MANILA, Philippines — Roll the dice, but blow the trumpets first!

Now that we are officially a fun country, is the Department of Tourism about to join hands with the hospitality industry to promote Manila as a game-game, win-win city?

With no louder fanfare than a time-capsule event last month to lay the groundwork for not one, not two, but four casino-hotels cum leisure and recreation resorts at the not-so Bagong Nayon Pilipino Entertainment Complex – once upon a short time ago the pet name was to have been E-City – the projection is ambitious enough: $11 billion in revenues in the next five years, and Manila overtaking Macau and Las Vegas in the gaming sweepstakes.

Is Pagcor Chairman Bong Naguiat taking a gamble in making the jackpot prediction?

Already, one of the four projects, the Japanese-owned Tiger Resorts and Entertainment, is ready to begin construction with an initial crew of 15,000 workers. Their work is cut out for them: two casino hotels with 450 and 600 rooms, plus a 1,000-room budget hotel. The owners are so gung-ho that they want to build a highway straight from the airport to the 45-ha E-City.

Can DoT afford to continue being mum and acting prim and proper about gaming as the entertainment wave of the future?