Inside Asian Gaming

in an average forecast EBITDA [earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization] for MBS of US$329 million in 2010. According to MBS CEO Thomas Arasi, the property attracted close to 500,000 visitors in June. Mr Arasi said he expects MBS will attract 70,000 visitors a day once it is fully open. In a June 3rd regulatory filing, LVS estimated it will generate as much as US$3 billion in adjusted EBITDA in 2011. The company’s majority-owned Hong Kong- listed unit, Sands China, may generate US$1 billion to $1.2 billion in 2010, it added. Crowd control The MBS casino is set to feature 500 gaming tables and 1,600 slot machines. With MBS gearing up, the immediate result seems a tempering in casino traffic at Singapore’s other IR, Resort World Sentosa. In the weeks after RWS opened on 14th February, the main casino floor at RWS was crowded with local and foreign players to such an extent that when IAG visited on a weekday afternoon, tables were ringed three to four deep by players, and slot machines had very few empty seats. Local players complained of not being able to play at the tables and slots despite having to fork out the casino entry fee of either S$100 per day or S$2,000 per year. In order to keep locals—who are likely to be the most frequent players—happy, RWS set up an area restricted to Singapore residents on its main gaming floor, dubbed the Orchid Room. With both RWS and MBS opening up more tables and slots, when IAG went for a repeat weekday visit to RWS in June, not only had the crowds greatly diminished around the tables, but it appeared the Orchid Room was more crowded than the rest of the main floor. Enlightened design There’s a night-and-day difference between the main gaming floors at MBS and RWS. The RWS casino follows the old school casino design concept of low ceilings and dim lighting, while MBS takes the revolutionary stadium-style design of Sands Macao and makes it even brighter and grander. Unverified insider reports suggest the RWS casino is still pulling inmore high-rollers than MBS, perhaps owing to established relations between VIP players and RWS operator Genting at its Malaysian property, or even that RWS is offering VIPs better incentives. If the Macau market is any guide, however, relationships between casinos and high rollers are hardly loyal, and once MBS hits its stride, there could well be a migration of VIPs away from RWS. Indeed, MBS would seem a more natural habitat for well-heeled Singaporean, Indonesian and Malaysian gamblers, with its downtown location, high- end shopping and upscale restaurants. Big ‘wow’ The key new attraction unveiled at the grand opening of MBS that was not available during the April 27th soft opening is the Sands Skypark, with the pool and observation deck opened to the public on