Bloomberry appoints Solaire North head as acting COO of BRHI

MANILA, Philippines — Bloomberry Resorts Corp. of tycoon Enrique Razon Jr. has appointed Gregory Francis Hawkins as acting chief operating officer (COO) of subsidiary Bloomberry Resorts and Hotels Inc. (BRHI).

Hawkins currently heads Solaire Resort North in Quezon City, Razon’s five-star integrated resort serving northern Metro Manila and adjacent provinces.

Bloomberry said that Hawkins assumed the COO functions in both Solaire Entertainment City and Solaire North effective Dec. 19.

Hawkins is an industry veteran, with decades of experience in the gaming industry.

He has previously served as chief casino officer of Star Entertainment and managing director of Star Sydney.

Hawkins also served as chief executive officer of Crown Melbourne and as president of City of Dreams Macau.

His appointment as COO comes following the retirement of long-time Bloomberry president and COO Thomas Arasi.

Arasi, who has been president and COO of Bloomberry since 2013, also retired as a member of the board of directors of Bloomberry and BRHI as well as from all positions in other subsidiaries.

Bloomberry is the owner and operator of the Solaire Resort Entertainment City, Solaire Resort North and Jeju Sun Hotel & Casino,

In a stock exchange filing, the company said that BRHI has sold 250,000 shares of Bloomberry through the stock market at P4.57 per share on Dec. 19.

Bloomberry said the shares would be given as a reward to Solaire’s loyal patrons and as part of its marketing program.