Akihabara News (Tokyo) — After the dramatic battle for control witnessed last year, the Okada Manila casino resort in the Philippines, now firmly back in the grasp of Tokyo-based Universal Entertainment, is presented as having entered a “new normal.”
The resort’s new Tower Villas have been promoted in the Philippine Star, its new Spanish restaurant Las Flores has opened its doors, and events such as beauty pageants and its Grand Fireworks Display have drawn public attention.
Meanwhile, billionaire Kazuo Okada, who made his bold challenge to reassume control of the resort last year, is now on the defensive, facing a charge of “Grave Coercion” filed by the the Philippines Department of Justice. In a December communication to the media, Okada complained of betrayal and vowed to recover his lost businesses “from the hands of the criminals” who took them from him.
For its part, Universal Entertainment, in the hands of those alleged criminals, also speaks of illicit behavior, declaring the period when Okada’s agents took control of Okada Manila as an “illegal occupation.” In their quarterly report to shareholders issued last month, they wrote:
The performance of this business was impacted by the illegal occupation of this property from May 31 to September 2, 2022, by a group acting under the instructions of Kazuo Okada. Despite the negative effects of this occupation, Okada Manila is performing well… the number of guests has recovered to near the pre-pandemic level.
While the financial results for the July-September quarter came in at a loss of ¥1.6 billion (US$12.3 million), the company clearly expects better performance in 2023.
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