HONG KONG - The billionaire owner of the
City of Dreams casino resort in Manila will increase security
at his complex, he said on Friday, following the deaths of at
least 36 people at the nearby Resorts World Manila.
A gunman burst into the Resorts World Manila, fired shots
and set gaming tables alight in the early hours of Friday,
sowing panic in a country already on high alert over a militant
attack in the south.
"With an incident like this, especially at Resorts World
Manila, we certainly would ratchet that (security) up even
more...certainly an issue we will buckle down on," Lawrence Ho,
40, who owns casinos in Manila and Macau, told Reuters in Hong
Kong.
Ho's City of Dreams Manila, operated through his company
Melco Resorts, is located a few kilometres (miles) from
the Resorts World Manila, owned by Travellers International
Hotel Group Inc, a joint venture of the Philippines'
Alliance Global Group Inc and Genting Hong Kong Ltd
.
Ho declined to say how he would increase security but said
his casinos already make use of surveillance and counter
intelligence measures, metal detectors and security guards.
"We get news about what happens around the region.
Occasionally, there are instability within geopolitics in the
Philippines and the ASEAN region, so we take it (security) very
seriously," he said.
The Philippines is one of the fastest-growing casino hubs in
Asia after Macau and Singapore. The government wants to build a
Las Vegas style strip in the middle of the capital.
But security is a major concern that deters big spending
gamblers from China, who are wary of kidnapping and extortion
incidents in the Philippines in recent years.
"When we first started five years ago, it was perceived very
differently than what it is now," said Ho, adding that growing
ties between China and the Philippines at a national level was
helping to drive visits and tourism.
Most Manila casinos and hotels have metal detectors at their
entrances and they also typically check vehicles before allowing
them access.
"It's the fastest-growing gaming jurisdiction in the world.
Growth rates in terms of (the) economy is phenomenal," said Ho.
(Reporting by Farah Master; Editing by Neil Fullick)
Source: Reuters