Several casino magnates are among the wealthiest Filipinos, according to Forbes Asia's yearly 50 Richest list.

 Gaming has been a source of riches for some of the Philippines' most successful entrepreneurs.  Forbes Asia's yearly "50 Richest" list places a number of casino magnates in the top ten in the country.

 Taking second place from Manuel Villar, Bloomberg Resorts chairman Enrique Razon Jr. makes history.  Villar, a former senator and wealthy businessman, dropped from second to third place from last year.

 Dennis Uy (number 19) and Lance Gokongwei (number 11) were further down the list.

 Lots of money, even when the economy isn't moving
 Inflation and increased borrowing rates slowed the Philippines' economy to 5.7% growth in Q1, down from 6.4% in 2023.  While the benchmark stock market index of the country rose 2% since fortunes were last assessed, the peso declined 6%, according to Forbes.

 "The upshot is that this year's wealth distribution is lower for over half of the nation's 50 wealthiest."

 This year's 50 listers, who have a combined fortune of ₱4.6tn (£62.2bn/€73bn/$80.5bn), are not in need of any sombre tunes, though.

 The Sy heirs, who own retail, banking, and financial services assets through SM Investments, are at the top of the heap.  The net worth of the six siblings has decreased from ₱822bn to ₱742bn in the previous year.

 Razon, Enrique Jr.
 After that, we have Razon, whose Bloomberry Resorts Corp. bills itself as "the Philippines' winningest integrated resort (IR) developer."

 Razon left school at the age of seventeen to begin working for the family cargo-loading business, where he earned minimum wage.  Thanks to his shipping business, he now has control of a diverse conglomerate valued at ₱633.6bn, an increase from ₱171.2bn in 2023.  As international trade picked up speed again last year, International Container Terminal Services' stock price increased by over 80%.

 Bloomberry Resorts, the hospitality division of Razon, made ₪9.5bn in consolidated net income in 2023, an increase of 85% compared to the previous year.

 The Solaire Resort & Casino, one of Bloomberry's businesses, has been an integral part of Entertainment City in Manila since 2013.  Located in Quezon City, north of Manila, the new Solaire North was opened in May by the corporation.  Bloomberry owns and operates the Jeju Sun resort in South Korea in addition to their third Philippine IR in Cavite City.

 Juan Manuel Villar
 Villar, a real estate tycoon, ex-president of the senate, and previous presidential contender, comes in at number three.

 Villar is well-known as "Mr Hard Work and Perseverance." His parents were fishmongers and public servants.  He purchased two used trucks in the mid-1970s for the purpose of transporting sand and gravel to construction sites with a loan of ₱10,000.

 He now has a net worth of 622 billion, an increase of 57 billion from last year.  Two IR developments in Metro Manila and Las Pinas, totalling ₱$1 billion, are being planned by Villar.  Neither resort's name has been revealed by Villar, but in July he stated that he anticipates the first one to open in Metro Manila as early as 2025.

 Arthur Gokongwei
 At number eleven on the list is Lance Gokongwei, whose career began selling Jack 'n Jill ice cream snacks to grocery stores.  With holdings in the airline, telecom, banking, power, and real estate industries, he is now the chief executive officer of JG Summit.  The combined net wealth of him and his siblings is ₱108.4bn.

 Gokongwei has praised tourism as "something we can all support" and "a pillar of economic growth" on his Facebook page.

 He inaugurated Cebu Island's NUSTAR Resort & Casino in May 2022.  The first high-end IR in the famous vacation spot was NUSTAR.

 Uy, Dennis
 Dennis Uy comes in at number nineteen on the list.  Uy hails from Manila and is a third-generation Chinese-Filipino.  He found motivation in the works of Dale Carnegie and Stephen Covey while working as a supermarket maintenance worker when he was a boy.

 With a background in petroleum, shipping, real estate, education, and gaming, Uy now heads up Udenna Corp.  In addition, he established Converge ICT Solutions, a leading provider of high-speed internet in the Philippines.

 Regarding gaming, a casino complex in Cebu, developed by Uy's PH Resorts, has been in the works for quite some time.  At first, the Emerald Bay Casino Resort was intended to be a five-star IR costing ₱17 billion.  However, following COVID-19, work stalled.  The resort has not been completed yet, and PH Resorts is still trying to find a buyer.

 It is unnecessary to create a GoFundMe page for Uy.  His total net worth with his wife Maria is ₱55.3bn, as reported by Forbes.

 People have said that iGaming magnate No. 22, Eusebio Tanco, is a "renaissance man" who "revels in the diversity" of business opportunities.  The forty-one businesses that make up Tanco operate in fields as diverse as gambling, education, utilities, shipping, real estate, and finance.

 Thanks mainly to his DigiPlus Interactive online gaming firm, his wealth increased by 35% to ₱46bn in the last year.  From ₱1.1bn in the previous year, DigiPlus' net income increased 377% to ₱5.2bn in the first half of 2024.  The current prohibition on POGOs by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will not harm DigiPlus and might perhaps benefit them.

 Industry status
 Gross gaming revenue in the Philippines reached an all-time high of ₱285bn in 2023.  According to the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor), the industry is expected to reach ₱336bn this year, according to the state-run regulator.

 An influx of tourists, notably well-heeled Chinese, would cause the sector's GGR to quadruple by 2028, according to one estimate.