Five Chinese New Years ago, Singapore’s first casino opened its doors. The city’s two so-called integrated resorts became Asia’s most admired because Singapore dared to do things right.
Totally globalized native New Yorker and former broadcast news producer Muhammad Cohen is a blogger for Forbes and author of Hong Kong On Air
With their casino revenue potential restrictions, Singapore’s integrated resorts booked $1.3 billion in revenue beyond the casino floor last year from hotels, shopping, conventions and attractions, much of it at higher margins than gaming. That’s a quarter of Singapore IRs’ total revenue, five times better than Macau’s percentage of non-gaming revenue, but less than half of the ratio for Las Vegas.
Totally globalized native New Yorker and former broadcast news producer Muhammad Cohen is a blogger for Forbes and author of Hong Kong On Air
Asian governments licking their chops over Macau’s casino driven budget surpluses, high visitor numbers, and low unemployment turn to Singapore’s development model to try their luck.
Totally globalized native New Yorker and former broadcast news producer Muhammad Cohen is a blogger for Forbes and author of Hong Kong On Air
Gaming industry analysts project that Singapore beat Las Vegas in casino revenue last year. That’s incredible given that Singapore’s two casinos were in their first full year of operation and total 320,000 square feet of gaming floor, while the Las Vegas Strip has decades of glamorous history, 39 casinos and nearly 3 million square feet of tables and slot machines
The Lion City’s success underscores the gaming industry’s argument that there’s huge unsatisfied demand for casinos in Asia. As I report in Asia Times, other countries in the region hope to copy Singapore’s model of casino development.
Singapore insisted that developers invest billions of dollars to build not just casino hotels, but integrated resorts (IRs) that feature a wide variety of non-gaming attractions. With Resorts World Sentosa weeks away from its second anniversary, the IRs no longer resemble construction sites and have become much more hospitable to visitors.
Marina Bay Sands had a severe fun deficit in its early days. But the world’s most expensive casino resort has blossomed into a destination worthy of its stunning architectural wrapper. Since the resort’s grand opening in June 2010, new additions include US import clubs Pangaea and Avalon, the first Singapore outpost of Banyan Tree Spa, a world class museum, and an ice skating rink, plus restaurants and bars overlooking the bay. Those new attractions along with the presence of people actively engaging the property, have overcome the initial imposing cathedral atmosphere. The arrival of Singapore’s MRT mass transit line this month will bring bigger crowds to add to the fun, and to Singapore’s lead over Las Vegas.
Totally globalized native New Yorker and former broadcast news producer Muhammad Cohen is author of Hong Kong On Air
One hundred years after its fateful maiden voyage, the Titanic has landed in Singapore. The blockbuster exhibition of facts and artifacts runs through the centennial of the infamous ocean liner’s sailing in April at the Marina Bay Sands’ ArtScience Museum.
Singapore’s casino resorts both include a museum among numerous non-gaming attractions the government required in the bidding for a gaming license. The Maritime Experiential Museum and Aquarium at Resorts World Sentosa and its counterpart are both state of the art facilities with impressive designs and price tags to match.
As I report in the December issue of Macau Business, the Titanic exhibition showcases the extraordinary versatility of the ArtScience Museum and the skill of its curatorial staff. It’s well worth the rather stiff S$24 (US$18.50) price of admission, even if you have no prior interest in the ship, have never seen the movie, and loath its theme song.
There are other titanic happenings in Singapore’s casino industry that you can read about soon in Asia Times. Until then, thanks for your interest and support throughout the year. Best to you and your loved ones for 2012.
Totally globalized native New Yorker and former broadcast news producer Muhammad Cohen is author of Hong Kong On Air
Bulletin (new date): My interview on Macau’s TDM Talk Show will be televised on its Portuguese channel on Saturday, July 2 at 8pm (Macau/Hong Kong/China time; Saturday 8am US Eastern time) and be repeated Sunday night/Monday morning at 12.30 am. After the initial airing, you can watch it on the TDM website via the TDM Talk Show link. Hope you’ll tune in for my talk (in English) with Natalya Molok about Macau gaming, Hong Kong On Air
Plenty of experts doubted that Singapore’s experiment with two casinos would succeed. Not because of Singapore’s straitlaced reputation, nor because of unprecedented public opposition to the so-called integrated resorts (IRs). The issue was money.
Marina Bay Sands at $6.9 billion and Resorts World Sentosa at $5.7 billion are the two most expensive casino resorts ever built. (MGM’s $9 billion-plus City Center in Las Vegas includes residential and office components.) “They’ll have to be much more successful than the most profitable casino in history,” a skeptical analyst told me while the IRs were under construction.
