LV Sands Sack 500 More Staffs In Macau, Job Vacancies In Spore May Dwindle

[sgnewsalte]

And the Spore govt is putting all hopes on the IRs to boost our economy.

Furthermore, job vacancies for Singaporeans in Sands Marina may dry up as it is reported that many workers over in Macau are being offered alternative jobs in Singapore.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iJm8rRrTji3Gn3AOdTNqqOS448GA

Macau's Venetian sacks further 500 staff as credit crunch bites

21 minutes ago

HONG KONG (AFP) — Macau's giant Venetian casino owned by troubled Las Vegas Sands has sacked 500 staff, the company said in a statement, the latest sign of the firms's struggles to deal with the global credit crunch.

The Venetian, a massive hotel and casino complex billed as the cornerstone of a new Las Vegas-style strip, has cut the weekly working week for its casino workers, and laid off 500 staff, the firm said in a statement.

"The company has adopted a series of measures to control operating cost in all business areas, including letting go approximately 500 employees across all levels who are not Macau residents," a Venetian spokesman said.

"(These include) about 100 management-grade expatriate employees in gaming operations," the statement, released late Monday said.

It said many of the workers would be offered alternative employment at the firm's new casino project in Singapore.

Last month, the US-based firm said it was firing up to 11,000 mainly construction staff as it halted work at a new 6,400-room resort close to the Venetian.

The firm said it was delaying the development until it could secure additional funds for the 3.7 billion US dollar project.

Reports said William Weidner, Sands global president, also blamed the Chinese government's decision to reduce the number of visitors to Macau for the delay.

Las Vegas Sands' US-listed share price has collapsed from around 148 dollars last October to less than six dollars on worries about its heavy debt levels.

 

[Hope]

And the Spore govt is putting all hopes on the IRs to boost our economy.

Furthermore, job vacancies for Singaporeans in Sands Marina may dry up as it is reported that many workers over in Macau are being offered alternative jobs in Singapore.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iJm8rRrTji3Gn3AOdTNqqOS448GA

Macau's Venetian sacks further 500 staff as credit crunch bites

21 minutes ago

HONG KONG (AFP) — Macau's giant Venetian casino owned by troubled Las Vegas Sands has sacked 500 staff, the company said in a statement, the latest sign of the firms's struggles to deal with the global credit crunch.

The Venetian, a massive hotel and casino complex billed as the cornerstone of a new Las Vegas-style strip, has cut the weekly working week for its casino workers, and laid off 500 staff, the firm said in a statement.

"The company has adopted a series of measures to control operating cost in all business areas, including letting go approximately 500 employees across all levels who are not Macau residents," a Venetian spokesman said.

"(These include) about 100 management-grade expatriate employees in gaming operations," the statement, released late Monday said.

It said many of the workers would be offered alternative employment at the firm's new casino project in Singapore.

Last month, the US-based firm said it was firing up to 11,000 mainly construction staff as it halted work at a new 6,400-room resort close to the Venetian.

The firm said it was delaying the development until it could secure additional funds for the 3.7 billion US dollar project.

Reports said William Weidner, Sands global president, also blamed the Chinese government's decision to reduce the number of visitors to Macau for the delay.

Las Vegas Sands' US-listed share price has collapsed from around 148 dollars last October to less than six dollars on worries about its heavy debt levels.

There is a very strong possibility that Sands would go down under in 2009,Mr Sheldon should pary hard to the two most powerful guys in the world,president erect (USA) and Chairman (PRC),MM Lee,I dont think this wise man fr the East can do much unless he can hand over some real peanuts to Mr Sheldon


Las Vegas Sands: Sustainable in 2009?
by: Ryan Barnes November 17, 2008 | about stocks: LVS
Ryan Barnes






With the final pricing news out Friday from Las Vegas Sands’ (LVS) massive preferred stock, common stock, and warrant offering, I finally feel like there’s enough “accurate” numbers available to determine whether the casino & resort operator can make it through 2009.

Big prizes certainly await shareholders if this modern-day Spruce Goose can make it to 2010 without defaulting on loans or breaching debt covenants that call for a 20% capital ratio to be maintained by the company (for more details, see my earlier post).

I’ll be including the estimated future costs (from the LVS 8k dated November 10) to complete the various construction projects through 2009; you’ll see the amounts underlined as they come up in discussion. At the end we’ll look over the totals versus the cash raised, and see if we’ve got a live investment thesis here.

Adelson’s All In

For now allow me to go back to the shareholders, specifically CEO Sheldon Adelson, who still owns over 50% of the company directly or via warrants after exchanging $475 million of his family’s 6.5% convertible notes due 2013 into 86.3 million shares of common stock @ $5.50 per share, the same price as the general secondary.

That’s another $475 million in forgone claims during a bankruptcy for the Adelson family, just in case anyone is still questioning the amount of skin the man has in his own company. It’s all-in for Adelson, who I believe has set a record for the most wealth lost by one person in one year (I doubt he’s called Guinness).

