Inside Asian Gaming

42 Regional Briefs Cost of Marina Bay Sands Could Swell The original budget of Singapore’s first casino-centred inte- grated resort could be exceeded by up to 40%, as the developer struggles to control escalating construction costs. Las Vegas Sands Corp (LVS) President and CEO William Weidner said the original US$3.6 billion cost of developing the Marina Bay Sands along Singapore’s downtown waterfront area could rise by 20-40%. “We’re struggling, quite frankly, to stay within our budget” on the Singapore project, Singapore’s Today newspaper quoted Weidner as saying. Marina Bay Sands,scheduled for completion in 2009,is already set to be the world’s most expensive single integrated gaming resort. Weidner cited escalating building costs, sparked by an Indone- sian ban on sand exports, as well as refinements to the design.“It’s a very, very complicated and sophisticated building ... now that we try to execute it in concrete and steel, it’s a bit of a challenge,”Weidner said.“We’re looking for means and methods to construct it more ef- ficiently,”he said. Marina Bay Sands is to feature three 50-story hotel towers which curve upwards in a design by Moshe Safdie and Associates. It will also boast 1.2m sq.ft of convention and exhibition space,as well as an“Art- Science Museum,”pictured here. In January, Indonesia banned the export of land sand to Singa- pore. Stricter checks by the Indonesian Navy on barges bound for the island republic disrupted granite supplies as well. Sand and granite are both key ingredients for concrete. Tabcorp Going Back to Basics Australia-based slot and parimutuel giant Tabcorp has named El- mer Funke Kupper as its new chief executive officer. His brief from shareholders is to maximize cash flow from existing assets. Funke Kupper’s most immediate challenge will be negotiating an extension of the contract with the New South Wales government which guarantees Star City casino operating exclusivity in the state. He will also deal with recently introduced smoking bans in New South Wales as well as the continued fallout from slot parlor restrictions in Victoria and Queensland. He has indicated he will seek to increase the market share of the Sydney and Queensland casinos by upgrading gaming and accom- modation facilities. There are plans to spend more than US$210 mil- lion at the Star City flagship. At the same time, the board expects him to cut back on opera- tional costs, particularly management overheads. The company also faces increased competition in its off-course race betting business after Tattersall’s became a rival for the mantle of Australia’s largest operator with the takeover of Unitab. Funke Kupper, apart from identifying the need to re-invest in the company’s New South Wales holdings, also aims to breakdown the company’s hierarchical structure. The appointment of an internal candidate to the position of chief executive was not universally well received, with several analysts be- lieving the company needed a shake-up from outside the structure. There were also questions as to whether Funke Kupper was suf-