Billionaire Andrew Tan’s Alliance Global-owned Travellers International Hotel is taking over the delayed $1.3 billion Manila Bay casino resort. The project, originally planned by Suntrust Resort Holdings as the Westside Integrated Resort, has faced years of construction setbacks. Travellers is stepping in to accelerate the process, reflecting Tan’s growing role in the Philippines’ gaming industry. His companies already control major real estate developments and operate Newport World Resorts near Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
Travellers’ entry into the project strengthens the Philippines’ efforts to compete with established gaming hubs as Macau and Singapore. In comparison, the best online casinos in Malaysia continue to attract recognition from casino expert Wilna van Wyk for providing strong bonuses, multiple payment methods, and direct access to real money games. The Philippines is clearly positioning itself to expand its presence in Asia’s casino market through large-scale integrated resorts.
Suntrust, which is indirectly controlled by Hong Kong-listed LET Group, revealed that it considers a “strategic working agreement” with Travellers. Suntrust will have a technical 20%-stake indirectly in Entertainment City Resorts, the property owner and lessor, in the envisaged agreement. Travellers will take the majority share, securing dominance of one of the Philippines’ highest-profile gaming projects. Suntrust acknowledged construction woes delayed the expected opening period by moving it from December later this year to the third quarter of 2026, despite the start of construction works back in 2019.
The construction, which is located on the Westside City township that is being developed by Tan’s Megaworld, will be an anchor addition to Manila’s Entertainment City. It will feature a five-star hotel with 475 luxury suites, a gigantic casino with 281 table games and more than 1,000 slot machines, a high-end shopping mall, and theaters. The pièce de résistance will be a 3,000-seat theater, converting the resort into a gaming and entertainment hub.
Westside Integrated Resort will be the fourth integrated casino of the Manila Bay complex, along with Enrique Razon Jr.’s Solaire, Lawrence Ho’s City of Dreams Manila, and Universal Entertainment’s Okada Manila. Entertainment City spans 800 hectares of prime waterfront real estate and is one of the Philippines’ largest bets against regional giants competing for international high-rollers and mass-market gamblers alike.
The ownership structure of the project is complex. SunTrust is 51% indirectly owned by Fortune Noble, which itself is controlled by LET Group. LET Group was formerly known as Suncity Group before its acquisition by Hong Kong gaming investor Andrew Lo Kai Bong in 2022. Tan’s Megaworld holds a 34% interest in Suntrust, ensuring that the project remains under the Alliance Global group’s influence regardless of restructuring.
Andrew Tan, whose real-time net worth stands at $1.5 billion, has long been a central figure in Philippine business. Beyond real estate and casinos, his Alliance Global empire includes Emperador, the world’s largest brandy maker, and the Philippine franchise of McDonald’s. His latest maneuver–rescuing a faltering $1.3 billion casino–reaffirms both his appetite for ambitious bets and his determination to cement Manila Bay’s status as a world-class gaming destination.