Dec 21, 2009
Marina IR opening delayed
<!-- by line -->By Jessica Lim
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<!--background story, collapse if none-->Sands to complete Macau casinos in 5 years
SINGAPORE - LAS Vegas Sands, the world's No. 2 casino operator by market value, could completed all its planned developments on Macau's Cotai strip in five years, sooner than expected, hugely expanding its presence in the world's biggest gambling market.
Billionaire Sheldon Adelson, the founder and CEO of Sands, said business in Las Vegas was recovering and could return to normal levels by 2011. He brushed off suggestions its Singapore casino project could be delayed by months.
Sands - which last month raised $2.5 billion from listing its Macau unit, Sands China - plans to build five properties on the Cotai strip, a swathe of reclaimed land some Macau developers have touted as the next Las Vegas strip.
Those properties, including two that are half built, would complement the firm's two existing casinos in Macau, one of which is the Venetian Macau, the world's largest.
'We could finish all the (Macau) properties easily within five years,' Mr Adelson said at a news conference in Singapore. 'It depends on how fast we get approvals from the government.'
Sands suspended construction of its Cotai projects due to the global financial crisis but has since resumed work.
Sands, valued at $10 billion, competes in Macau with Wynn Macau, Galaxy Entertainment Group, SJM Holdings, Melco Crown Entertainment and MGM Mirage.
The typically upbeat Adelson said Sands expects to open phase one of the two half-completed projects, sites five and six, on the Cotai strip by June 2011. The Las Vegas firm will inject another $500 million into the project using funds raised from the Sands China IPO.
When fully developed, the Cotai strip will house more than 20,000 hotel rooms, over 1.6 million square feet of meetings and convention space, and over 2 million square feet of retail malls. -- REUTERS
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Artist's impression of the Marina Bay Sands integrated resort. The Marina Bay Sands, one of two casinos being built in Singapore, was initially scheduled to open this month. Then Mr Adelson said in July it would open by February. Heavy rains and the bankruptcy of some of the project's sub-contractors further pushed back the opening, Mr Adelson said. -- PHOTO: MARINA BAY SANDS
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THE Marina Bay Sands integrated resort will open the first part of its operations in mid-April, instead of February as previously announced.
More than half of the IR, including the casino and most of the restaurants, will be read by the end of March. The rest of the resort will open in phases, with the entire $5.5 billion project completed by the end of next year, said Las Vegas Sands Chairman Sheldon Adelson on Monday.
Job training for staff hired as dealers and croupiers will only be rolled out in January, he added. Some 12,000 to 14,000 people will be needed to run the entire resort, and 85 per cent of those hired are Singaporeans. The Marina Bay Sands, one of two casinos being built in Singapore, was initially scheduled to open this month. Then Mr Adelson said in July it would open by February. Heavy rains and the bankruptcy of some of the project's sub-contractors further pushed back the opening, Mr Adelson said.
On the April opening target, Mr Adelson told reporters at a press conference in Singapore on Monday that it was only a 'minor delay'. 'We are in this not for a day or a week, but for decades. So the delay of a day or a week is nothing,' he said. 'If we are going to do it, we are going to do it right.'
Singapore's other casino complex, Resorts World at Sentosa, is expected to open in phases starting in the first quarter of 2010, said a spokesman from developer Genting International. Asked about the earnings projections for the Singapore project, Mr Adelson said his company expects about US$1 billion annually before deducting interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation expenses.
Earlier, Mr Adelson told CNBC in an interview that its partly finished development on Macau's Cotai strip - put on hold after the economic crisis hit last year - could be completed within the next five years. Sands raised US2.5 billion in a Hong Kong initial public offering last month, part of which will be used to kickstart the stalled project.
Marina IR opening delayed
<!-- by line -->By Jessica Lim
<!-- end by line -->
<!--background story, collapse if none-->Sands to complete Macau casinos in 5 years
SINGAPORE - LAS Vegas Sands, the world's No. 2 casino operator by market value, could completed all its planned developments on Macau's Cotai strip in five years, sooner than expected, hugely expanding its presence in the world's biggest gambling market.
Billionaire Sheldon Adelson, the founder and CEO of Sands, said business in Las Vegas was recovering and could return to normal levels by 2011. He brushed off suggestions its Singapore casino project could be delayed by months.
Sands - which last month raised $2.5 billion from listing its Macau unit, Sands China - plans to build five properties on the Cotai strip, a swathe of reclaimed land some Macau developers have touted as the next Las Vegas strip.
Those properties, including two that are half built, would complement the firm's two existing casinos in Macau, one of which is the Venetian Macau, the world's largest.
'We could finish all the (Macau) properties easily within five years,' Mr Adelson said at a news conference in Singapore. 'It depends on how fast we get approvals from the government.'
Sands suspended construction of its Cotai projects due to the global financial crisis but has since resumed work.
Sands, valued at $10 billion, competes in Macau with Wynn Macau, Galaxy Entertainment Group, SJM Holdings, Melco Crown Entertainment and MGM Mirage.
The typically upbeat Adelson said Sands expects to open phase one of the two half-completed projects, sites five and six, on the Cotai strip by June 2011. The Las Vegas firm will inject another $500 million into the project using funds raised from the Sands China IPO.
When fully developed, the Cotai strip will house more than 20,000 hotel rooms, over 1.6 million square feet of meetings and convention space, and over 2 million square feet of retail malls. -- REUTERS
<!--end background story-->
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<!-- story content : start -->
THE Marina Bay Sands integrated resort will open the first part of its operations in mid-April, instead of February as previously announced.
More than half of the IR, including the casino and most of the restaurants, will be read by the end of March. The rest of the resort will open in phases, with the entire $5.5 billion project completed by the end of next year, said Las Vegas Sands Chairman Sheldon Adelson on Monday.
Job training for staff hired as dealers and croupiers will only be rolled out in January, he added. Some 12,000 to 14,000 people will be needed to run the entire resort, and 85 per cent of those hired are Singaporeans. The Marina Bay Sands, one of two casinos being built in Singapore, was initially scheduled to open this month. Then Mr Adelson said in July it would open by February. Heavy rains and the bankruptcy of some of the project's sub-contractors further pushed back the opening, Mr Adelson said.
On the April opening target, Mr Adelson told reporters at a press conference in Singapore on Monday that it was only a 'minor delay'. 'We are in this not for a day or a week, but for decades. So the delay of a day or a week is nothing,' he said. 'If we are going to do it, we are going to do it right.'
Singapore's other casino complex, Resorts World at Sentosa, is expected to open in phases starting in the first quarter of 2010, said a spokesman from developer Genting International. Asked about the earnings projections for the Singapore project, Mr Adelson said his company expects about US$1 billion annually before deducting interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation expenses.
Earlier, Mr Adelson told CNBC in an interview that its partly finished development on Macau's Cotai strip - put on hold after the economic crisis hit last year - could be completed within the next five years. Sands raised US2.5 billion in a Hong Kong initial public offering last month, part of which will be used to kickstart the stalled project.
