Casino opening date undetermined, according to Genting

Five years after the Singapore government approved casino gaming, the first of two "integrated resorts" opened on the holiday area of Sentosa Island.

Resorts World, controlled by Malaysian gaming giant Genting Berhad, opened 1,340 rooms-in four hotels, including the Hard Rock Hotel, designed by famed architect Michael Graves. The casino, however, did not open and according to Genting Chairman Lim Kok Thay, no date is currently set, despite reports that it would open this week. The company says requests from more information from the casino board caused its license application to be delayed for two months, meaning the license may not be issued until March.

Construction still continues on many areas of the resort's amenities. A 7,300-seat ballroom will host its first event later this month, while Asia's first Universal Theme Park will debut in the coming months. Next year, a Marine Life Park and a Maritime museum will open. The remaining 500 hotel rooms will open within a year.

The delay in opening the casino may negate any advantage that Genting would have gotten had the casino opened at the same time as the hotel. Some analysts give Genting an edge in customer acquisition because of its Malaysia property-Genting Highlands-and other gaming operations in the Philippines and on Star Cruises. But with Las Vegas Sands predicting an April opening for its Marina Bay Sands, Genting would have only a one-month jump on MBS, not enough to corner any segment of the market.

The Genting integrated resort, along with MBS, is part of a plan by the Singapore government to attract more visitors and tourists. The $5 billion Resorts World is aimed at tourists in Singapore for fun and a holiday, while MBS largely targets business travelers and conventions.

The first few weeks' reservations give the Resorts World hotels a respectable occupancy rate on weekends, even before many amenities are up and running.

"We have 5,000 room nights booked in the first three days and our call centers have been opened," said Andrew Hickey, VP of rooms for Resorts World Sentosa. "The booking pattern is very strong, lots of interest from the overseas travel trade. For Chinese New Year they are already fully booked. The weekend is very popular. We are looking at 80 percent for the weekend coming up. That will fill as well as every other weekend."

With Genting Highlands the most successful casino in the world, Lim said he's not worried about cannibalizing the property.

"What is happening here in Sentosa will grow the pie especially in terms of the gaming business," he says. "Both sets of marketing teams have sat down and are working closely with each other to see how we can benefit through joint marketing."

Genting expects that 60 percent of its casino customers will come from other countries, with 25 percent from China. Singapore's 12 percent gaming tax compares favorably with another major Asian destination, Macau, where gaming revenues are taxed at 39 percent.

Meanwhile, Genting announced that it was building another resort, this time without gaming, just across the causeway from Singapore in Iskandar, Malaysia, an economic development zone in the province of Johor. The project will include a resort, large shopping mall and a "more interactive theme park," according to Lim. '

"We want visitors to Sentosa to come to our Malaysian resorts as well," he said.

The project is a joint venture with U.S. shopping giant Simon Property Group. With 10,000 acres to develop, the project is just another cap in the booming special economic zone.

By Staff