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The
Business Times, 1 Jun 04
S'pore delegation studies casino operations
in Vegas
Industry analyst thinks a decision may be near
by Vince Chong
(SINGAPORE) Singapore looks a step closer to a decision on a casino
with the recent trip of a high-level government delegation to study
casino operations in Las Vegas, the gaming capital of the world.
Dr Balakrishnan: led the high-level team of 20 The visit to the US
was made a fortnight ago, and the 20 delegates included senior members
from the ministries of Trade and Industry, Finance, and Community
Development and Sports.
It is understood that the fact-finding visit was informally facilitated
by Darrell Metzger, chief executive of Sentosa Leisure Group and an
American who has vast experience in the US tourism industry.
According to an article in the Las Vegas Business Press (LVBP), the
group was there to study the key structures of the billion-dollar
casino industry, such as regulatory, tax, operational and financial
structures, in addition to its potential social impact. LVBP said
the team met casino executives from Strip, part of Caesar's Entertainment;
Las Vegas Sands, which operates the Venetian casino; MGM Mirage, as
well as members of the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling.
The paper also quoted Jonathan Galaviz, president of the Singapore
Association of Nevada and the gaming industry analyst for his company,
Galaviz Investment Management, as saying that the delegation's visit
signals an intent that 'almost guarantees that the issue will come
before the Singapore Parliament for a vote within six months'. The
association is a non-profit group promoting economic and cultural
ties between the state of Nevada, whose major city is Las Vegas, and
Singapore.
LVBP wrote: 'The group's visit demonstrates the country's commitment
to seriously consider lifting the current ban on gambling by doing
research on the models being successfully practised around the world.
'The Singapore government has been giving serious consideration to
legalising gambling in order to boost the country's position in South-east
Asia's emerging travel and leisure market as well as create new sources
of job, and tax and other revenues as the growing regional economy
expects to reach almost US$1,000 billion this year.'
In March, Trade and Industry Minister George Yeo said in Parliament
that the resort island of Sentosa, along with the leisure hub being
mooted for the Southern Islands, could potentially play host to a
casino.
Mr Galaviz, who did not meet the delegation, also told LVBP that Las
Vegas gaming companies are far from certain to be selected despite
the visit, as Singapore will almost certainly study major gaming prototypes
in other places like Monte Carlo, London and the Caribbean before
deciding on which model best suits the city-state.
'If I was advising a Las Vegas company, I would advise not to fight
who gets Singapore but work together to show that the Las Vegas model
is far superior to any other in the world,' he said.
If Singapore does go with the Las Vegas model, he added, the island
could host multiple gaming operators as the model is partially laissez-faire
without restriction on the number of licences.
Mr Galaviz told LVBP that Singapore has advantages over other Asian
nations that might be interested in hosting casinos such as Thailand
and Indonesia, as well as the current gaming hot spot of Macau. These,
he said, include a superior infrastructure, one of Asia's lowest tax
regimes and an educated workforce. |
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