SHOWBIZ BEAT MEDIA

Even though the gaming business is still bouncing back from the pandemic, real estate tycoon Manuel “Manny” Villar doesn’t hold back when it comes to the creation of a new casino complex in Las Piñas City next year. 2023 will see Vista Mall Global South Mall converted into a $1-billion integrated resort and casino, the likes of which are only seen in popular gaming destinations such as Las Vegas and Macau.

Aside from the casino and resort, there will also be hotels, condominiums, a mall, and a theme park, which will be built by Villar Group’s Prime Asset Ventures, Inc. The gross floor area of the mall is 18,000 square meters but the earliest expansion will include the area surrounding it, which totals nine hectares.

The former senator said that similar to Parañaque’s Entertainment City, the casino would be easy to travel to from the international airport.

Villar also emphasized, “The Las Vegas model no longer relies on the high rollers, but mostly slot machines.” The mogul then added, “The casino will be the anchor. I look at it more as a resort.”

Apart from the casino, his aggressive 2023 investments include 41 real estate projects to be launched by his company Vista Land and Lifescapes, Inc. “We will return to developing more vertical projects because I want to preserve the land because land is getting to be more expensive. Next year we will have more vertical projects,” he said in a media interview.

For AllTV, his broadcast venture, his group wants to expand the viewership by putting up digital signal across the country. They will be renting out facilities from ABS-CBN Corp., while they construct their own antennas and facilities.

One may note that Manny Villar is one of the richest men in the Philippines, with 7 companies listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange, all part of The Villar Group conglomerate. According to Bilyonaryo.com’s article, he is the second placer when it comes to asset gains in the Philippines, with an increase of $600 million in his net worth, or nine percent bump. This makes the real estate mogul’s net worth currently at $7 billion.

*Cover Photo/Thumbnail Photo from Facebook (@Manny Villar)