Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | January 2010 8 On 5th January, Genting Singapore announced that the phased opening of Resorts World at Sentosa (RWS) would start on 20th January. The opening will kick off with the unveiling of four of the resort’s six hotels: Festive Hotel, Hard Rock Hotel Singapore, Crockfords Tower and Hotel Michael, offering a combined 1,350 rooms and 10 restaurants. The other two hotels, Equarius Hotel and Spa Villas, will add another 500 rooms when launched after 2010, according to Genting Singapore. Meanwhile, Las Vegas Sands Corp (LVS) chairman and chief executive Sheldon Adelson announced last month that the Marina Bay Sands (MBS) opening would be pushed back from the previous target of the first quarter of this year to April. Mr Adelson blamed the construction delay on monsoon rains and financial problems facing some subcontractors. Some industry insiders suggest, however, that even an April opening is optimistic. It’s still too early to claim victory for RWS in clinching first-mover casino advantage, since its casino has yet to be licensed. Genting Singapore refuses to hazard a guess as to when it expects to receive a license from Singapore’s finicky Casino Regulatory Authority (CRA). All the CRA have thus far offered is that Genting made an initial submission for a casino licence in October 2009, but the completed application package was only received in December (while MBS managed to submit its complete application in November). Inside Asian Gaming took a straw poll of insiders as to when they expect RWS to receive its license. Predictions ranged from one or two days prior to the opening on 20th January, to two to three months after the opening. On the one hand, the CRA is simply overwhelmed. It is faced with processing a mountain of licence applications over the coming Hotel Michael (left) and Crockfords Tower (right) Marina Bay Sands Rendering of Aerial View of Resorts World at Sentosa