Offering Details

LVS was able to raise just over $2 billion from the utterly dilutive offering, which bypassed shareholder approval on the grounds of “immediate need”. But most shareholders who have been around for the past months know the dire state of affairs, and understand that we need to graciously accept whatever table scraps we can get to feed this dog. And I say that with love, because this dog could quite easily grow up to be the biggest, strongest alpha dog in the neighborhood.

Las Vegas Operations

Given the state of the U.S. consumer, it’s likely that Las Vegas operations -- consisting of the Venetian & Palazzo Casino / Resorts, and the Sands Expo Center -- will continue to report weak numbers, even negative growth year-over-year on some metrics. The Palazzo has been open for nearly one year now, and helped contribute to casino revenue growth of 36% from the year-ago period.

But the more important metric of revenue per available room (RevPAR) fell for the Venetian, to $191 from $233 a year ago. The Palazzo generated $218 RevPAR, down from over $240 sequentially.

The properties will add valuable cash flow to operations, but it is instantaneously sucked up into other construction, capex projects, and interest payments, to the extent that Vegas operations as a whole reported just over $6 million in GAAP income during the 3rd quarter - a paltry contribution considering the scope of the company’s presence on the Vegas Strip.

The only major construction project in Vegas is the St. Regis Residences build, which has been put on hold “indefinitely”. Las Vegas Sands will spend $95 million to finish just one portion of the project in Q1 of 2009, as it can begin providing lease income right away.

Sands Bethlehem

No, that’s not a Biblical desert, but a casino property going up on the site of an old Bethlehem steel plant in Pennsylvania. This project will be the company’s first foray into the American Northeast, and management has decided to complete just the casino portion for now, along with completing the parking structure. This stripped-down version should open sometime in the 2nd quarter of 2009, and will cost about $430 million to finish.

Cotai Strip Development

In addition to the $2.1 billion of capital from the equity offerings, we also heard news last week that LVS is in talks to secure another $2 billion through a syndicate of Asian banks. This capital would be used to resume Phase 1 construction of two lots on the Cotai Strip, parcels #5 and #6.

As of the company’s earnings release, construction on these two parcels has been halted, and the nearly 11,000 workers laid off until fresh financing can be obtained. While this is purely my speculation, I wouldn’t be surprised to see these talks stall out. Maybe in six months something will come about, but for now LVS is spending over $400 million just to get the proverbial tarp rolled over the lots ... expect them to collect some dust in the short term.

Four Seasons Macau, the second property to open on the Cotai Strip (following the Venetian Macau), opened during the 3rd quarter and provided 34 days of results in the period. This more upscale resort boasts an ADR $440, but was only about 30% full during its opening weeks. Management will be sinking another $463 million into completing the private apartments adjacent to the complex, to be completed over the next few quarters. This project is getting priority because the assets could be sold or sliced off in a financing effort once complete.

Venetian Macau a Lone Bright Spot

 

[Hope]

The Venetian Macau is the largest casino in the world, and it reached its one year anniversary during the third quarter. As the first and flagship property on the Cotai Strip, it’s vital for the Venetian Macau to provide revenue and earnings growth. Trends remained strong thanks to increased ferry traffic (more on that later) which brought in 15% more visitors to the Venetian in September and October versus 2007. RevPAR was $194, versus $180 in the 2nd quarter.

This growth comes in the face of stiff travel restrictions being put up by the Chinese government. In an effort to stem money laundering out of China via Macau casinos, China has limited citizens in the Guangdong Province to only one visit to Macau every three months. China actually upped the visa restrictions twice in one month over the summer, but there are rumors that the restrictions might be relaxed to keep the Macau region from falling into recession.

Singapore Development - Early Opening Sighted

In another positive note, the government of Singapore has reiterated its support for getting the Marina Bay Sands casino/resort up and running, and Singapore has also granted permission for LVS to open the project in phases. So we’re likely to see the casino and retail shops open sometime in 2009, with full project completion (including 2 hotel towers and convention facilities) targeted for Q1 of 2010.

Marina Bay Sands is going to be a huge casino (1,000 tables, 1,400 slots), and Adelson & Co. are banking on (pun intended) the complex being an immediate and large contributor to earnings. The best carrot for getting the casino open is that the projected tax rate on gaming revenues is only 17.3% in Singapore, versus a whopping 39% in Macau. When Marina Bay is operating at full capacity, the tax benefit alone could add over $400 million to income per year, per the 8k filing.

Potential Catalysts

The critical mass concept keeps getting to me. I am starting to see in the operating results the positive effects of higher ferry traffic from the Cotai Jet Service, which can now funnel over 20,000 people a day into the Cotai Strip from the Chinese Mainland, most arriving from Hong Kong.

This transportation infrastructure was just one of many important pieces you’ve got to get in place before you can build a new city from the ground up. Because that’s precisely what Adelson is trying to accomplish with the Cotai Strip. Located just miles away from Macau itself in the Pearl River delta region of Hong Kong, Cotai is a chance to build a “Westernized” new Vegas Strip, and Adelson has plans to build a capacity of 20,000 rooms when all is said and done, with international brands like Shangri-La, Traders, Sheraton, and St. Regis.

And with the addition of the 100 luxury shops within the Four Seasons Resort, Cotai can add over 750,000 sq ft of high-end retailing and luxury amenities to its list of attractors, not just table games and slots.

