• 
• 

Published on September 3, 2007

"It's my responsibility to maximise benefits for shareholders. If I'm just a hotel-developer, the return could be less than 10 per cent, but at integrated resorts like this, it's 50 per cent," said Sheldon G Adelson, chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands Corp.

To Adelson, integrated resorts like the Cotai Strip, which includes 14 five-star hotel brands, casinos, convention and exhibition halls, arenas and other amenities under one roof,

are effective magnets to draw tourists. He also insisted that it would be a boon to the cities where the developments were located as they would create jobs. The Cotai Strip, which will be completed in the next 26-30 months with 20,000 hotel rooms, will hire 70,000 people. In the next five years, supported by the development, Macau will be like Las Vegas.

Despite the giant development project, Adelson believes that there are opportunities for future developments in other countries, including Thailand. However, all development projects must incorporate casinos, as this will generate ample revenue to subsidise other services. To Adelson, every country has a chance to bring in new tourists. He is in discussion with a country which welcomes 8-10 million tourists a year. He is confident that if an integrated resort is allowed in this country, arrivals will double.

Adelson said he had discussed a similar possibility with a Thai minister who had proposed that casinos be established in Pattaya and Phuket. The proposal was dropped after protests from religious groups who said casinos would encourage gambling in Thailand's Buddhist society.

"The casino is only one element of the integrated development, but gaming is not a sport that tourists would travel for," Adelson insisted. He said less than 50 per cent of tourists visited Las Vegas to gamble, but due to extra facilities and entertainment activities, hotels there enjoyed a 98.6-per-cent occupancy rate.

Adelson was against the idea of putting up small casinos in Thailand. He suggested that if Thailand was ready to open up to gambling a single integrated development which could be called "The Bangkok Strip" would be more beneficial for the country's tourism business.

The proper location must be near a big city with proper construction infrastructure and a mass-transit network. It must be where labour is easy to find and near a large-capacity international airport to serve many airlines. He noted that a hotel in Phuket would not increase the number of tourists.

Having recently giving in to gambling, Singapore will house a single hotel property with a casino. Adelson said the integrated concept did not suit Singapore as it was a small business city with limited construction infrastructure. In a word, it's too small to house the integrated resort, and the single hotel fits the island's objective in boosting MICE business.

The first casino in Singapore will be opened in 2009 at a rumoured cost of US$3.16 billion and operated by Las Vegas Sands.

Achara Deboonme

The Nation

Macau