Marina Bay Sands opens its doors

The second integrated resort in Singapore opened its doors to the public yesterday at 3:18pm, giving a fresh boost to the country’s tourism industry and raising its profile as a playground for the world's high-rollers.

Built by US gaming giant Las Vegas Sands, the US$5.5-billion (S$7.5 billion) Marina Bay Sands (MBS) is the group’s first casino in Asia outside Macau. Sheldon Adelson, chairman of Las Vegas Sands, said that he expects to recoup his Singapore investment in five years.

“Most of the high-end players are reputable business people. They have to travel anyway so they typically would travel to the major cities, like Hong Kong and Singapore, wherein they do business,” he said.

People started to flock into the integrated resort hours before the official opening, hoping to be among the first to catch a glimpse of the new attraction. Those waiting to enter the casino complex were ushered into the Sands Expo and Convention Centre to take a queue number and wait in comfort. This was a measure implemented by MBS to prevent a repeat of overcrowding during the opening of Resorts World Sentosa on February 14.

The integrated resort was originally set to open at the end of last year, but faced repeated delays due to a number of factors, including financial problems and material and labour shortages because of the economic downturn. It managed to obtain the casino licence only on Monday.

The opening of MBS includes the casino complex, a portion of its shopping mall, an exhibition and convention centre, the events plaza, some restaurants and 963 of the 2,560 hotel rooms.

According to the management, the remaining hotel rooms and suites, as well as the skypark and several more shops will open on June 23, while theatres, a museum and other retail stores are expected to start operations later this year.