Inside Asian Gaming

inside asian gaming February 2015 28 Cover Story RWS has just 31 retail shops, while MBS has an 800,000-square-foot mall that generated $44.8 million in quarterly operating profit and 7% of trailing 12-month EBITDA. Fewer rooms and shops at RWS limit profit opportunities, giving it less buffer against gaming revenue gyrations. SPACE RACE RWS wanted to include more retail and hotel rooms, Mr Gore says. “The problem was the severe limitation on built-up space.” Its license limited RWS to 343,000 square meters of gross floor area (GFA) on its 49 hectare site. “We topped out. There was no more space left.” MBS has GFA of 581,400 square meters on a 15.5 hectare plot, though both resorts have equal 15,000-square-meter casino limits. The smaller GFA allocation at RWS aimed to preserve Sentosa’s green character. Open spaces, including most RWS theme park areas, don’t count against the GFA limit. It’s not just about how much space RWS has, but what it’s done with it. YWS Design Regional Director Nicola Greenaway says RWS has an idyllic location with great attractions and has successfully integrated with Sentosa’s other attractions. But its “institutional” design doesn’t complement the setting. Centered around Festive Walk, the semi-covered area linking resort elements, RWS was “designed by someone parachuted in and not understanding the climate and local culture of how things should flow,” Ms Greenaway says, referring to US-based Michael Graves, who’s done extensive work for Disney. “It’s just too hot.” Ms Greenaway, whose company’s gaming project portfolio includes Macau, Las Vegas and both Singapore IRs, says, “Holistic planning should have started at VivoCity,” the 1 million-square-foot shopping mall that’s mainland Singapore’s gateway to Sentosa. “VivoCity has great footfall. Planning needs to keep that footfall cool and bring them to Sentosa.” Genting Singapore, the locally listed subsidiary that includes RWS, is addressing the accommodation deficit with a new 550-room hotel in Jurong, a 15-minute drive from RWS, opening later this year. Morgan Stanley analysts Praveen Choudhary and Xin Jin Ling forecast the Jurong hotel could provide 5% growth to 2015 visitation, revenue and EBITDA. LVS has requested land adjacent to MBS to construct additional hotel and convention space but concedes the government is unlikely to agree. Singapore can choose to grant another casino license inDecember 2016, 10 years after issuing its second IR license to Genting. Some believe a third IR would help build critical gaming mass to attract more players. Others think it would cannibalize a constricted market and increase social impacts without much benefit. The government’s Located on Sentosa, Singapore’s designated leisure island, Resorts World Sentosa has a reputation as a family destination, and owing to its Malaysian roots, many say it draws customers mainly from “across the causeway” linking Singapore to Malaysia. In reality, RWS consistently beats MBS in share of VIP roll with a 61-39% edge.