The Brass Tax

Now that I’ve already dragged on two pages longer than expected, let’s figure out how bloated this Spruce Goose is, keeping in mind that the 20% equity measure (or rolling operating income) must continue to be met.

Given that the numbers are constantly in flux, let’s be conservative and assume that the company’s LT debt will end up around $11 billion (it’s currently $10.35B). So we’re talking about roughly $2.2 billion in either capital or operating income needed to support it; company-wide operating income from the last quarter was less than $25 million.

While I’m not expecting operating losses in coming quarters, I’m not expecting a rebound either, so my safe estimate calls for less than $500 million in operating income for 2009. That leaves a shortfall of between $1.5 and $1.7 billion in capital that must be able to essentially “sit around” on the balance sheet. The $500M number could prove very low if Bethlehem opens on time, if visa restrictions are relaxed, or if the broad economy makes an actual rebound in the second half of the year. One, or even two of those might happen, but management may also have cost overruns of a billion or more next year, so I choose to leave all the “ifs” out of the equation.

Cash Call

As of 9/30, there was $1.28 billion unrestricted cash available on the balance sheet, along with $1.75 billion available under the Singapore facility that has already been allocated to construction there. In addition, LVS says it will need another $261 million of capital to put towards completing Marina Bay Sands.

The sum of all the costs outlined above comes to $1.676 billion, plus another $200 million “buffer” for ancillary capex coming from me. Rounding it all off, this is the big picture:

Capital Needed To Retain Covenants: $1.7B
Capital Needed For Capex $2.0B

Cash on hand plus Capital Raised: ($1.28 + $2.1) = $3.38B

We’re still $320 million short, an amount I see Las Vegas Sands being able to finance via a deal to sell part of its retail presence in Cotai or in Vegas, both of which have been discussed by analysts in recent months. But we’re close - within rounding errors - and much closer than the $2 billion shortfall that worried the company’s auditor just a few weeks ago.

Parting Thoughts

I added LVS shares to the Secular Trends Portfolio on October 17th, when the stock was just over $13 and the market cap was roughly $5 billion. Today, there are twice the number of shares in the nominal/implied base, and the market cap is a scant $2.1 billion.

Since this piece was never designed to highlight my market timing ability, I’ll humbly disclose that I knowingly reached out for a falling knife. But wounded hand and all, I still feel the potential upside from this holding remains exponential.

I haven’t dared to mention “property values” until now, what with us smack dab in the middle of the worst deflationary period in decades…..But if you believe that Vegas will be around in the future (and around the world, via Cotai and Macau), you can easily come up with breakup values well in excess of the company’s enterprise value of $12.5 billion.

This final brain tickle comes from Las Vegas Sands itself, which outlines the potential run-rate operating income that can be achieved when all the projects are up and running. The company estimates that can happen in 2012. The number? $2 billion in operating income - not including parcels 5 and 6 - which would theoretically be combined with a very low tax rate.

A long position here requires huge reward potential to compensate for the very real threats to current equity holders. If the company can execute and stay tight within its budgets, the reward seems within grasp.

 

[Hope]

Below is what they said about COTAI STRIP back in 2006,it was so well articulated that even brillaint wise man LKY could stop himself fr aclaiming

"Tat is the future!!"

HeHe.fr May 2006 to Oct 2008,how things change for those sinners who believe the future is the gaming dens..


The Development of Cotai Strip Helps Complete a Personal Vision for
72-year-old Sheldon Adelson - Creating a Second Las Vegas
.
Up to 3 billion People Live a Short Distance from Macau
By Howard Stutz, Las Vegas Review-Journal
Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

May 28, 2006 - The first time he saw China's planned Cotai Strip development four years ago, Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman Sheldon Adelson thought the Chinese government was banishing him to some faraway no-man's land.

Much of the Cotai Strip was submerged under several feet of water. Engineers were just beginning to reclaim land from the South China Sea and transform the area into an industrial complex.

Adelson had other ideas.

Las Vegas Sands Corp., was already spending close to $300 million to build a Sands casino on the waterfront of the Macau Peninsula, a former Portuguese colonial region that is the only place in China where gambling is legal.

Government sponsors asked Adelson to look at Cotai, which is just minutes south of Macau by car, as another potential gaming destination.

"At first, I thought it was political exile," Adelson recalled. "I thought (rival Chinese casino developer) Stanley Ho had some influence that he got me off the peninsula because that's where he believes the center of everything is. All I was hoping was that I could get a location in which I could really do something."

By the end of the decade, Cotai, which derives its name from its position between the islands of Taipa and Coloane, could be home to more than a dozen hotels with 20,000 rooms, casinos, showrooms, restaurants, convention space, shops and a 15,000-seat sports arena.

Adelson guided Cotai's development, persuading some of the world's largest and most profitable hotel chains to join Las Vegas Sands in opening locations on the Cotai Strip. North American hotel companies, such as Hilton, Starwood and Four Seasons will join Asian hotel company Shangri-La to build properties using some of the world's most recognizable brands -- Sheraton, St. Regis, Intercontinental, Conrad and Holiday Inn.

