--Melco Crown is set to enter the Philippine casino market with a deal to partner with Belle Corp., according to people familiar with the matter

--The deal could see Melco Crown operate the $1 billion resort's casino

(Adds comment from Belle executive in paragraph 3, information on deal in paragraphs 5-6)

By Kate O'Keeffe and Cris Larano

HONG KONG--Macau casino operator Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. (MPEL) is set to enter the burgeoning Philippine market with a deal to partner with local property developer Belle Corp. (BEL.PH), according to people familiar with the matter.

The deal, which the people say may be signed as early as Wednesday, will ratchet up the competitiveness of the gambling industry in Manila, where the government is hoping to create the Philippines' version of the Las Vegas Strip.

Belle Vice Chairman Willie Ocier said the company is in talks to have Melco Crown operate the casino portion of the resort project but declined to provide further specifics. Cora Guidote, spokeswoman for Belle's parent company, SM Investments Corp. (SM.PH), said Melco Crown and Belle are just talking and nothing has been finalized. Melco Crown spokeswoman Maggie Ma declined to comment.

Belle, controlled by the country's richest man, Henry Sy, is one of four companies that have licenses to run casinos in the new Manila Bay gambling hub. The company is building a $1 billion casino project there.

Belle finished most of the construction of the resort in January, but the process of fitting out the project has been put on hold for the past six months as deal negotiations dragged on, said one of the people.

Though Belle owns the casino license, it lacks gambling experience, so it signed an agreement to outsource the casino management to Philippine bingo operator Leisure & Resorts World Corp. (LR.PH). The two companies were to evenly split the resort's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, the person said. The new deal may see Melco Crown take over Leisure & Resorts's 50% share of the resort's revenue, the person said. Leisure & Resorts will still likely remain involved in the project in some capacity, however, the person added.

Bloomberry Resorts Corp., controlled by local ports magnate Enrique Razon Jr., is set to open a $1.2 billion casino-resort in the same area early next year. The company has contracted Global Gaming Asset Management, run by former senior Las Vegas Sands Corp. executives, to manage the casino operation.

Other casino license holders include a joint venture between Malaysian casino company Genting Hong Kong Ltd. and Philippine conglomerate Alliance Global Group Inc., and Universal Entertainment Corp., a pachinko company run by Japan's Kazuo Okada.

Melco Crown, backed by Lawrence Ho and James Packer--the sons of Macau gambling kingpin Stanley Ho and the late Australian casino-and-media magnate Kerry Packer--is one of six casino license holders in Macau, the world's largest gambling market. The company runs two casino-resort properties in the Chinese territory and has a 60% equity interest in a third project still under development.

Write to Kate O'Keeffe at kathryn.okeeffe@dowjones.com and Cris Larano at cris.larano@dowjones.com