Melco hands off management of Philippines' City of Dreams hotel to Hyatt

The twin-tower hotel to be branded Hyatt City of Dreams Manila forms part of the US$ 1.3 billion integrated casino resort that Melco Crown Entertainment will open this year in Entertainment City, Manila's version of Las Vegas gaming strip.

It is Melco's first casino venture outside of Macau, seeking to offer wealthy Chinese punters and other Asian high rollers an alternative gambling destination.

Hyatt City of Dreams will feature 365 rooms and provide access to three entertainment venues in the casino complex, Hyatt and Melco Philippines said in joint statement filed with Manila's stock exchange.

Last year Melco CEO Lawrence Ho said his group was planning to build three hotels in City of Dreams Manila, including a 260-room premium hotel under the Crown Towers chain owned by Ho's partner in Melco, Australian billionaire James Packer.

In January, Melco announced luxury boutique hotel chain Nobu will set up its first Asia hotel in City of Dreams Manila featuring the largest nightclub in the city and a Hollywood-style theme park. City of Dreams Manila will compete with the US$ 1.2 billion Solaire Resort & Casino of Bloomberry Resorts Corp, owned by the Philippines' fourth-richest person, Enrique Razon.

Solaire is the first to open among four casino resorts licensed to operate in Entertainment City in the Manila Bay area. The other two licensees are Travellers International Hotel Group Inc, a venture between Genting Hong Kong Ltd and Philippine conglomerate Alliance Global Group , and Universal Entertainment Corp of Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada.

Melco's Philippine partner is Belle Corp, owned by the Philippines' richest man, Henry Sy Sr. Belle announced on Tuesday a consolidation of its gaming assets including its stake in City of Dreams Manila under a separate listed entity, Sinophil.