PAGCOR to close Parañaque casino in July, cites unspecified losses

Despite churning out P180 million in monthly revenues, the PAGCOR casino in Parañaque has been incurring losses over the years and will have to be shuttered in July, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation said.

The income of the Parañaque branch isn’t enough to account for operating expenses, chairman and CEO Cristino Naguiat told reporters in an interview on Monday. “Rent, alone, is P23 million every month,” he said.

With about 800 employees and total lot area of 10,000 square meters, the PAGCOR casino in Parañaque is the largest state-run gambling facility in the Philippines.

“I really do not want to close a casino…” Naguiat said. “But, for  us not to leave that location, there should be a development in that area,” the PAGCOR chief noted.

“There’s just no growth there,”he added.

At this point there is no cause for worry over the future of employees who will be affected by the closure, because PAGCOR has plans for them, Naguiat noted saying “some of them will be absorbed by other casinos.”

“It will not be a problem for us because… on average there 50 employees every month who either resign or retire,” he said.

PAGCOR operates 23 casinos nationwide. “Our biggest, in terms of earnings, is the one in Cebu,” according to the PAGCOR chief.

Last year, the gaming regulator shuttered its casino in Pasay City’s Heritage Hotel which helped reduce

PAGCOR’s operating expenses by P1 billion. – VS, GMA News