LAST week, I had dinner at Kang Kang Sullai, a very chic and expensive Korean restaurant at the back of Midori Casino inside Clark Freeport. It celebrated its third anniversary and I expected it must be filled with people, or at least half of its capacity following health protocols. But lo and behold there were hardly any customers when I arrived at around six in the evening. A year ago before the pandemic, at the particular time of the evening, even before the sun will set, almost all seats including the resto's function rooms were already teeming with diners. Now corona virus changed the atmosphere dramatically. I learned later that Koreans come now in trickles due to decreased flights.
For the past many years, the latest tourists' arrivals showed that the Koreans maintain the lead in Clark Airport. After Metro Manila and Cebu City, Angeles City and Clark Freeport have the most numbers of Korean tourists. The Korean tourists were coming for the many massage parlors and videoke clubs which mushroomed over the years at the Friendship road just off the fence of the freeport. The golf courses and the casinos also attracted them. They stopped coming.
Talking about casinos, presently there are several gambling casinos in the Clark Freeport. The Pagcor run casino Mimosa, Fontana Casino by Jimei Corporation of Hong Kong which was temporarily closed by the government, Widus operated by a Korean business group led by Dae Sik Han, Fortune Gate, formerly Casablanca owned and operated by the late Congressman Tarzan Lazatin and now sold to foreign investors, The Heights at Sunvalley, Royce Hotel and Casino by sportsman Rodolfo Pineda and Midori Hotel and Casino operated by Taiwanese businessmen
To recall, one of the first locators in Clark was Tony Gonzalez. He renovated the former Chambers Hall and turned it into a four-star hotel, the now Quest Hotel, formerly Holiday Inn. He redesigned the golf course and made it into a world class playground. He spruced up the villas and later he established the Mimosa casino.
Fontana is one beautiful leisure park nestled on a mountain ridge overlooking the Sacobia river, and most beautiful during nightime when one can see the bright orange sun setting while defining the outline of the mountain ranges as foreground. It was first developed by R.N Development Corporation of chinoy businessman Robin Tan,putting up a waterpark, restaurants and adding more villas. A separate building was built which housed the casino. Later, it was sold to commercial retailer Lucio Co of Puregold for P800 million. And few years later sold to the Jimei group of successful businessman and philanthropist Jack Lam of Hong Kong.
Jack Lam poured more amount to further improve the park, making almost everything world class. The increased flights touching down at Clark airport further boosted the incomes of the park, particularly the casino operation, until government troopers raided the place and arrested illegal Chinese workers. As a consequence it shut down the casino.
The estimated 15,000 Korean expats residing just outside the Clark Freeport, and hundreds more from South Korea who are visiting Clark daily via flights landing at Clark International Airport were the main bulk of customers by Widus Casino. Through this market force Widus has to expand the casino area and build a hotel annex to accommodate the Korean tourists.
It was known first Oxford Princess Casino, then it closed down. In the early years while all the gambling casinos inside Clark Freeport were enjoying good incomes, this casino run by certain politicians from Isabela province was almost all the time in the red in their bottom line figures. It was not able to pay on schedules its obligation, that one time it was ordered closed by the Clark Development Corporation. The profuse bleeding continued and the owners divested and it was sold to businessman Rodolfo "Bong" Pineda. There was total renovation and now it's called Royce Hotel and Casino. A bigger casino is now under construction.