BestCraps.com

Marina Bay Sands Casino In Singapore Opens Its First Phase Tuesday

Posted on April 27th, 2010

News Sponsored by Online Vegas Casino

Rated 5 Stars by BestCraps.com

Read Review

Visit Casino

Download Software

————————————————

Marina Bay Sands Casino, an architectural spectacle of three 55-floor towers with a floating garden that has a view over Singapore’s harbour, is geared up to open partially on Tuesday, a day after being granted a license by the Casino Regulatory Authority of the Singapore government.

A number of obstacles came one after the other that caused delays in the construction of the complex, and the company, headed by its chairman Sheldon Adelson, was forced to move the date of its opening which was initially set at the end of 2009.

The huge US$5.7 billion project, developed by US-based Las Vegas Sands is situated near Singapore’s financial district and is envisioned to become one of the world’s best casinos. On Tuesday, only a third of its 2,500 hotel rooms will be operational, as well as a few of its shops and some of its restaurants, but the entire casino floor will be open.

The whole facility will be fully functional after its grand opening on June 23. To date, only two casinos have been authorized by the government of Singapore since it ended its 40-year ban on gambling in 2005. The other one is Resorts World, owned by Malaysia-based Genting Group, which opened on Feb 14, the first day of the Chinese New Year. Resorts World is on Singapore’s Sentosa Island and is more family-oriented, while Marina Bay on the mainland is likely to appeal to business people.

When it comes to gambling, Singapore is a new, untried market. The conservative government has showed some restraint and a lack of haste in allowing casinos into the island state and has set up a system that lets its citizens who have gambling issues voluntarily enlist themselves with the state’s National Council on Problem Gambling so they will be prohibited from going inside the casinos. “Singapore’s revenue potential is still a large question mark for investors,” said Dennis Farrell, a bond analyst for Wells Fargo Securities. “It’s an untested market.”

However, although Resorts World has not reported any official results in its 10 weeks of operation, the huge turnout of gamblers may be a positive hint of the market’s enthusiasm for Singapore’s newest pastime. Foong Wai Loke, a Credit Suisse analyst estimates that the two gambling facilities will jointly yield yearly revenues of roughly US$2.6 billion.

For Marina Bay to be lucrative, it will have to draw high stake gamblers from other countries in Asia, but without taking away patrons from Macau. Mr. Adelson is confident of “an almost inexhaustible supply” of gamblers from Indonesia, Malaysia, India, China, Vietnam, Thailand and even Australia. Mr. Adelson, who expects to see higher than $1 billion in cash to be generated annually, said, “Not only are our hopes justified, we think we’re liable to exceed our own expectations,”