Pagcor shuts down Casablanca Casino

Pagcor Chief Executive Officer Andrea Domingo said that “after several extension, they were not able to meet the escrow requirements.”

Close to 200 workers lost their jobs following the closure of the casino, which is located at the ground level of the Hotel Stotensberg inside the Freeport. Escrow generally refers to money held by a third-party on behalf of transacting parties.

The casino has a total of 190 slot machines, 36 gaming tables and two VIP rooms, while the Stotsenberg Hotel has 239 hotel rooms and a convention center that can accommodate a maximum of 2,000 people.

In February 2016, the Frontier Capital Group Ltd. of Australia acquired the Stotsenberg Hotel and Casino from Stotsenberg Leisure & Hotel Corporation for $26 million. FCG bought Stotsenberg through a “scrip only payment” with a $25-million profit guarantee over five years from E!xcite Gaming and Entertainment Inc., the appointed manager of the hotel and casino.

Former Pampanga representative and Angeles City Mayor Carmelo Lazatin, one of the shareholders of Stotsenberg, blamed the FCG for the closure of the casino. Stotsenberg Hotel is under normal operation as of press time.

In December last year, Pagcor officials and Angeles City policemen shut down the main casino and 15 casino rooms in Fontana Leisure Parks and Casino. Some 1,300 Chinese, who were working in an illegal online casino inside the leisure estate, were arrested. There are still four casinos operating inside the Freeport – the Casino Filipino, Widus Casino, Royce Casino, and Midori Casino.