The Lunar New Year holiday is this weekend in Singapore and the event may be accompanied with the opening of the first casino in the country.
>The Lunar New Year holiday is this weekend in Singapore and residents of the country may have more to celebrate than just the New Year. Singapore's first casino, developed by Genting, could open this weekend as well.
"The early opening ahead of Marina Bay Sands will be positive as it allows RWS to reap the full benefits of a monopoly during the typically peak Chinese New Year festive season," said Keith Wee, an analyst at OSK Research Kuala Lumpar.
Genting has been in a race with Las Sands to see which casino will be the first to open in Singapore. The company took the lead on Sands when the credit crisis forced Sands to stop construction on their casino resort.
Sands has since re-started their project, with the help of an initial public offering in Asia. The two in Singapore are expected to bring thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in revenue to the country.
The government granted Genting a license for Resorts World Sentosa this past week. With the license in hand, the group can move forward with the opening. Other parts of the project, such as hotels, have already been opened.
Singapore is attempting to tap into the growing casino industry in Asia. Macau has become the casino gambling capital of the world, with many of their customers coming from mainland China.
Source: Casinogamblingweb.com - News added: 2010-02-09 at: 00:00:04
