Sands boost coming with Singapore casino opening * Casino to open on Apr 27, full opening on June 23 AFTER DELAYS The Marina Bay Sands' April start date is in line with what Las Vegas Sands has forecast, but comes as a bit of a surprise as construction is still taking place at the waterfront site near Singapore's central business district. Las Vegas Sands had originally targetted an end-2009 opening for its Singapore casino, and had to cancel several corporate bookings as a result of the delay. Singapore's first casino, Resorts World, has had a mixed performance since its opening 10 days ago. In a report on Wednesday, the Straits Times newspaper said while the shops and eateries were packed and hotels fully booked, the number of people entering the casino was much smaller than numbers reported by casinos in Macau after their opening. Genting Singapore is a unit of Malaysia's Genting Bhd (GENT.KL). Each casino is expected to contribute a value add of S$2.7 billion ($1.92 billion), or 0.5 to 1 percent, to Singapore's gross domestic product (GDP) by 2015, Singapore's tourism promotion agency estimates. ($1=1.409 Singapore Dollar) (Additional reporting by Saeed Azhar and Fabian Ng; Editing by Valerie Lee and Lincoln Feast) http://www.reuters.com/article/idCNSGE61N01420100224?rpc=44 |