Pacquiao vs. Rios Fight As One: Watching at Solaire Resort & Casino
When in Manila and you want to catch the next best thing to a live match, where should you go? Solaire Resort & Casino!
Pacquiao vs. Rios
Last November 24th, Solaire Resort & Casino held an event at the Solaire Grand Ballroom for the Pacquiao vs. Rios: Fight as One match pegged as the ultimate viewing experience and, boy, it was!
Who would you pick? The lucky winner will get a prize!
I was really looking forward to this match, especially after Pacman’s stoppage 11 months ago (December 8, 2012) versus the always dangerous Juan Manuel Marquez and the controversial loss in favor of Timothy Bradley last June 9, 2012. Seems like 2012 was not a good year for the People’s Champ Manny Pacquiao.
Admittedly, I am a Manny Pacquiao fan. I have been watching and rooting for him since he won the IBF Super Bantamweight title against then incumbent Lehlohonolo Ledwaba and to think that he was just a last minute replacement back then (who could forget a blonde Pacman?), the wars he had with Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Juan Manuel Marquez; to become an 8 division champion (won eight titles at eight weight divisions), a guaranteed hall of famer and to become one of the all time greats like Muhammad Ali, Rocky Marciano and Joe Frazier?
Of all the fights since then that I watched live with my dad when it became available in random cinemas, sports bars and also at the Smart Araneta Coliseum; there are only two fights I was not able to watch live: his loss to Timothy Bradley (we did not watch it, thought it was a walk in the park) and the Pacquiao vs Marquez 4 (I was at a buddy’s wedding at Tagaytay).
For Pacquaio vs. Rios, I made it a point to watch it live again.
The entrance to today’s wonderland and the line for the free snacks.
Ascending the escalator to the Solaire Grand Ballroom, I was pleasantly surprised by the turn out of guests since there was already a queue at the snack bar, the VIP and the Deluxe entrance. It looked like a lot of people were looking forward to this match – probably due to the rumors that Pacman will retire if he lost this one.
I made sure that my fingers are clean before taking this shot haha!
After securing the tickets, I immediately fell in line to get our snacks. There was chicken empanada, tuna and ham and egg sandwich, which was great for an 8:00 AM breakfast. The iced tea was quite good, too, and was unlimited (which also meant an unlimited trip to the boy’s room) 🙂
Free popcorn! Ha! The gratuitous food shot.
Solaire Resort & Casino truly is a 5-star establishment since there are busboys that will assist you to bring your snacks to your seats. Just imagine a sandwich, a bucket of popcorn and a tumbler of iced tea on a silver platter. That is personalized service!
I want to play Battle Field 4 there
And this is why Solaire Resort & Casino tagged this as “The next best thing to live boxing”. They actually installed a boxing ring inside the ballroom and what hung above is one hell of a high definition viewing screen! I was not able to get the exact specifications, but it should easily exceed 200 inches, that thing belongs in a man cave and if you have more than enough money than sense, that should be your viewing screen.
Anybody up for a game of Battle Field 4? DotA 2? Plants versus Zombies?
Click on page 2 for more fun!