A year after the grand opening of Marina Bay Sands, Singapore’s two IRs have become the world’s two most profitable casino resorts, helping fuel a tourism boom in Singapore. Yet, as I wrote in Asia Times, there’s little joy over the achievement.
Earlier this year, I highlighted the fun gap at Marina Bay Sands amid its renowned architecture. That report in Macau Business also examined the odd departure of Marina Bay Sands CEO Thomas Arasi after delivering company record profits. Sometimes, it seems, money alone can’t buy happiness.
Totally globalized native New Yorker and former broadcast news producer Muhammad Cohen is author of Hong Kong On Air
I’m a big fan of Fareed Zakaria, and Fareed Zakaria GPS on CNN is must-see TV for me. That’s why I was so disappointed last week when he touted Singapore as the “top-ranked innovator on the globe” during his cyber-guided of a government-sponsored high tech research center. I told him so in an email with the subject line “Singa-puffery” that read:
Shame on you (and CNN, where I worked as a producer) for broadcasting this propaganda. I wish you’d instead used your considerable skill and clout to report on Singapore’s suppression of freedom, its nepotism, and its economic shenanigans at home and abroad. As a reporter attempting to cover Singapore, I know the kinds of obstacles you’d face. But, yes, the cyber-guides and the trains do indeed run on time.
Highlighting the sunny side of Singapore reinforces the government’s mythology that creativity can flourish under its particular brand of political, economic and social repression. Despite sky high white collar wages and living standards, housing subsidies, and international crossroads status, one of Singapore’s biggest challenges is keeping its best and brightest from migrating overseas.
Fallout from Singapore’s suppression and its “we’ll tell you what we want, when we want” approach spreads far and wide. Casinos, the latest big thing in Singapore, don’t escape.
Thanks to the government’s low priority on transparency, casino operators’ third quarter reports leave investors guessing about the size of Singapore’s gambling market. Analysts and investors also must guess about the split of the market between visitors and local residents. As I wrote in Asia Times, Singaporeans may face further restrictions on gambling if the government thinks they’re spending too much at the casinos, so the local market share number really matters. Singapore’s government has data that could shed light on this critical statistic, but it chooses not to reveal it. In fact, the government has not released any gambling statistics, except for a few random scraps mainly in response to questions in Parliament, since the first bet was placed in February.
Macau provides a full range of monthly and quarterly gambling statistics so that investors can make informed choices about its casino operators and build businesses to complement the gambling trade. Seeing Macau, no paragon of information freedom, beating it on a matter of transparency and openness should help Singapore realize it has a serious problem – and fix it.
Totally globalized native New Yorker and former broadcast news producer Muhammad Cohen is author of Hong Kong On Air
The world’s two most expensive casino resorts are now open in Singapore, whether the Lion City likes it or not. As I wrote in Asia Times, Singapore didn’t want casinos, just the theme park, convention center, museums and other attractions that it was able to squeeze out the developers in exchange for allowing the gambling dens. However, Singapore’s nanny state ways limit casino revenue. That promises trouble for developers Las Vegas Sands and Malaysia’s Genting Group that are investing a combined $10 billion in their resorts, and for Singapore, too.
Singapore isn’t the only Asian city where casino developers are placing bad bets. Billionaire Steve Wynn’s infatuation with China’s government and disdain for the Obama administration got another airing at last month’s debut of his Encore Macau property. Wynn’s plan to plunk down another couple billion dollars in Macau illustrates precisely why to be wary of Macau, especially if you’re Steve Wynn.
Totally globalized native New Yorker and former broadcast news producer Muhammad Cohen is author of Hong Kong On Air
The first casino in Singapore opens this Sunday. The US$4.6 billion Resorts World Sentosa project features the world’s largest Universal Studios theme park, six hotels, and, later, the world’s largest aquarium. Later this year, Las Vegas Sands, owner of the Venetian resorts in Las Vegas and Macau, will open the US$5.6 billion Marina Bay Sands as Singapore’s second integrated resort, featuring Asia’s largest convention center along with its casino. Singapore’s government wants the added tourist amenities; to get them built, it’s willing to tolerate the casinos, albeit with restrictions on size and some key operations. The authorities bent the rules to enable Resorts World Sentosa, owned by Malaysia-based Genting, to open its casino in time for Chinese New Year before the Universal Studios theme park is fully operational. As the developers struggle to make these obscenely expensive resorts profitable, the high stakes game to watch is whether Singapore keeps bending the rules in their favor.
Totally globalized native New Yorker and former broadcast news producer Muhammad Cohen is author of Hong Kong On Air
Muhammad Cohen 