Macau-based casino operator Galaxy Entertainment Group (GEG) is not backing out from its integrated resort project in the Philippine holiday island of Boracay anytime soon.

The Philippine Star reported that GEG’s local partner, Philippine-listed gambling operator Leisure & Resorts World Corp., bought more properties on the island—a sign that the casino operator was staying, according to a local government official.

GEG and LRWC, through its subsidiary Boracay Philippines Resort and Leisure Corporation (BPRLC), initially acquired a 23-hectare property for the $500 million integrated resort project.

According to Boracay Affairs Municipal Executive Assistant Rowen Aguirre, LRWC remained in negotiations with several other property owners for additional land acquisition. He said that government officials in the island didn’t object to the acquisition of land in Boracay because the area remained underdeveloped and that the area where GEG planned to put up its land-based casino was mostly residential.