First sex, now gambling
Linus Chua and Angus Whitley
2006-05-27
LAS Vegas Sands Corp, the casino company owned by billionaire Sheldon Adelson, beat three competitors to build Singapore's first casino-resort with a bid valued at more than S$5 billion (US$3.2 billion).
Las Vegas Sands beat offers from MGM Mirage, Harrah's Entertainment Inc and Malaysia's Genting Bhd. The Las Vegas Sands resort will be a "large-scale iconic development" in the city, Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister, S. Jayakumar, said at a news conference yesterday.
The winning bidder will build a gaming resort that's the centerpiece of Singapore's plans to double visitors and triple tourist revenue by 2015. The government lifted its four-decade ban on casinos last year, eased regulations on bar-top dancing and added attractions such as the Crazy Horse Paris topless cabaret and the Ministry of Sound dance club.
"The government has made it very clear that what they're looking for is the bid which would give them the most confidence in achieving their visitor arrivals and expenditure target," said Robert Hecker, a director at Horwath Asia Pacific in Singapore, which tracks the hospitality industry.
The government said the project's ability to attract tourists was the key criteria to winning. The city-state lifted its ban on casinos after its share of Asia Pacific's tourism market dropped to 6 percent in 2002 from 8 percent in 1998, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said.
Singapore will offer an offshore site for a second casino-resort later this year, and there will be only two gaming operators for 10 years. The city-state's casino proposal drew interest from the world's biggest gaming operators including Las Vegas billionaire Stephen Wynn's Wynn Resorts Ltd, which withdrew its bid in December.
Linus Chua and Angus Whitley
2006-05-27
LAS Vegas Sands Corp, the casino company owned by billionaire Sheldon Adelson, beat three competitors to build Singapore's first casino-resort with a bid valued at more than S$5 billion (US$3.2 billion).
Las Vegas Sands beat offers from MGM Mirage, Harrah's Entertainment Inc and Malaysia's Genting Bhd. The Las Vegas Sands resort will be a "large-scale iconic development" in the city, Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister, S. Jayakumar, said at a news conference yesterday.
The winning bidder will build a gaming resort that's the centerpiece of Singapore's plans to double visitors and triple tourist revenue by 2015. The government lifted its four-decade ban on casinos last year, eased regulations on bar-top dancing and added attractions such as the Crazy Horse Paris topless cabaret and the Ministry of Sound dance club.
"The government has made it very clear that what they're looking for is the bid which would give them the most confidence in achieving their visitor arrivals and expenditure target," said Robert Hecker, a director at Horwath Asia Pacific in Singapore, which tracks the hospitality industry.
The government said the project's ability to attract tourists was the key criteria to winning. The city-state lifted its ban on casinos after its share of Asia Pacific's tourism market dropped to 6 percent in 2002 from 8 percent in 1998, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said.
Singapore will offer an offshore site for a second casino-resort later this year, and there will be only two gaming operators for 10 years. The city-state's casino proposal drew interest from the world's biggest gaming operators including Las Vegas billionaire Stephen Wynn's Wynn Resorts Ltd, which withdrew its bid in December.
