Manila, South-East Asia's new Las Vegas

Manila by night is a wild party, with a rare sense of conviviality, but also a great weakness for the emotion experienced around a green carpet.

In Asia, there was already Macau, the world's leading destination for the gaming and casino industry. Then there was Singapore, where casinos are just one of a number of giant resorts. And now there's Manila, which is gradually emerging as Asia's new gambling Eldorado.

It has to be said that the capital of the Philippines was predestined for this type of activity. People know how to have fun in Manila, and the Filipinos have a real sense of fun and conviviality. In the chic Makati district and the more popular Malate district, the bars, karaoke bars and clubs are always packed after dark. On Roxas Boulevard, an exhuberant crowd invades the promenade along the bay night after night. Manila loves to sing, drink and dance. Now it also thrills to the last pesos in the city's brand new casinos.

Capitalising on a Chinese market that is particularly 'addicted' to gambling and, more generally, on the entire new Asian bourgeoisie concerned about its status as the nouveau riche, Manila has seen a succession of resorts open up, incorporating luxury hotels, shopping centres and gaming tables. The capital has three resorts of this type. A few minutes' drive from the international airport, Resorts World Manila opened its doors in 2009. The complex, which offers 1,350 hotel rooms in its three establishments, was for a time the capital's only casino. However, the resort now faces competition from Entertainment City, a vast project stretching along the edge of Manila Bay. Among the first developments open to the public is the Solaire Resort Casino, which covers 8.5 hectares and includes a hotel, conference centre, theatre, the inevitable shopping centre and almost 19,000 m2 of gaming tables. Since the end of 2014, the Philippine capital's gaming strip has boasted a second complex, the City of Dreams Manila. A 1.3 billion dollar investment, it comprises six hotels including the Crown Towers, Hyatt and Nobu Hotel - named after the famous Japanese chef - with 940 rooms, a Dreamworks theme park and an 80,000 m2 shopping centre.

The boom in casino resorts is not about to dry up. Two more projects are already under construction. Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada's $2 billion Manila Bay Resorts is due to open in 2016, while Marina Bayshore, located next to Resorts World Manila, is due to open in 2018. It will include three hotels, a casino and a theatre. Gambling revenues have already generated 2.5 billion dollars in 2014. According to experts, they could reach 4.8 billion dollars in 2017.