Inside Asian Gaming

IAG JAPAN MAY 2019 12 SINGAPORE IRS TO UNDERGO SG$4.5 BILLION EXPANSIONS THE Singapore TourismBoard has reached an agreement with Las Vegas Sands (LVS) and Genting Singapore that will allow the them to significantly expand their respective integrated resorts, Marina Bay Sands (MBS) and Resorts World Sentosa (RWS). LVS revealed that its local subsidiary, Marina Bay Sands Pte. Ltd, would invest around SG$4.5 billion (US$3.3 billion) into the new development which will include a hotel tower with a “rooftop attraction” including a sky pool and signature restaurant, MICE facilities comprising meeting rooms, function rooms and exhibition halls plus a state-of-the-art live entertainment arena with a seating capacity of at least 15,000 people. The agreement includes leasing of land for the project until 21 August 2066. MBS will also be granted approval for an additional 1,000 gaming machines, taking its total to 3,500, as well as approval for conversion of the entire 55th floor of Hotel Tower 1 into more casino floor space and a provision to purchase another 2,000 square meters of casino gaming area if required. In return, the company must pay the Singapore government SG$1.5 billion (US$1.1 billion) by 10 April 2019 with a deadline for completion of development of 2 April 2027. Genting Singapore has announced an identical SG$4.5 billion investment of RWS, which it aims to complete by 2024. The RWS development will see the property’s gross floor area expand by 50%, adding 164,000 square meters of leisure and entertainment space. Among the planned additions are expansion of Universal Studios Singapore, including new themed areas “Minion Park” and “Super Nintendo World”, of S.E.A. Aquarium which will be re-branded “Singapore Oceanarium”, the addition of another 1,100 hotel rooms as part of a new “waterfront lifestyle complex”, an enhanced waterfront promenade with restaurants and retail, expanded MICE facilities and development of a driverless transport system around the property. For its part, the Singapore Tourism Board has agreed not to increase the rate of casino tax above specified tiered rates until at least 2032. It has also agreed not to increase the entry levy for locals beyond SG$150 per 24-hour period or SG$3,000 per 12-month period. Notably though, these levy limits represent 50% increases on the current levies of SG$100 for 24 hours or SG$2,000 for 12 months. NAGACORP’S planned Naga3 development will add an extra 4,720 hotel rooms across five new towers in what will see Cambodian IR NagaWorld become the “largest riverine integrated resort in the world.” Plans for NagaWorld’s planned Phase 3 development were revealed by NagaCorp in a detailed outline of its ongoing expansion. Covering a gross floor area of 544,801 squaremeters, Naga3 will incorporate two 66-storey hotel towers, two 53-storey hotel towers, a 55-storey condotel tower, a three-level basement and a 12-storey podium. The project is again being designed by Steelman Partners, while the hotels are set to be managed by one or more well-known international hotel brands. NagaCorp, which holds a 70-year monopoly on casino operations in Phnom Penh through to 2065, has no restrictions on its gaming space, number of tables or number of EGMs under its casino license, withNaga3 to add up to 800 more gaming tables and 2,500 EGMs to its current supply. NAGACORP REVEALS DETAILS OF NAGA3 DEVELOPMENT