Marina Bay Sands to open April 27

QX179R SG

SINGAPORE'S second casino and integrated resort at Marina Bay Sands (MBS) will open its doors on April 27, announced its parent company Las Vegas Sands on Wednesday. This will be followed by the second phase opening on June 2

The announcement comes barely less than a week after its rival Genting Singapore opened its Resorts World Sentosa casino to the Chinese New Year crowds on Feb 14.

In Phase One, some 963 hotel rooms, part of the shopping mall and convention centre, celebrity chef restaurants and other dining outlets, as well as the casino, will open on April 27, said MBS chief executive officer Thomas Arasi. But the opening schedule is subjected to 'construction proceeding as scheduled and being able to attain the necessary regulatory approvals,' he added.

Phase Two will be ready on June 23, which includes the Sands SkyPark, the Event Plaza along Marina Bay, the rest of the shops in the retail mall, and more dining options and nightlife. Mr Arasi said the IR will be marking Phase Two as part of its grand opening celebration.

Las Vegas Sands (LVS) chairman and chief executive officer Sheldon Adelson said in a statement: "Nearly four years ago, we embarked on a journey we believed would define the future of our company and at the same time change the face of tourism in Singapore and the South Asian region for decades to come. Now, as we approach the opening of Marina Bay Sands - one of the most remarkable leisure and business destinations ever created - it seems both of those ambitions are about to come true."

He added: 'Despite the challenging, and at times unprecedented economic conditions companies like ours recently faced, our dedication to completing this development never wavered, not even for a second. That determination defines this company as much as our ability to create and develop masterpieces such as Marina Bay Sands. We have no doubt the property will be a tremendous success, but how we got to this point will be every bit as important to the future prospects of our company.'

--ST

sbst275 SG

mmm..

10 weeks after the 1st casino opens.

Rooney9 SG

they will learn from the mistakes that RWS had made and they were aplenty.

sbst275 SG

more $100 to collect - go in and see see crowd

lohkinwah SG

do u guys think tt the $100 levy will be lifted eventually?

QX179R SG

do u guys think tt the $100 levy will be lifted eventually?

I don't think so..

105090 SG

that place still a mess.. april open sure bo? wonder if they got TOP already..

mancha SG

do u guys think tt the $100 levy will be lifted eventually?

HaHaHa Most likely it will increase, lah.

RoyFang SG

they will learn from the mistakes that RWS had made and they were aplenty.

To learn is one thing, to do something about it is another thing.

Later all talk no action, like that still back to square one...

QX179R SG

Marina Bay Sands in final burst of hirings

Marina Bay Sands has launched its final burst of hiring before it opens on April 27.

Singapore's second Integrated Resort aims to bring in some 5,000 people in various positions over the next 60 days.

Already, there are 3,600 casino staff on board.

More from Imelda Saad.

In just the last 48 hours alone, Sands said recruitment doubled with croupiers coming in for training.

It was unable to give an exact figure, but said most of the people it has recruited across the entire IR are locals.

All casino staff have to undergo a training stint that could take up to 7 weeks.

Some 1,800 dealers are currently being trained at the newly formed Marina Bay Sands recruitment centre at Mountbatten Road.

Training started 6 weeks ago.

With some complaints over inexperienced dealers at the recently-opened Resorts World Sentosa, Marina Bay Sands is not taking any chances.

Thomas Arasi is the CEO of Marina Bay Sands.

"We're going to strive to open as close to perfection as we possibly can. So while there are no guarantees in there, there are assurances and we are just incredibly focusedWe're giving it our 100% and we hope to get as close as we can to 100% in terms of execution."

The centre also acts as a one-stop hub for applicants to walk in and apply for jobs at the upcoming IR.

There are various positions available in areas such as hotel operations, security and F & B.

Sands has said it will open the 7.7-billion-dollar Marina Bay project, in phases.

The announcement comes after 3 years of work - including several delays and even concerns over the business viability of its parent company, Las Vegas Sands, which took a battering during the global financial crisis.

But things seem to be on the mend - Las Vegas Sands Corporation has said that it will seek to refinance about 5 billion US-dollars in bank debt.

Mr Arasi again.

"This is definitely a marathon and not a sprint. The reality, it is it's about the kind of experience and reputation and the type of market reach that you have over a period of time."

Unlike Resorts World Sentosa which targets leisure travellers, Marina Bay Sands has said its focus is on high-end business travellers as well as the meetings and convention sectors.

As for social safeguards, Sands said it's working closely with the relevant authorities.

Mr Arasi did not give details but said Sands is "considering everything that needs to be considered".

--938Live

Daveteo SG

i watch this report on just now 10pm news. They also say they opened a centre just to specially cater to the recruitment of staffs for this new casino.

Anyone knows whats the name of the recruitment centre and where is it located at?

Dondontan SG

CAll them to ask about it.

Undertaker.Chris SG

So if you too rich you sign up for annual levy for both casinos $4000? Like this government earn $4000 a year from those rich patrons and china, bangla workers go in for free. How ridiculous.

Daveteo SG

CAll them to ask about it.

what number to call?

mancha SG

China, Bangla, Indonesian, Filipino, Myanma workers go in casino free good what. Singapore money stay in Singapore. They can go home bankrupt. Provided they don't steal handphones lah. Singaporean stay here one, bankrupt not good.

Khoo Boo Boon SG

I am more bullish on Marina Bay Sands than Resorts World Sentosa. It’s strategic location, life-style design concept of a business, leisure. entertainment and recreation district, and target market (the Meetings, Incentives, Convention and Exhibition and a local captive clientele)do provide this Integrated Resort many inherent advantages i.e. agglomeration economies of location, a consistent and a sustaining visitors traffic have the capacity to increase top-line and bottom-line profits. If they are able to put a dynamic and creative management team, I think a spin off from its parent company, the Las Vegas Sands, and a public flotation of Marina Bay Sands is possible 30 -36 months down the road. This should help both MBS and its parent company, Las Vegas Sands, pared down their debts.

zélateur SG

I waiting to go

As romanista2001 SG

one of my biggest predictions is that the casinos will go bust...............the collapse of those Wall St banks and near-collapse of AIG have proven me right............

LV Sands owes over USD11Billion..............almost went broke the other time when it had difficulty getting new loans............now it will go bust servicing those loans...........

the next market crash will be much worse than 2008...................remember all the construction delays ? BBC reported that they were due to strikes after construction workers were not paid their wages.............of course, all these not reported here...............

LV Sands S'pore.................born 27 April 2010................died 27 April 2011..................the looks on LKY and son will be priceless when that happens..............

mancha SG

You will be nowhere to be seen, if your biggest prediction does not happen.

The casino is only one small component of the IR.

The construction workers have been paid, of course , all these not reported.

When the balance sheet shows red in the first year, they will do something about it, guaranteed.

Something as easy as lifting the $200 levy, and the fruit machines will do its job.

As romanista2001 SG

casino is small component of IR ? who are you kidding ? the casino IS THE component.............

they go bust not due to casino lose money.........but not enough business to service the loans............

S'poreans are not what the casinos are aiming for but the tourists..............

the Genting boss is smart, he's been operating in this region for long time so why he bail out by selling his entire stake in Sentosa ? he knows nothing good can come out of this.............

don't forget, i foresaw all this trouble in 2004 when everything looks so rosy...............the contracts were signed back then, if the casinos know what's gonna happen in 2007-2008............they'll never build the casinos in the 1st place.

when Las Vegas business is also now dropping, that's a real killer blow..............