The prognosis for the Philippine gaming industry looked bleak in the immediate aftermath of the June 2 arson attack on Resorts World Manila.
On that night, an armed former casino patron opened fire inside the swanky hotel resort and set gaming tables alight—resulting in the death of 37 people due to asphyxiation—before killing himself.
In the following days, industry watchers and analysts feared the incident would nip the growth of the booming casino sector in the bud, just when activity at the Entertainment City complex of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) was starting to shift to high gear.
The Philippine Travel Agencies Association predicted that domestic tourism would take a short-term hit. Casino operators forecasted a dip in gamers and revenues. The state-run gaming regulator even said it had expected royalty payments to decline, thanks to the temporary closure of Resorts World Manila, which is a joint venture between billionaire Andrew Tan and the Genting Group of Malaysia.
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More importantly for investors, share prices of big casino operators listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange took a hit the morning after the attack. The share price of Resorts World Manila’s operator Travellers International Hotel Group Inc. fell by as much as 8 percent in a single day. Those of City of Dreams Manila operator Melco Crown and Entertainment (Philippines) Corp. and Enrique Razon Jr.’s Bloomberry Resorts Corp. also slipped marginally.
Fast forward to the present day—less than two months after the tragedy—and the worst fears of industry stakeholders did not materialize.
