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Delay for RWS too?
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katak88
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22-Dec-2009 09:15
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Timeline
05:55 AM Dec 22, 2009
Marina Bay Sands (April 2010) Opens partially with 1,000 rooms, casino, some shops and restaurants, among other amenities 45-60 days later: Rest of integrated resort opens, except theatres and museum December: Fully open Upcoming MBS exhibitions and conferences: April 30 to May 6 - Inter-Pacific Bar Association Conference July 15-16 - Gaming Expo Asia Jul 29 to Aug 1 - Singapore Int'l Jewellery Show Aug 6-8, March 25-27, 2011 - Wedding Diary Asia Resorts World at Sentosa (early 2010 'soft opening') Opens with its Universal Studios theme park, four hotels, its main shopping and dining strip, a theatre and the casino. Events at RWS June - Best World International 20th Anniversary Awards Convention July - SMU commencement ceremony October - World Urban Transit Congress November - 8th Int'l Feng Shui Convention 'We want to do it right'
Las Vegas Sands chief Adelson not sweating over whether Resorts World at Sentosa opens first 05:55 AM Dec 22, 2009
SINGAPORE - Never mind that the Marina Bay Sands' opening date has been pushed back a second time - this time to April - the bottomline, to the man behind the multi-billion-dollar project, is ensuring that everything is "perfect" from the word go. Las Vegas Sands head honcho Sheldon Adelson, in town to witness the progress of the construction, said at a press conference yesterday: "We're not in the business to be open for a week or two weeks; we're going to be around for decades - we want to do it right. "A delay of a week or two or a month is not considered to be a delay in construction." In fact, Mr Adelson made this bullish promise: The resort will break even "certainly within the first year" - with the casino bringing in most of the revenue. "We intend to do very very well, right from the first year, almost from the day we open," he said. His company expects to bring in some US$1 billion ($1.4 billion) annually before deducting interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation expenses. It may be one reason why Mr Adelson suggested he is not sweating over whether rival Resorts World at Sentosa opens first. "You don't get an award, you don't get a gold star on your forehead for being the first one to open. We're going to open when it's right, when everything is perfect," said a man seemingly intent on showing that the focus is on delivering an iconic property, and not on deadline. Phase One of MBS' opening was originally slated for the end of this month, but was postponed by two months, it was announced in July, because of labour and raw material shortages, among other reasons. Mr Adelson revealed that the latest culprits were heavy rains, which hampered construction progress, and "a couple" of the sub-contractors working on the US$5.5-billion project which went bust. Even as he repeatedly stressed that harping on a "delay of a day or a week is meaningless", Mr Adelson promised that the entire property will be in full swing by December next year, with more than half of the IR - including part of its hotel and convention space and the casinos - expected to be ready by the end of March. Within two months of that, the 1.2-hectare SkyPark sitting atop the three hotel towers, as well as the rest of the convention facilities, will welcome its first guests. MBS president and chief executive Thomas Arasi also said that training for gaming staff will only kick off "very early next year". About 9,700 people - of which 85 per cent are Singaporeans - are on its payroll currently, said Mr Adelson, who stated that the eventual figure will swell to some 12,000 to 14,000 - which would be more than the 10,000 initially anticipated by the Government. |
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katak88
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22-Dec-2009 09:10
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Delay for RWS too?
05:55 AM Dec 22, 2009
In recent days, as talk intensified about a possible further delay in its opening, the heat has been on the Marina Bay Sands. But the other integrated resort, Resorts World at Sentosa, appears to have run into problems, too.
MediaCorp has learnt that when RWS applied for a casino licence in October, the information it had provided was incomplete. The resort then submitted its application in full earlier this month. The Casino Regulatory Authority (CRA), which regulates the casinos in both IRs, will take about three months to carry out probity checks before awarding a licence. This means the earliest that RWS is likely to open is in March - and not during the Chinese New Year period in February as first hoped. MBS had also applied for a licence in October, and its application was also incomplete; the CRA required more documents to be furnished. The resort submitted the application in full last month. "We first received the initial casino licence applications of MBS and RWS in Oct 2009, and the complete application package in Nov 2009 and Dec 2009 respectively," a CRA spokeswoman told MediaCorp. "We have made good progress since and are confident that we will clear the steps in good time with the cooperation of the operators. "CRA has to be satisfied on the suitability of the operators and its associates ... before granting a casino licence. Other than clearing the probity investigations, applicants must also obtain other necessary approvals (for example, approval of casino surveillance plans, system of internal controls) before the licence can be issued." Some gaming analysts had earlier predicted that RWS, owned by Genting Singapore, would receive its casino licence in the last quarter of this year, to set the stage for a first quarter opening next year. When contacted, an RWS spokesperson declined to comment on casino licensing matters, but said the resort was "still on track for a soft opening in early 2010". In their casino licence applications, the IRs would have to convince the CRA that they are financially sound and have the business ability to manage a successful casino, among many other technical criteria. Awarding of the casino licence also depends on several other factors, including a 50-per-cent completion of the project's gross floor area. It was not clear if the IRs are still allowed to open other parts of the resort even if they have yet to be granted the casino licence. |
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