The hotel operators will manage their own rooms and restaurants. Las Vegas Sands will run the properties' casinos and showrooms.

The anchor centerpiece of the Cotai Strip, the $3 billion Las Vegas Sands-owned Venetian Macau, is well under construction on slightly more than 67 acres. It will open in 2007.

With 3,000 rooms, 565,000 square feet of casino space, a 1 million-square-foot convention and meeting center, a 2,000-seat showroom and a 1 million-square-foot version of the Grand Canal Shoppes, the Venetian Macau emulates its sister property, The Venetian in Las Vegas.

The sports arena is also part of the Venetian site.

The development of Cotai helps complete a personal vision for the 72-year-old Adelson: creating a second, somewhat smaller, Las Vegas.

In a long interview with the Review-Journal, Adelson, the majority shareholder in Las Vegas Sands, said developing Cotai almost didn't happen until he investigated the location.

"When I went out to see it, I said to myself 'this could be what I'm dreaming about. I could create another Las Vegas,'" Adelson said. "That's when I got excited about (Cotai). Nobody wanted this and it wasn't even land anyway. It was just a bay."

Adelson said architects and planners helped his company devise a U-shaped Strip with seven sites covering a little more than 147 acres. Each site could hold several hotel-casinos. Adelson thought Asia, which includes China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia and Singapore, deserved its own Las Vegas.

"There isn't anybody who knows anything about hospitality, lodging, casinos and entertainment that would deny, if you picked up Las Vegas and brought it over to anywhere in Asia, it would be a grand slam home run," Adelson said.

Adelson said he had little trouble conveying his vision and encouraging hotel operators to build on Cotai. Many of the hotel sites could be under construction by 2007. One 15-acre site controlled by Las Vegas Sands remains in development negotiations.

Even rival casino developer Steve Wynn, who Adelson says at first scoffed at the idea of developing Cotai, is asking the Chinese government for permission to build three or four casino-hotels on about 50 acres of Cotai Strip property east of Las Vegas Sands' development.

"All you have to do is go over there," Adelson said. "You can't help but see it if you go over there."

Wall Street analysts estimate Cotai, which is about 25 miles from Hong Kong via ferry, could lead one of the world's most lucrative gambling markets.

By decade's end, Cotai Strip casinos, along with casinos in Macau, could collectively report anywhere between $15 billion and $18 billion in annual gaming revenue. In 2005, Macau casinos, including the Sands Macau which opened in 2004, churned out almost $6 billion in gaming revenue. By comparison, Nevada, the nation's leading casino market, reported gaming revenues of $11.6 billion in 2005, an all-time record.

Macau casinos operated by Wynn Resorts Ltd. and MGM Mirage are scheduled to open in the next 12 months.

"A lot is going to depend upon how loose the Chinese government gets in opening up travel restrictions," said Steven Wieczynski, gaming analyst for Stifel Nicolaus in Baltimore. "There are anywhere from 2 billion to 3 billion people living a short distance from Macau and Cotai. Once those nice properties are built on Cotai, a lot of people are going to want to get over there. Our estimates have been $11 billion (in gaming revenues by the end of the decade) but we're a little conservative. While $15 billion is a big number, it's absolutely doable."

Wieczynski said savvy investors understand what Las Vegas Sands is doing in China.

In March, Las Vegas Sands shares were trading in the $50 price range on the New York Stock Exchange. The company's stock price climbed to a 52-week high of $72.69 on May 9 but investor profit-taking brought the share price down below $60 this past week. However, shares in the company closed at $69.63 Friday on news that Las Vegas Sands won its bid to build a $3.6 billion resort in Singapore.

Much of Cotai's approximately 250 acres has been reclaimed and is being prepared for development.

Adelson said the Cotai Strip will create, in essence, two Macaus. The downtown area, dominated by the Sands Macau, Stanley Ho's Lisboa casino, and the soon-to-open Wynn Macau and MGM Grand Macau, will be the domain of day-trip Chinese gamblers. The Cotai resorts will be packed with destination travelers.

Though competitors may disagree, Adelson thinks the Cotai Strip properties will be the true destination resorts in Macau; he envisions free-spending gamblers and tourists flocking there.

"Downtown (Macau) is not a destination market," Adelson said. "When my competitors say they are building a destination resort, to me, it's like saying you're building a destination resort in downtown Las Vegas. You have to be sensitive enough to the market to understand what the people want and what they respond to. I frequently touch the numbers and I know what's going on over there, and it's not a destination resort."

But revenue from casinos in the Macau Peninsula area won't vanish. His company's Sands Casino is expanding, ready to capitalize on its location less than a mile from Macau's ferry terminal.

Gaming analysts agree with Adelson's assessment that Macau's market will change.

Wieczynski said Macau could see a boost in day-trip gamblers who would flood the downtown casinos while high-end gamblers gravitate toward the Cotai properties.

Expansion of the Macau International Airport to accommodate more airline traffic and the building of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge by 2011 or 2012 would connect regions now separated by water.

Susquehanna Financial Group gaming analyst Brian McGill said pent-up demand for more gambling in Macau will drive the market. He said the Cotai Strip will turn the area into a true travel destination.

