Packer places bets on a new City of Dreams James Packer and Lawrence Ho's Asian JV Melco Crown Entertainment will expand the number of gaming tables at its new casino resort in the Philippines and brand it as City of Dreams Manila. JAMES Packer's expanded casino resort in The Philippines will be rebranded City of Dreams Manila to match his successful venture in Macau. Revealing the new name at a ceremony in Manila yesterday, Mr Packer and his partner Lawrence Ho said the complex would see the number of gaming tables increased by nearly 50 per cent and would include a 260-room Crown Towers hotel, adding to the brand's two locations in Macau and Melbourne. The reconfiguration of the resort to include more tables and the hotel means the development cost for the project has increased to about $US680 million ($720m) from $US620m "I am confident that when it opens in 2014 it will be an iconic landmark in Manila, just as City of Dreams has become in Macau," Mr Packer said yesterday of the new project. I truly believe that Crown's presence at City of Dreams Manila will be a big step forward to realising our vision of being a leading global luxury resorts brand. Shareholders in Mr Packer and Mr Ho's gaming venture, Melco Crown Entertainment, will vote at next month's annual meeting to change the company's name to Crown Resorts. The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) recently made changes to regulatory revisions, allowing for an increased number of gaming tables, additional bonus junket tables and electronic gaming machines at the site. As a result City of Dreams Manila is anticipated to be able to operate up to about 365 gaming tables, 1680 slot machines and 1680 electronic table games when it opens, up from the previous 242 gaming tables and 1450 electronic gaming machines. Melco Crown Philippines chairman Clarence Chung said yesterday: "PAGCOR's decision of gaming positions allocation based on both quality and size of hotel rooms demonstrates its forward-thinking approach to ensure integrated casino resorts in Entertainment City, Manila, possess adequate amenities which are of a quality and scale necessary to contribute to the long-term success of Entertainment City." The Manila project was previously called Belle Grande. It is a partnership between Melco Crown and Philippines developer Belle Corporation. Belle is owned by Henry Sy, The Philippines' richest man.