Inside Asian Gaming

January 2010 | INSIDE ASIAN GAMING Cover Story weeks and months, as only a minority of casino equipment, games and suppliers have been licensed so far, and the CRA has notoriously stringent requirements. Furthermore, the CRA only spelled out its guidelines for licensing and regulating junkets on 31st December, with all the licensing work now ahead of it. Not forgetting, of course, that everything is new to it. Singapore is famously efficient, however, and even though the CRA faces a daunting workload, it appears to be working at fever pitch and could well release a slew of approvals and licenses towards the end of this month. One well placed source suggests RWS will likely be issued a conditional license subject to certain conditions being fulfilled. If the CRA does manage to license RWS by the end of January or early February, it will prove that although gaming regulation in Singapore is perhaps even overly stringent, it is at least efficient and pragmatic. Genting Singapore also declined to comment on when the Universal Studios theme park—the region’s first—at RWS is expected to open, though a spokesman said testing and commissioning of the various rides had started in early November. With a price tag of US$4.4 billion, RWS will take the title of world’s most extensive and expensive integrated resort when it opens— until Marina Bay Sands arrives, with a price tag of about US$5.5 billion. In its first phase set to open this year, RWS will also contain a ballroom, 26 function rooms, a 1,600-seat Festive Grand theatre and, of course, a luxurious casino. Phase two will see the unveiling of the world’s largest Marine Life Park, the Maritime Experiential Museum, a destination spa and two remaining hotels. MBS will also boast an impressive casino, a 2,600 room hotel, two 4,000-seat theatres, an exposition and convention centre that can support 45,000 delegates, and a luxury shopping and dining complex. The following pages highlight updated photos of key highlights at RWS and MBS.