"What they've done with the Sands Macau has already exceeded everyone's expectations," McGill said of the casino, which reported revenues of $278.2 million and cash flow of $103.4 million in 2006's first quarter.

"There is a lot that doesn't exist in Macau that Las Vegas Sands is helping to create," McGill said. "(Adelson) is clearly a visionary in the industry and he's been proven right more times than he has been wrong. There was a lot of skepticism on Macau and Cotai early, but most have come around and believe he'll be right on this."

 

[Hope]

One early skeptic was Wynn.

In a 2005 interview with Fortune magazine, Adelson said Wynn dismissed any notion of building on Cotai, a claim he repeated recently to the Review-Journal. Adelson even offered witnesses to corroborate his story, people who were with him when he approached Wynn outside a meeting in Macau and proposing a partnership in the Cotai project.

"I said 'Steve, I have this idea about doing a Strip. I think if you and I did it together, it would be unbeatable,' " Adelson recalled. "He turned me down flat. He said it was the most stupid idea he had ever heard in his whole life. I think he now sees that it is happening and everybody is trying to buy into it, so now it's a perfect time. Of course, when he gets ready to open his first (casino), I'll have seven hotel-casinos open on Cotai."

Wynn was traveling last week and could not be reached for comment.

To complement its projects on Cotai, Las Vegas Sands signed an agreement in October with the city of Zhuhai to master plan and build a 1,300-acre nongaming resort on Hengquin Island, less than a mile from the Venetian Macau site and a short trip by water taxi to the main areas of Macau. Adelson said the Hengquin Island site, which will have golf courses, resort villas and a marina, will serve as an amenity to Macau tourism.

Adelson said Cotai and Macau will combine to make the Chinese region the Las Vegas of the Far East.

"In the Asian culture, there is a great propensity to play, but they're not gambling addicts," Adelson said. "Gambling is a form of entertainment to them and that's their social activity to gamble. Every Chinese New Year, they give family members little red envelopes with 'lucky money.' The concept of luck is in all their thoughts."

Although he believes Asian visitors will flock to Cotai, Adelson believes few Americans will have any reason to venture halfway around the world to visit.

"Would Americans want to go? No," Adelson said. "I think Americans will go for convention purposes. But Americans already have Las Vegas. Why would they want to go to an Asian Las Vegas? To me, it's a broadening of the market so that Asians will want to come to the real Las Vegas, which is the mecca of entertainment."

BUILDING BLOCKS

A. Venetian Macau (3,000 hotel rooms)

B. Four Seasons (400 hotel rooms)

C. Far East Consortium (Intercontinental Hotel, Holiday Inn, Cosmopolitan and Dorsett -- hotel rooms to be determined)

D. Shangri-La (500-room Shangri-La and 1,000-room Traders)

E. Starwood (1,200-room Sheraton and 300-room St. Regis)

F. Hilton Hotels (1,200-room Hilton Hotel and 300-room Conrad)

G. Future development

COTAI STRIP

Cotai, 250 acres of land reclaimed from the South China Sea, stands to be gaming's next big destination. Las Vegas Sands Corp. is leading the development of more than 20,000 hotel rooms.

 

[Hope]

Las Vegas Sands seeks record Singapore loan to construct casino in nation
By Denise Kee Bloomberg News
Published: September 20, 2007
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SINGAPORE: Las Vegas Sands, the largest casino operator in the world by market value, is seeking a record loan in Singapore currency to fund construction of the first gambling house in the nation, three people familiar with the deal said.

The gambling firm hired eight banks including Goldman and locals DBS, Oversea-Chinese Banking and United Overseas Bank to arrange the 5 billion Singapore dollars, or $3.3 billion, borrowing, according to the people, who declined to be identified because the information is private.

Regulated gambling including casinos in the Asia-Pacific market will expand 15.7 percent a year to $30.3 billion in 2011, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers. Singapore will compete for Asian gamblers with Macao, the Chinese city that reaped 55.9 billion patacas, or $7 billion, gaming revenue in 2006, surpassing the Las Vegas Strip as the biggest casino market in the world.

"Asia will contribute the most to growth of the global gaming industry, and market share here is important for gaming companies and for Las Vegas Sands," said Poh Huay Imm, an equity specialist at Deutsche Bank's private wealth management group. "Las Vegas Sands's casinos in the U.S. are cash cows and will help fund its Asian expansion."

The Asia-Pacific region will by 2011 replace Europe, the Middle East and Africa as the second-biggest gaming market after the United States, PricewaterhouseCoopers said.
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The other four arranging banks are Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, Lehman and Citigroup. Las Vegas Sands could not be reached for comment, while the banks either declined to comment or could not be immediately reached.

In its efforts to lure visitors and triple tourism revenue to $19 billion by 2015, Singapore lifted a four-decade ban on casinos in 2005, pledging to license only two within 10 years.

The second casino will be on Sentosa Island, known for its golf courses, amusement park and beaches, and will be built by Genting International, a unit of the biggest casino operator in Asia by market value.

"It's a big gamble, clearly, and too early to tell if the returns will be good," said Lim Kok Boon, the chief investment officer in Singapore at Fortis Private Banking, which manages $9.5 billion of assets. "But duopoly is very attractive for casino operators in a developed market like Singapore."

