City of Dreams Manila Returns to Normal as Other Melco Properties Remain Sluggish

Posted on: March 2, 2022, 09:24h. 

Last updated on: March 2, 2022, 12:40h.

Erik Gibbs Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Gaming Business, Global Gaming.

Melco Resorts and Entertainment’s City of Dreams Manila is coming back to life. It can now operate at full capacity after the removal of COVID-19 restrictions. But other Melco properties will need more time.

City of Dreams Manila
One of the entrances to City of Dreams Manila. The casino resort is now operating at 100% following the removal of most COVID-19 restrictions. (Image: Out of Town Blog)

The Philippines has lifted most of the restrictions designed to keep COVID-19 from spreading throughout the country. City of Dreams (CoD) Manila is operating at 100% for the first time since March 2020. This is according to Melco Resorts’ Chairman and CEO Lawrence Ho during a company earnings call this week.

Metro Manila is now under “Alert Level 1,” which is the lowest and safest level of precautionary measures put in place to thwart COVID-19’s attack. All businesses can operate at full capacity, and if everything goes according to plan, the government will no longer have any alert level in place as of March 15.

Despite the continued presence of the restrictions, CoD Manila has been doing fairly well. Ho emphasized that the fourth quarter of last year was the property’s “strongest” as a result of having a full quarter to operate.

Things should only improve from here. CoD Manila President Geoff Andres pointed out that the casino is still missing a lot of its regular traffic because of continued restrictions in countries such as Japan and South Korea.

CoD Macau Needs More Time

The Chinese New Year holiday helped to give CoD Macau a boost. However, the property still has a long way to go. Mass table drop increased by 20% during the period, compared to the same time last year. But the introduction of restrictions tied to junkets will continue to impact operations.

Despite the loss of junkets, there are plenty of opportunities to increase traffic and revenue. Melco has already taken several initiatives, and Ho explained that CoD Macau’s premium direct segment is on the rise.

The property added more than 100% to its premium direct segment during the holiday period compared to last year’s Chinese New Year holiday. Ho stated in the call that this trend continues, adding that the segment outperformed previous results in the weeks following the holiday.

While improvements are likely throughout 2022, the market will remain relatively flat. Ho forecast that the performance will be “range bound” because of continued COVID-19 issues. These are causing travel complications to and from the region.

CoD Mediterranean Pushing Through

Another CoD property, CoD Mediterranean in Cyprus, is still progressing. Ho believes it will be ready sometime later this year. It lost some momentum because of the global pandemic but is approaching the finish line.

Late last month, Melco held a career day in anticipation of the launch. It already has around 700 employees on its payroll in Cyprus, but the job fair looked to increase that number by about 1,800. Openings were available at CoD Mediterranean, as well as all of Melco’s C2 casinos in Cyprus.