Philippines-listed Bloomberry Resorts Corp (BLOOM) announced on Friday the appointment of Greg Hawkins (pictured) as acting chief operating officer (COO) of Bloomberry Resorts and Hotels Inc, the group’s operating unit. He was appointed to the role following the retirement of Thomas Arasi.

Bloomberry Resorts runs Solaire Resort & Casino in the Philippine capital Manila, and in May opened Solaire Resort North, another gaming complex, in Quezon City, northeast of Manila.

Prior to Friday’s announcement to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Mr Hawkins had already been working for Bloomberry Resorts, as head of Solaire North, mentioned the filing.

“Mr Hawkins will assume the COO functions of Thomas Arasi who has retired, in both Solaire Entertainment City and Solaire North,” stated the casino firm. “This designation is effective 19 December 2024,” it added.

Mr Arasi’s retirement as president and COO of the parent company was announced suddenly last week. Bloomberry Resorts said at the time that the executive was leaving for “personal reasons”.

Mr Hawkins is said to have more than 30 years of experience in the gaming industry. Before joining the Bloomberry group, he served as chief casino officer for Australian casino operator The Star Entertainment Group Ltd.

He was among a number of senior executives to depart the Star Entertainment in 2022 following an inquiry into the company’s suitability to hold a licence for its flagship Sydney casino, in New South Wales.

Between 2011 and 2013, Mr Hawkins served as chief executive of Crown Melbourne, a property run by Crown Resorts Ltd.