NUSTAR Resort and Casino, a Cebu tourism complex in the Philippines, is to have a “soft launch” in December for a high-end new hotel under the “NUSTAR” brand, according to commentary by the resort’s management, cited by the Manila Bulletin, and the Manila Standard news outlets.

The new hotel will have 223 rooms, to add to the 379 rooms already on the site under the “Fili” hotel brand. The resort is promoted by Robinsons Land Corp, a group controlled by privately-owned Gokongwei Group.

NUSTAR Resort and Casino is described in the reports as a PHP30-billion (US$513.7 million) investment.

By early 2027, a third hotel, via the Robinsons hotel brand “Grand Summit”, will bring the complex’s room capacity to 985.

The Manila Bulletin cited Roel Contantino, NUSTAR Resort and Casino’s general manager for hotels, as saying that would make the room capacity the greatest of any Cebu resort.

The same outlet cited Trevor Hammond, the resort’s senior vice president for gaming and integrated resort operations, as saying that the property had opened in May 2022 with 40 tables and 400 slot machines. Mr Hammond is a former senior executive in the Macau casino market.

NUSTAR Resort and Casino currently had 21,000 square metres (226,042 sq. feet) of gaming space, and had opportunities for gaming to expand to three more levels of the property, said the executive.

Private-gaming operations at the resort – currently at eight gaming rooms for junket operators in a second-floor location – could also be expanded, Mr Hammond was cited as saying.