Casino revenue in the Asia-Pacific region will double to $25.5 billion in 2011 from $12.1 billion in 2006, with 79 percent of the growth generated in Macao and Singapore, PricewaterhouseCoopers said.

Singapore will receive $2.2 billion in annual revenue from 2011 when both casinos are operating, PricewaterhouseCoopers said.

Part of the 5 billion dollars will be used to repay a $1.4 billion 12-month borrowing arranged a year ago, according to the people. The 5 billion dollar loan, maturing in seven to eight years, will be the largest ever made in Singapore currency, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It will be backed by the casino.

The interest margin on the loan will be between 2 percentage points and 2.5 percentage points more than the swap offer rate on Singapore currency, according to the people. The three-month rate is fixed at 2.62 percent Thursday. That compares with the premium of 2.75 percentage points over the London interbank offered rate that Las Vegas Sands is paying on $3.3 billion borrowed last year for its Macao expansion, a loan that matures in 2011. The three-month Libor rate is 5.59 percent.

"Banks will likely create a syndicate to spread the risk," Lim said. "The collateral in the form of land and building will appreciate."

Second-quarter profit at Las Vegas Sands, run by Sheldon Adelson, a billionaire, fell 69 percent as interest payments on funds borrowed to expand in Asia more than doubled from a year earlier to $54.4 million.

The downtown Marina Bay resort of Las Vegas Sands, neighboring the business district in Singapore, will feature three hotel towers linked by a sky garden, restaurants run by celebrity chefs Charlie Trotter and Thomas Keller and an art-and-science center.

The casino company's debt is rated three steps below investment grade at Ba3 by Moody's Investors Service and an equivalent BB- by Standard & Poor's.
Terms of Use

 

[lifeafter41]

One early skeptic was Wynn.

In a 2005 interview with Fortune magazine, Adelson said Wynn dismissed any notion of building on Cotai, a claim he repeated recently to the Review-Journal. Adelson even offered witnesses to corroborate his story, people who were with him when he approached Wynn outside a meeting in Macau and proposing a partnership in the Cotai project.

"I said 'Steve, I have this idea about doing a Strip. I think if you and I did it together, it would be unbeatable,' " Adelson recalled. "He turned me down flat. He said it was the most stupid idea he had ever heard in his whole life. I think he now sees that it is happening and everybody is trying to buy into it, so now it's a perfect time. Of course, when he gets ready to open his first (casino), I'll have seven hotel-casinos open on Cotai."

Wynn was traveling last week and could not be reached for comment.

To complement its projects on Cotai, Las Vegas Sands signed an agreement in October with the city of Zhuhai to master plan and build a 1,300-acre nongaming resort on Hengquin Island, less than a mile from the Venetian Macau site and a short trip by water taxi to the main areas of Macau. Adelson said the Hengquin Island site, which will have golf courses, resort villas and a marina, will serve as an amenity to Macau tourism.

Adelson said Cotai and Macau will combine to make the Chinese region the Las Vegas of the Far East.

"In the Asian culture, there is a great propensity to play, but they're not gambling addicts," Adelson said. "Gambling is a form of entertainment to them and that's their social activity to gamble. Every Chinese New Year, they give family members little red envelopes with 'lucky money.' The concept of luck is in all their thoughts."

Although he believes Asian visitors will flock to Cotai, Adelson believes few Americans will have any reason to venture halfway around the world to visit.

"Would Americans want to go? No," Adelson said. "I think Americans will go for convention purposes. But Americans already have Las Vegas. Why would they want to go to an Asian Las Vegas? To me, it's a broadening of the market so that Asians will want to come to the real Las Vegas, which is the mecca of entertainment."

BUILDING BLOCKS

A. Venetian Macau (3,000 hotel rooms)

B. Four Seasons (400 hotel rooms)

C. Far East Consortium (Intercontinental Hotel, Holiday Inn, Cosmopolitan and Dorsett -- hotel rooms to be determined)

D. Shangri-La (500-room Shangri-La and 1,000-room Traders)

E. Starwood (1,200-room Sheraton and 300-room St. Regis)

F. Hilton Hotels (1,200-room Hilton Hotel and 300-room Conrad)

G. Future development

COTAI STRIP

Cotai, 250 acres of land reclaimed from the South China Sea, stands to be gaming's next big destination. Las Vegas Sands Corp. is leading the development of more than 20,000 hotel rooms.

LVS share dropped 13% in yesterday trading in the US.
Was the US$2B raised earlier insufficient moving forward?.

What is the effect of Sands IR in Singapore?.

 

[Hope]

LVS share dropped 13% in yesterday trading in the US.
Was the US$2B raised earlier insufficient moving forward?.

What is the effect of Sands IR in Singapore?.

If you study the articles,it is quite safe to conclude that the possibility of LV Sands close shop by 2010 is 60%+.

Of course it depends very much on the world economic situation and whether Chairman Hu would extend a helping hand to cheif gambler Sheldon by relaxing visa and let more China men to come over and hand over cash to Ang Moh Sheldon?

In my view,that is absolutley no brainer,unless chairman Hu is like Ah Bian willing to accept political donation for his chairman ship erection.

