenue (GGR), as well as its adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization), enjoyed substantial gains as the venue took in more visits than it had seen in over a year. The increase follows a first-half jump in GGR of 44.7%, with Okada Manila reporting revenue of $338.63 million over the period.
Tiger Resort is owned by Universal Entertainment Corp, a Japan-based company specializing in the gaming industry. In a filing with JASDAQ, the Japanese securities exchange where it’s listed, it said that Okada Manila’s GGR for July had come in at $62.8 million compared to the $42.76 million it took in during July of last year. Adjusted EBITDA was $10.76 million, 212% higher than what was seen a year earlier.
The increases were attributed, in part, to a rise in visits to the resort. There was reportedly a total of 514,020 people who passed through Okada Manila’s doors in July, while just 370,291 entered in July 2018. Universal partially explained the increase in the filing by stating, “From the second half of July, a number of rooms within Coral Wing (Tower B) have started simulations and are now in operation. This will further strengthen the ability to attract more customers.”
The venue’s VIP table game segment went from $18.39 million to $27.59 million when comparing the two months. Mass-market table games climbed to $15.84 million from $10.4 million a year earlier, and gaming machines enjoyed a 38.6% increase to give Okada Manila $19.14 million.
VIP rolling chip volume was approximately $857.99 million for the month, which represents an increase of 26.3% over July of last year. Table drop for the mass-market segment saw gains, as well, picking up 21.7% to reach $33.36 million.
Despite the stellar performance of Okada Manila this year, Universal hasn’t seen a great 2019 overall. The company saw a net loss of around $85.71 million over the first six months of the year. Last year, it reported a net gain of just over $1.63 billion. Thanks to better results at Tiger Resort, net sales at Universal increased during the first half of the year by 12.9%.
