Inside Asian Gaming

IAG FEB 2020年2月 亞博匯 26 COVER STORY “They had very strong facilities here before we arrived, but what the government recognized – and this was quite visionary – is that even though they were strong in this area, they could get stronger,” Marina Bay Sands President and CEO George Tanasijevich explains. Resorts World Sentosa, on the other hand, brought something new to town, Universal Studios, the world class theme park Singapore long sought. “RWS has long been recognized as a game changer in the region for tourism,” a Genting Singapore spokesperson tells IAG . Singapore recorded an estimated 19 million visitors last year, nearly double the 9.7 million arrivals in 2009. RWS also has a waterpark, aquarium, maritime museum, shopping, dining, convention facilities and six hotels. At the core of both IRs lies the casino, not just figuratively but literally, the gaming floors buried within each IR. “The government has tried all kinds of ways to hide casinos,” National University of Singapore Assistant Professor Lee Kah-Wee says. His 2018 book, Las Vegas in Singapore, highlights how the design of Marina Bay Sands reflects Singapore’s national anxieties about gaming. “We continue to tell ourselves stories about why it is not a casino. We still try hard not to speak the truth.” The recent expansion deal, which grants both IRs additional gaming machines and options for casino enlargement, drew less reaction from the public than Lee anticipated. He suggests there’s a “conditional normalization” of IRs that still demands caution from stakeholders. “The hot buttons are still there. But they’re careful not to push them.” IDLING ENGINE Gaming remains the economic engine of every IR in Asia. For MBS, gaming represents 70% of revenue and, even with nightly hotel rates averaging US$475 at 98% occupancy and a retail mall cash cow, gaming accounts for a slightly larger proportion of profits. Genting Singapore gets about 65% of its revenue from gaming but doesn’t break down profits. 濱海灣金沙的建築形態彷彿大聲地宣告獅城早已不再是父 輩們當年的那個新加坡，這就是總理李顯龍在2004年提議將賭 場合法化時，所尋求的那個不能言喻的特獨因素的建築表述。濱 海灣金沙取代了魚尾獅成為城市新地標，矗立在新加坡河畔，57 層樓高的三座尖頂塔樓拔地而起，並以空中花園相連，更有成為 了知名打卡聖地的無邊際泳池，極具自拍誘惑力。 在知名建築師Moishe Safdie的精心打造之下，濱海灣金沙 成為了新加坡一張重量級的重新灌錄火熱大碟。其購物中心於陽 光普照的環境之中展示各奢華品牌，令其競爭對手黯然失色。去 年，濱海灣金沙推出新加坡最大的夜店Marquee，店內有一個巨 型摩天輪和幾層樓高的滑梯，以及百老匯風格的劇院。濱海灣金 沙更聯合了國際名廚Wolfgang Puck、Daniel Boulud和Tetsuya Wakuda等及新加坡本地傳奇廚師郭文秀，聯袂提升了餐飲水準 （當中Joel Roubuchon餐廳與IR同時開業）。 而在一個博物館林立的城市裏，濱海灣金沙的藝術科學博物 將策展活動推至新高度，包括與日本著名藝術團隊teamLab聯 合舉辦《未來世界》常設展。 先人一步 除了空中花園之外，這裏還坐擁12萬平方米（130萬平方 英呎）的金沙會展中心，是新加坡最大的會展活動空間，可容納 45000人。濱海灣金沙總裁兼首席執行官George Tanasijevich解 釋稱：「在我們進來之前，這裏已經擁有非常好的會展設施，但是 政府意識到的是，雖然這部分很棒了，但還可以變得更好。」 另一方面，聖淘沙名勝世界則為新加坡帶來了期待已久的世 界級主題公園環球影城。 一位雲頂新加坡的發言人告訴《亞博匯》：「聖淘沙名勝世界 長期以來被視為當地旅遊業的遊戲規則改變者(game changer)。 」據估算，新加坡在去年接待了1900萬遊客，比2009年接待的970 萬遊客差不多翻了一翻。聖淘沙名勝世界設有水上樂園、水族館、 海事博物館、購物、餐飲、會展設施及六間酒店。 兩間綜合度假村的核心都是娛樂場，不僅是修辭手法，亦是 字面意思，因為娛樂場都藏在每間IR的深處。 新加坡國立大學助理教授李家葦表示，「政府嘗試了各種 方法來把娛樂場藏起來。」他在2018年出版的《Las Vegas in