The situation in LV would not improev much in the coming 12 months,it is definaitely going to get worst as the economy getting worst.

The coming Marine Bay,I strongly doubt that it would be completed,even completed,where is the money?

I pray hard that this chief gambler of the world world get what he truly deserves.That is to go to hell

 

[Hope]

LVS share dropped 13% in yesterday trading in the US.
Was the US$2B raised earlier insufficient moving forward?.

What is the effect of Sands IR in Singapore?.

Accordingly to the latest report available,the liabilities is already US$12 billion and now money no enough to spend.

Of the liabilities,the Singapore sector is US$3.3 billion.

The way they burn money,how long you think US$2 billion would last,by March 2009,mr Sheldon should be asking for money again.

The only guy who can save him is actually MM Lee who can direct more money than Omaba or Chairman Hu,would he do so,I dont think so.

Mr Sheldon might end up as a gaming consultant to MM Lee,well say S$10 million a year,if he is not taken over by heart attack by then.

 

[ahleebabasingaporethief]

Sands may close shop. Chances are hgih

Their owner may close shop even faster as his health is no good.

 

[singveld]

true if a 158 yrs old bank can collapse , so can casino.

 

[Hope]

Tycoon Steve Wynn,the man who thinks nothing of PAP,is likly to be the final winner,haha.

Wynn: Macau up, but Strip weak (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
By Howard Stutz, Las Vegas Review-JournalMcClatchy-Tribune Regional News

Oct. 14--Wynn Resorts Ltd. told investors Monday it expects to see a decline in operations from its Strip casino during the third quarter. However, the downturn is expected to be offset by improved results at the company's casino in Macau.

Las Vegas-based Wynn pre-announced earnings for the second straight quarter, mainly to give investors some insight into the casino company's operations during the ongoing financial crisis. Wynn will release its official third-quarter numbers on Oct. 30.

After the stock markets closed Monday, Wynn said operating results from Wynn Las Vegas would range from a $2 million loss to a $2 million gain during the quarter ended Sept. 30. A year ago, Wynn Las Vegas reported operating income of $35.8 million.

The company expects Wynn Macau to report operating income of $57 million to $63 million, compared with operating income of $39.2 million in the same quarter of 2007. In a statement, the company said recent travel restrictions imposed by the Chinese government on visitation from mainland China to Macau did not affect its operations at Wynn Macau.

The company said cash flow at both its Las Vegas and Macau properties had been affected by an increase in bad debt reserves based solely on the current global economic uncertainty.

Wynn shares, traded on the Nasdaq National Market, have been subject to frequent price swings along with the rest of gaming sector. Wynn shares, which traded at an all-time high of $176.14 on Oct. 29, closed Monday at $63.37, up $3.89, or 6.54 percent. In after-hours trading, Wynn shares fell about $3.12, or 4.92 percent to $60.25 at 7 p.m. PDT.

Last week's stock market battering flipped the market capitalization rankings (number of shares outstanding multiplied by the current price per share) of the top publicly traded casino operators. Wynn Resorts had a market capitalization of $6.57 billion on Monday. The market capitalization of Las Vegas Sands Corp. was $5.38 billion, while MGM Mirage was $4.84 billion. The market capitalizations of all three companies have fallen significantly in recent weeks as share prices have fallen.

Before the markets opened Monday, JP Morgan gaming analyst Joe Greff reduced his estimates for the major casino operators, including Wynn.

Greff said Wynn was still well positioned because of a solid balance sheet, assets and project funding. However, the planned opening of the company's $2.2 billion Encore in Las Vegas in December may be making investors nervous given the current economic conditions. In its statement, the company said Encore is fully financed and should open on time and within its previously announced budget.

Greff thought the company, which is expanding Wynn Macau, would slow future developments in China.

"Our view (is) that Wynn's management will prudently take time to design and develop its Cotai opportunity," Greff said.

 

[Hope]

Steve looks beautiful when compared to Mr Sheldon

Wynn Resorts Ltd- Balance Sheet and Capital Expenditures-30/10/2008

Our total cash balances at the end of the quarter were $1.7 billion, including cash balances restricted for construction of approximately $31 million. Total debt outstanding at the end of the quarter was $4.9 billion, including approximately $2.8 billion of Wynn Las Vegas debt, $1.1 billion of Wynn Macau related debt and $1.0 billion at Wynn Resorts, Limited. During the quarter we drew on the remaining availability under our Wynn Las Vegas Revolver and drew an additional $500 million on our Wynn Macau facilities of which $500 million remain available.

Capital expenditures during the third quarter of 2008, net of changes in construction payables and retention, totaled approximately $345.0 million, primarily attributable to Encore at Wynn Las Vegas.

During the month of July, the Company repurchased 4,256,271 shares of our common stock at an average price of $79.06 per share.

 

[Hope]

Steve Wynn is da man,ya!

Why is it that PAP always get the wrong talents har???
One word,cretivity,PAP just hates creative people.

One name immediately comes to mind:Creative Tech.

Yes,creative people do not take orders,it is oxymoron,how can a guy be creative when he likes to take orders?

