Monthly Archives: February 2010

Shops, eateries thriving but casino numbers could be higher, say analysts

Business has more than doubled at retail outlets like Victoria’s Secret, since the casino opened, says The Valiram Group, which manages luxury brands.

IT HAS been 10 days since Singapore’s first integrated resort (IR) partially opened its casino and theme park, and the early signs are that it is doing well.

While the casino at Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) reeled in the lion’s share of visitors, the hotels, restaurants and retailers there have had roaring business.

And even though none of the 19 rides and shows at the Universal Studios theme park is ready, thousands of ‘preview’ tickets were snapped up by those content with just a walk-through.

The casino itself had more than 149,000 people in its first full week of operations, despite having opened only half of its 530 gaming tables and 1,300 slot machines on Day One.

Since this is the country’s first casino, no local benchmark for visitor numbers exists. For comparison, the Venetian Macao Resort Hotel, which has a casino more than 31/2 times bigger, had more than 500,000 visitors in its first 10 days.

Citigroup analysts say that RWS’ 86,000 visitors in its first four days pales in comparison with Melco Crown Entertainment’s City of Dreams in Macau, which had 40,000 visitors on Day One.

But then, Melco is nearly three times bigger and, like all Macau gaming houses, can count on the hinterland of a billion people in nearby Hong Kong and China.

Nonetheless, the Singapore casino’s visitor numbers are underwhelming to analysts, who say the figures could be inflated by the many visitors, including foreign workers, who wanted a look-see, not a wager.

Teething problems in operations have also surfaced: Overcrowding on the gaming floor, dirty toilets and inexperienced dealers are among visitors’ grouses.

Still, for businesses outside the casino, things are hunky dory.

RWS’ four hotels, with a total of 1,350 rooms, are fully booked until the end of the Chinese New Year period on Sunday; already, seven in 10 rooms have been taken for the June school holidays, said RWS spokesman Robin Goh.

RWS’ restaurants and retail stores, which opened progressively from Jan 20, are also doing well: It has been full house daily at Chili’s Grill & Bar Restaurant, an American diner; Chinese restaurant Ruyi has even run out of food a few times.

Business at the RWS-run restaurants has grown by up to 20 per cent since their opening; the casino’s outlets have fed 10,000 to 12,000 punters a day.

Cash registers are also ringing at the retail stores. The Valiram Group, which manages luxury brands from Bally and Bvlgari to Ralph Lauren and Victoria’s Secret, said business has more than doubled since the casino opened.

Meanwhile, junket operators are already priming their VIP clients. Ms Mary Ong, who runs MO Junket, has introduced more than 50 high rollers from countries like China and Indonesia here for a preview.

These punters, here on their own, have each been blowing roughly $20,000 a night. MO Junket, still without a junket licence, cannot host clients yet.

All eyes now are on the opening of the theme park, even as travel agents gripe about being unable to sell packages without a firm opening date.

Pressed for one, RWS’ Mr Goh would say only that the theme park ‘is expected to open its doors in early March’.

Source – Straits Time : 24 Feb 2010