OKADA Manila, the $2.4-billion integrated casino in Entertainment City in Parañaque, and its sister firm slot-machine maker Aruze are expected to produce as many as 8,000 local jobs once they are fully operational.
The casino, owned by Japanese gambling magnate Kazuo Okada, is set to open for a Christmas preview and concert today, December 21.
Meanwhile, the $35-million Aruze Philippines Manufacturing Inc. in Santo Tomas, Batangas, currently employs over 800 workers, most of them Filipinos. The plant is a subsidiary of Universal Entertainment Corp., also owned by the Japanese billionaire. The slot-machine factory moved to the Philippines from Japan in 2009. Lito Garcia, a metal-fabrication supervisor and planner at Aruze gaming, said their plant in Batangas is producing thousands of slot machines for various international markets, including the US, Australia, Macau and South Africa.
Garcia, a pioneer at Aruze’s Philippine plant, started as a technician in charge of setting up tools and metal parts needed to assemble gaming machines.
In his seven years with the company, he rose from the ranks to become team leader, then supervisor and now a planner for his department.
A fellow worker, Dona Castillo, works in the same firm as a development engineer. She said her five-year stint at Aruze allowed her to expand her skills and knowledge both in engineering and research and development. “In some companies, there are many barriers for women engineers. Here in Aruze, I have lots of opportunities to learn and develop my skills,” she said. “What I like about Aruze is the stability it provides—nobody wants to work for a company where five years down the road, you no longer have a job because your product is no longer being produced,” Castillo said.
The first phase of the Okada Manila project will cover the casino floor, two hotel wings, nightclub and beach club, retail area, restaurants and an iconic fountain, claimed by the resort to be one of the largest in the world.