Sg govt officials are known to be arrogant but this takes the
cake!
Associated Press
Report: Wynn Slams Singapore's Casinos
14 May 2005, 01:10 AM
Las Vegas casino mogul Steve Wynn said the Singapore
government's
direct involvement in designing the city-state's first two
casinos
was "unsophisticated" and could compromise the outcome, a
newspaper
reported Saturday.
"It's control and direction by people who've never done this
before,"
the Business Times newspaper quoted Wynn as saying. "There's an
awful
lot of control and direction in the documents we've received
which,
frankly speaking, is unsophisticated."
Wynn's projects include the Bellagio, Wynn Las Vegas and The
Mirage
in Nevada.
Wynn Resorts is among 14 companies and consortiums that have
been
invited to bid for the right to develop and operate two casinos
in
Singapore, part of the island nation's desire to reinvent
itself.
Singapore is worried that the casinos will lead to an increase
in
gambling among its 4.2 million citizens, and the government
listed
specific design-related criteria for the project, including the
total
amount of floor space the gambling arena should have.
"Don't issue thunderbolts of wisdom from the top of Mount
Olympus,"
Wynn was quoted as saying. "Ultimately, this is not between me
and
the government, it's between me and the public."
Other gambling giants that have expressed interest include Las
Vegas
casino operators Harrah's Entertainment and Las Vegas Sands,
Malaysia's Genting Bhd. and Macau casino king Stanley Ho.
The resorts are scheduled to be completed by 2009.
