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Okada Manila

Coordinates:14°30′45″N120°58′50″E/ 14.51250°N 120.98056°E/14.51250; 120.98056
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Okada Manila
LocationEntertainment City,Parañaque,Philippines
Opening dateDecember 30, 2016;7 years ago(December 30, 2016)
No.of rooms993
Total gaming space26,410.77 m2(284,283.2 sq ft)
Signature attractions
  • Cove Manila
  • The Fountain
Notable restaurants
  • Medley Buffet
  • Red Spice
  • Lobby Lounge
  • Sportsbook Bar
  • Catch By The Bay
  • Japanese Kappou Imamura
  • Enbu
  • Goryeo Korean Barbecue
  • Ginza Nagaoka
  • Kiapo
  • La Piazza
  • Yu Lei
  • Okada Lounge
OwnerTiger Resort Leisure and Entertainment, Inc.
Operating license holderPAGCOR
ArchitectGF & Partners[1]
PRSP Architects[2]
Previous namesManila Bay Resorts(until June 2016)
Websiteokadamanila.com

Okada Manila(Japanese:オカダマニラ,romanized:Okada Manira) is a casino resort and hotel complex located on theEntertainment Citygaming strip inParañaque,Metro Manila,Philippines. With a total construction cost of about¥250 billion, Okada Manila was established and opened after seven years of construction in 2017.

History

[edit]
The complex under construction in 2015

Tiger Resort Leisure and Entertainment was granted a license to operate a casino within theEntertainment Cityin 2008. In June 2016, the casino complex then named as Manila Bay Resorts was re-branded as Okada Manila.[3]

The facility is intended to be used by Okada to compete with casinos inMacauand to positionMetro Manilaas a regional and international destination.[4]The casino was set to open in November 2016 but the opening was later delayed due to worse-than-expected weather conditions.[5]

The casino complex was opened for "preview" on December 21, 2016,[5]and later commenced operations as a casino on December 30, 2016.[6]

The Fountain, was officially opened on March 31, 2017, to invited guests. On the next day, the casino opened the attraction to the general public.[7]

Kazuo Okada was removed as board chairman of Tiger Resort in 2017 after theUniversal Entertainment Corporationits parent firm alleged he has misappropriate funds.[8][9]Okada continue's to claim that he is the rightful head of Tiger Resort and filed legal charges against the board while the casino continued to operate.[10][11]

The operations of the casino was significantly affected by theenhanced community quarantine in Luzonimposed due to theCOVID-19 pandemicwith 1,000 of its 10,000 staff members retrenched due in June 2020.[12]

TheSupreme Court of the Philippinesissued astatus quo ante orderon April 27, 2022, compelling the Tiger Resort to revert to a state prior to Kazuo Okada's removal from its board in 2017. On May 31, 2022, Okada's group took over Okada Manila's operations.[10][11]

Features

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Okada Manila occupies an area of 44 hectares (110 acres) of the Entertainment City[3]26,410.77 square metres (284,283.2 sq ft) allotted togaming.The hotel building of Okada Manila is composed of Pearl Wing and Coral Wing with each wing having 15 floors to be connected by twosky bridges.[13][14]The glass facade of the building has a gold color representing the hue of Manila Bay's sunset, and is one of the casino's key themes.[15]TheUS$2.4 billionphase one of the casino project includes 993 hotel rooms. More than 3,000 electronic gaming machines and 500 table games were planned to be installed in the casino complex.[3]

Included in Okada Manila's amenities are The Retreat Spa and PLAY, an indoor facility for kids.[16]There is also an allotted 8,409 square metres (90,510 sq ft) shopping area within the casino resort.[13]

The Fountain

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A large central fountain, dubbed as "The Fountain" is the centerpiece of the casino resort complex spanning 37,464 square meters (403,260 sq ft) and costs US$30 million.[13]The Fountain is dubbed as the largest multicolor dancing fountain in the world.[17]

The US$30 million fountain was designed byLos Angeles–based firm,WET.The design was inspired from the "festive traditions of the Philippines",and thesampaguita(Jasminum sambac). The dancing fountain has 739 water nozzles which includes underwater robots which are proprietary ofWET,2,611 colored LED lights and 23 speakers.[17]

The Fountain at Okada Manila is the largestdancing fountainin the Philippines. Measuring 37,464 square metres (403,260 sq ft), the Okada Manila fountain is slightly smaller thanThe Dubai Fountainat theBurj KhalifaLake in theUnited Arab Emirates.[18]

The Garden

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The Garden is an open space overlooking Manila bay. It occupies more than 30,000 square metres (320,000 sq ft) and features five reflective ponds covering over 3,000 square metres (32,000 sq ft).[19]

Cove Manila

[edit]

Cove Manila is an indoor beach club during the day and a night club at night.[20]

