Las Vegas Sands Chairman and CEO Rob Goldstein says he expects the company’s Singapore integrated resort, Marina Bay Sands, to enjoy a significant recovery in 2022, mirroring the resurgence already being felt by gaming operators in Las Vegas.
Although some uncertainty remains around the timing of recovery in LVS’s other major Asian market of Macau, Goldstein told analysts during its 3Q21 earnings call on Thursday morning (Asia time) that he fully expected Singapore to rebound strongly next year, boosted by rising vaccination rates and pent-up demand
“Las Vegas is the blueprint for recovery in Asia,” Goldstein said. “We were told that in Las Vegas we wouldn’t see revenues return until 2024 or 2025, but here we are in the fall of 2021 and the market has blown wide open. And what is the path? The path is pent-up demand, vaccinations and doors getting opened.
“And vaccinations in Asia are booming. If you look at what’s happening in Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, China, Korea – it’s all above what’s happening in the US. So we have extremely strong vaccination rates but also a government that wants to open the doors and the Singapore government has evidenced that.”
As reported by Inside Asian Gaming, Singapore has embarked on a strategy to live with COVID-19, having eased a number of restrictions when the vaccination rate hit 80% in August and opened international travel to arrivals from selected countries. A rise in cases has seen some restrictions reintroduced in recent weeks although most of those are limited to the unvaccinated.
Goldstein said he remains “highly confident we will see a big turn in 2022, the recovery will begin in 2022.
“When [will MBS] get back to US$1.7 billion in EBITDA? I don’t know, but it will be a lot better in 2022 if the government continues on its path, which has shown a lot of leadership and thoughtfulness. Vaccination rates are above 80%. The market there is ready to come back as the government opens its travel lanes.
“The demand here in Las Vegas is very instructive. Why wouldn’t that happen in Asia? People are also saying 2025 for Macau. Well, when they opened the doors in Vegas it took about 30 minutes. Once they opened the doors up it just recovered, and it’s a gaming-based recovery, it’s not a convention and banquet-based recovery. That’s yet to come.
“So the future in Vegas looks very bright and there is no reason it can’t be emulated in both Singapore and Macau. We’re highly confident it’s going to happen in Singapore in 2022.”
Less certain is when LVS will commence its long-awaited US$3.3 billion expansion of MBS, which continues to face delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
LVS President and COO Patrick Dumont said the company would “love to get started as soon as possible, but right now they (Singapore) are dealing with a lot of things that are a higher priority, so we’re waiting patiently.
“We have a long-term partnership with the government and we’re looking forward to working through the open remaining items so we can begin. The question is when and I think that will be dictated by necessary public health responses around timing and opening.”