The helicopter vision guys in PAP-pl put on yr thinking cap,wouldn't you?

Wynn To Open New Casino Resort In Las Vegas Amid Downturn


LAS VEGAS (AFP)--His competitors face free falling stock prices and potential bankruptcies, but Steve Wynn's company is sitting pretty as it prepares to open the doors on Monday to its lavish new resort, Encore.

The $2.3 billion, 2,000-room hotel-casino, which is attached to the three- year-old Wynn Las Vegas on the Strip, debuts at a moment when Las Vegas is gripped in its worst downturn in decades.

But Wynn is confident that he'll weather the storm.

"I don't owe a dime personally, and the company's solid as a rock," said Wynn, 66, chief executive and president of Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) "That's why we were just named to the S&P 500. We're not at risk here. We're very lucky."

Wynn Resorts, which also has the 600-room Wynn Macau in China and plans to open a 400-room expansion called Encore Macau by Christmas 2009, has certainly suffered in the downturn.

Yet whereas the company has lost about half of its stock value this year, rival MGM Mirage (MGM) has lost more than 80%, and Las Vegas Sands (LVS) has dropped more than 90%.

Both of those companies have had to take aggressive measures to shore up their liquidity, as seen last week when MGM Mirage sold off for $775 million the Treasure Island in Las Vegas, a hotel Wynn built and operated until he was bought out in 2000.

LVS has laid off 11,000 workers in Macau as it froze construction there and its majority shareholder, Sheldon Adelson, has shoveled $1 billion of its own money into the company.

"Wynn has the best balance sheet of all the casino operators right now," said Bill Lerner, a gaming industry analyst for Deutsche Bank, which has financed several Wynn projects in recent years. "That's really a function of the more judicious and more cautious about development than his peers and not building any more than he could afford to."

Judicious and cautious were words few would have applied to Wynn a decade ago as he finished the $1.6 billion Bellagio, then the world's most expensive hotel.

In his follow-up to the landmark Mirage, which heralded the street's 1990s spree of themed megaresorts, Wynn spent so lavishly on luxurious details that Wall Street disapproved and the stock price fell to a point that enabled Kirk Kerokorian to buy him out.

But not even Wynn's biggest critics dispute he is gifted at creating places of entertainment.

After Kerkorian's buyout, he bought the failing Desert Inn and replaced it with the $2.7 billion Wynn Las Vegas, a bronze, curved resort that abandoned his own prior model of providing an eye-popping spectacle.

For the Wynn, he created a light and water show intended primarily for guests. And now, with Encore, Wynn says he's striving for as much intimacy and elegance as a 2,000-room tower can offer, cutting up the casino into smaller sections for cozier spaces and appointing the property with unusual adornments from red tiger eye tabletops to banana-fiber wall weavings.

The closest thing to Vegas razzle-dazzle is the restaurant Switch, where three different sets of walls alternate.

"Everywhere you go, there's this wonderful play on texture and quality," he said. "After Wynn, there was nothing left for us to do but the basics better."

During a tour of Encore last week, Wynn took a call from Clint Eastwood, praising the actor's work in the new film "Gran Torino" and asking about the cold Eastwood suffered on his last visit.

Still, commoners delight him, too.

Near the end of that resort tour, Wynn stopped a teen to check if the wheels on his sneakers could harm the floor's tile mosaic.

"Who are you?" the boy's father asked.

"I just work here," Wynn answered with a toothy grin.

Others in the hall had none of it.

"Hey, man, that's the owner," one man said. "He's the only person who matters in Vegas."

Wynn blushed and posed for pictures.

"I gotta go, fellas," he said eventually. "I'm very busy. I've got a new hotel to open."

(END) Dow Jones Newswires
12-20-080333ET
Copyright (c) 2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.


The Wall Street Journal

 

[pia]

Remember when ad came out in Shitty times for Sands jobs, and cheng hu proclaimed thousands of job vacancies?

We in SBF at least could see it was all BS from chenghu and MOM to bluff poor folks into queuing up for jobs that don't exist.

Bloody con job :oIo:

 

[Hope]

Remember when ad came out in Shitty times for Sands jobs, and cheng hu proclaimed thousands of job vacancies?

We in SBF at least could see it was all BS from chenghu and MOM to bluff poor folks into queuing up for jobs that don't exist.

Bloody con job :oIo:

They have no ideas & in their usual style,jump the gun fast,a typical trait of PAP.

It was possible that LVS still OK then but now it looks Finished liao.

 

[shOUTloud]

i pray hard that this chief gambler of the world world get what he truly deserves.that is to go to hell

出来走，终归是要还的。

 

[The_Latest_H]

The situation is like watching an old WWII propeller fighter plane trying to dodge all the flak from the AAA fire from the ground. Especially if the pilot is simply no expert in dodging AAA fire, but just pretending to be so.

 

[shOUTloud]

I have a bet on Capitaland being forced by govt to buy into LV Sands. I think I will get my plate of char siew rice. woohoo!

 

[soikee]

Sands may close shop. Chances are hgih

Their owner may close shop even faster as his health is no good.

Adelson Sheldon moves around in a wheel-chair since the global economic storms started in Aug 2007.