Manila is slowly becoming the new Macau. The country’s economy is improving and there are a lot of undeveloped lands in the country that can be used as bases for luxury-integrated establishments. As of today, there are 3 grand casinos in Manila with two more slated to open in the next couple of years.
Resorts World Manila (RWM) is the first luxury-integrated resort and casino established in the Philippines. It is quite possibly the most popular, as it is located just across from one of the biggest airport runways in Manila, the NAIA Terminal 3. Resorts World Manila has 4 hotels (the 4th one, Sheraton Hotel, is still under construction), a 2-floor casino, and a 4-level shopping center. RWM is also surrounded by several high-end apartments, which are mostly populated by expats.
RMW’s mall houses some of the best fine-dining restaurants in Manila. Crisostomo’s, which serves authentic Filipino dishes, is always filled with foreigners and locals who want to eat Filipino delicacies such as Kare Kare (beef in peanut sauce), Adobo (chicken or pork marinated in soy sauce, garlic, and vinegar), and Lechon, which is considered to be the Philippines’ national dish. RWM’s mall also has restaurants serving international dishes, which are perfect for foreigners who are not very adventurous to try local and exotic dishes.
When it comes to casino gaming, gamblers will find RWM’s casino area satisfying. It has two floors dedicated to slot machines, table games, and VIP rooms. The servers that are walking around the place are all very nice, offering everyone sitting at the slots or table area some beverage or food. You can ask for whatever drinks you like as long as they have it: juice, soft drinks, or beer – all for free. Just don’t forget to tip the servers who walk around all day preparing drinks for guests. If you’re tired from playing and want to go somewhere to hang, there are three bars that you can choose from. There’s Frank’s Craft Beers, a second floor nameless bar, and Bar 360 on the first level. There’s almost always a performance in Bar 360 so if you like to listen to music while drinking, this place is for you. Bar360, along with the other bars in the area, are quite possibly what makes people still visit land-based casinos despite the emergence of the more convenient online gaming websites. Online casino providers today may offer support for several foreign languages and varying deposit bonuses to players who want to engage in games of roulette or other card games that aren’t available in brick-and-mortar casinos. However, patrons can only get free-flowing drinks while enjoying live musical performances in land-based casinos such as Resorts World Manila, hence its popularity since its inception.
Resorts World Manila is a great place for Friday evening hangouts, even if you’re not into casinos. It has a huge mall, good set of restaurants, and a nice crowd that you can easily mingle with.
Nice review UJ, and pretty accurate. You are right the Pasay area of Metro Manila is really trying hard to draw visitors. In the same general area is Mall of Asia a couple of theme parks etc.
There are also two other brand new casinos. Solaire and City of Dreams. Like resort world they also have a nice selection of restaurants and retail stores.
The one draw back of Result world is ease of access. It is close to the airport so has all that traffic, plus ongoing infrastructure project so at times traffic is a pain.
I prefer City of Dreams myself. It is in the new reclaimed area, the roads are wider and traffic a bit less traumatic. Plus very close to S&R warehouse store and Mall of Asia so if we have a peso or two left over from shopping we drop in for a bite and a bet :).
It is a nice review. I wish I was the one that wrote it. It was written for me by a professional. I’ve never been to any of those places, but maybe on my next trip or 2 to Manila. I just don’t go there very much though.