Cove Manila opened to the public on December 15, 2017, withDJSteve Aokiheadlining the event.[20]The venue already hosted an event prior to its opening which was the after-party event forMiss Universe 2016which was held in January 2017.[21]Notable events includeMiss Earth 2019,Miss Earth 2022,and actressJillian Ward'sdebuton February 25, 2023.[22]

In 2023, Okada Manila was awarded withForbes Travel Guide5-star rating for the fourth year in a row and also its first Forbes 5-star recognition for its spa, The Retreat Spa.[23]

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^"Projects - Hospitality".GF & Partners. Archived fromthe originalon April 1, 2019.RetrievedAugust 4,2016.
  2. ^"Projects - Mixed Used Buildings".PRSP Architects.RetrievedAugust 4,2016.
  3. ^abcMercurio, Richmond (July 20, 2016)."Okada rebrands Manila Bay Resorts".The Philippine Star.RetrievedAugust 4,2016.
  4. ^Sayson, Ian (July 19, 2016)."Tycoon Okada's Universal Wages Biggest Bet in Manila Casino".Bloomberg.Archivedfrom the original on July 21, 2016.RetrievedAugust 4,2016.
  5. ^abGonzales, Iris (December 21, 2016)."Okada Manila holds 'preview' today".Philstar.Archivedfrom the original on December 23, 2016.RetrievedDecember 21,2016.
  6. ^"Okada Manila's doors are now open for casino players starting December 30".InterAksyon.December 30, 2016. Archived fromthe originalon January 5, 2017.RetrievedJanuary 4,2017.
  7. ^Santiano, Jeanyn (April 3, 2017)."Want to see Okada Manila's The Fountain? Here's what you should know".ABS-CBN News.RetrievedApril 12,2017.
  8. ^"Tiger Resort sacks Kazuo Okada as board chairman".ABS-CBN News.June 23, 2017.RetrievedJune 2,2022.
  9. ^"Philippines seeks fraud charges against Japan casino mogul Okada".Interaksyon.December 18, 2018.RetrievedJune 2,2022.
  10. ^ab"PAGCOR to probe physical takeover of Okada Manila".GMA News.June 1, 2022.RetrievedJune 2,2022.
  11. ^ab"'Violent takeover' of Okada Manila ensues amid board dispute ".ABS-CBN News.June 1, 2022.RetrievedJune 2,2022.
  12. ^Venzon, Cliff (May 27, 2020)."Philippine casino operator Okada Manila lays off over 1,000 staff".Nikkei Asia Review.RetrievedJune 6,2020.
  13. ^abcOiga, Jacky Lynne (July 24, 2016)."Introducing Okada Manila".Manila Bulletin.Archived fromthe originalon July 27, 2016.RetrievedAugust 4,2016.
  14. ^"Okada Manila aims to turn PH as world's gaming and entertainment destination".Adobo Magazine.July 20, 2016.RetrievedAugust 4,2016.
  15. ^Vila, Alixandra Caole (July 20, 2016)."Billion-dollar 'Las Vegas' hotel casino to rise in Manila".The Philippine Star.Archivedfrom the original on October 27, 2016.RetrievedAugust 4,2016.
  16. ^"Okada Manila | A Dazzling Destination Like No Other".Orange Magazine.November 28, 2018.RetrievedJanuary 8,2019.
  17. ^abNisay, JT (April 5, 2017)."Okada Manila's now-open fountain is not only big in numbers".BusinessMirror.RetrievedApril 12,2017.
  18. ^Somosot, Janice (July 20, 2016)."Okada Manila: 3 Essential Facts About The Newest Gaming Resort In PH".International Business Times.IBT Media Inc.RetrievedJanuary 5,2018.
  19. ^"Celebrate a Festival of Yuletide Cheer at Okada Manila".Brand Magazine Philippines.November 26, 2018. Archived fromthe originalon February 9, 2019.RetrievedJanuary 8,2019.
  20. ^abPatag, Kristine Joy (December 18, 2017)."Indoor pool club opens in Manila's 'Entertainment City'".Philippine Star.RetrievedDecember 31,2017.
  21. ^"World's most expensive champagne is now available in Metro Manila".GMA News.December 21, 2017.RetrievedDecember 31,2017.
  22. ^"Jillian Ward looks radiant in her galaxy-themed debut ball gown".GMA Entertainment.RetrievedFebruary 25,2023.
  23. ^"Okada Manila receives two Five-Star Awards from Forbes Travel Guide".BusinessMirror.March 28, 2023.
[edit]
Events
Preceded by Miss Earthvenue
2019 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Virtual pageant
(due to COVID-19 pandemic)
 Miss Earthvenue
2022 		Succeeded by
Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center
VietnamHo Chi Minh City

14°30′45″N120°58′50″E/ 14.51250°N 120.98056°E/14.51250; 120.98056

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