For members lazy to read the following article, in short -
the 2 casinos have 10 years exclusive rights and 30 years
license
so meaning no 3rd casino within the 10 years period (till
2020)
so members hoping for another casino in singapore within these 3
years can eat more big head vege and dream on ... 
-----------------------------------------------------------
By Chua, Alvin written on 01-Nov-2011
National Library Board Singapore
Comments on article:
InfopediaTalk
Marina Bay Sands (MBS) is an integrated resort (IR) with a
hotel, casino, retail mall, convention facilities and entertainment
venues including theatres, a museum and nightclubs. Sitting on a
570,000m2 waterfront site at Marina Bay, MBS is operated
by Las Vegas Sands (LVS) Corp. and has been one of the company’s
most profitable properties since its opening in April 2010. MBS’s
distinctive architecture includes three 55-storey hotel towers
topped by a 12,400m2 SkyPark and the lotus flower-shaped
ArtScience Museum.
Background
In March 2004, the government raised the prospect of the
longstanding ban on casinos being lifted as part of a resort
development plan for
Sentosa and the
Southern Islands. The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) then
carried out a study on the economic, tourism and social aspects of
having a casino within an IR, while the Feedback Unit (now REACH)
held dialogue sessions with public groups including those from the
religious, grassroots and business communities.
Amid much public debate, the government through the Singapore
Tourism Board invited concept proposals for IRs at Marina Bay and
Sentosa in December 2004. These IRs would include casinos, with
restrictions including entry fees for Singaporeans (S$100 per visit
or S$2,000 per annum), curbs on advertising and regulations on
credit extended by the casinos.
The casino component of the IRs was debated in parliament in
January 2005 and by March, consortiums from the United States,
South Africa, Singapore, Australia and Hong Kong had submitted
concept proposals for the Marina Bay IR, with the highest bid
coming in at S$5.8 billion. The following month, the government
confirmed in parliament that two IRs with casinos would be
built.
Shortlist and
award of Marina Bay IR
In November 2005, the
government set the price of the Marina Bay site at S$1.2 billion
instead of calling for an open tender. This allowed the bidders to
compete on the strength of their concept proposals. The government
also announced the judging criteria for the bids: tourism appeal
(40%), architectural concept and design (30%), development
investment (20%) and track record of the operator (10%). The
winning bidder would have a 60-year land tenure and a 30-year
concession for the casino (with a 10-year exclusivity period) with
its gaming area capped at 15,000m2.
The proposals were whittled to a shortlist of four formal bidders:
Las Vegas Sands (LVS), Harrah’s Entertainment partnered by Keppel
Land, Genting International partnered by Star Cruises, MGM Mirage
partnered by CapitaLand. LVS had been partnered in its bid by
Singapore property developer
City Developments
Limited (CDL), but CDL later withdrew citing the
invasiveness of probity checks.
In May 2006, LVS was awarded the rights for the Marina Bay site.
Its proposal had the highest investment value of S$3.85 billion, in
addition to the land cost of S$1.2 billion. LVS’ strength in the
meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions sector as well as
the distinctive design elements of its proposed architecture were
cited as key factors in its winning bid. Analysts had previously
ranked LVS behind the other bidders, in part due to its lack of a
local partner.
Development
Construction
began soon after the award of the project, now named Marina Bay
Sands (MBS). In 2008 however, LVS was reported to be in financial
trouble. A global economic and financial crisis had hit its
businesses and affected its ability to raise financing for its
projects. Its share price fell more than 90% from peak levels and
the corporation was reportedly close to bankruptcy a number of
times.
In November 2008, LVS chairman and chief executive Sheldon Adelson
flew to Singapore to meet government officials and reaffirm LVS’s
commitment to the MBS project. LVS then suspended developmental
work on projects in Las Vegas and Macau to concentrate its
financial resources on MBS. It also raised S$3.2 billion through a
stock offering, with Adelson putting in more than US$1 billion of
his own money, and put in a successful request to the government to
open MBS in stages.
The project continued to suffer construction delays, which were
attributed to high prices of concrete after an embargo on sand
exports by regional countries and the bankruptcy of a number of
sub-contractors. Heavy rainfall and labour shortages also
contributed to the delays and the escalated cost of the project,
which was now at S$7.7 billion. In December 2009 however, LVS
announced that MBS would open on a phased basis and commence
operations in April 2010.
Layout and
design
On a gross floor area of
570,000m2, MBS houses 2,600 hotel rooms across three
55-storey towers, and three low-rise domes which contain a retail
mall with over 300 boutiques, convention facilities for up to
45,000 people, fine-dining restaurants and casual eateries, two
theatres that seat 2,000 each, an indoor skating rink and a casino.
The casino holds 600 gaming tables (with a potential capacity of
1,000 tables) and 1,500 gaming machines. The resort also includes
an ArtScience Museum, waterfront pavilions housing retail boutiques
and nightclubs, and other outdoor event facilities.
Designed by Canadian architect Moshe Safdie, MBS’s most distinctive
elements are its hotel towers topped by a 12,400m2, 6.3
million kilogramme cantilevered SkyPark, which includes an
observation deck, restaurants, nightclubs, a swimming pool and
gardens. The ArtScience Museum is shaped like a lotus flower, while
the low-rise domes feature wave-form roofs. Safdie also integrated
around S$50 million worth of art installations within his design
for the resort.
Operations
MBS
began operations on 27 April 2010 with a phased opening, and
officially opened on 23 June. In its first full quarter, MBS made a
pre-tax profit of S$315 million on revenues of S$631 million, and
these figures rose to S$390 million in pre-tax profit and revenue
of S$560.4 million in the following quarter. The figures broke LVS’
records for quarterly profit and profit margin, and made MBS one of
the most profitable properties in the LVS group. During its first
year of operations, MBS drew 19.6 million visitors and hosted
nearly 2,000 meetings, conventions and exhibitions.
Author
Alvin Chua
For those who are confused about the exclusive rights.
One of the biggest questions out there right now is whether
Singapore will ever allow more IRs (casinos) to be built. The
exclusivity periods provided for the first IRs operators (MBS and
RWS), in theory, end in 2015 and 2016 respectively.
