The world’s two largest casino operators, Harrah’s Entertainment and MGM Mirage, were out of the race before today’s application deadline for Singapore’s second integrated casino resort. Just three bidders have delivered truck loads of material supporting their proposed development schemes to the Singapore Tourism Board’s office on Sentosa Island. The winning bid will not be announced until the end of the year but in the meantime the analysts are busy with their predictions.

The Singapore Government is looking for an iconic development that will attract tourists in large numbers and the gambling element must be only a part of wider attraction to draw families to the island. The present outsider would seem to be the project developed by the privately held Las Vegas contender, Eighth Wonder. Both James Packer, chairman of Australia’s PBL, and the US company Isle of Capri have been linked to the Eighth Wonder bid.

The frontrunner at present is Genting International, the company that now has control of the UK’s largest casino operator, Stanley Leisure. Should it be successful, then Genting could become the second largest casino company in the world. Genting, together with Star Cruises, is betting that its project offering a bigger Universal Studios theme park than in Los Angeles will be the winner. Investment in the Sentosa Island casino resort will be over US$1 billion and could reach close to US$3 billion. Las Vegas Sands, winner of the bidding process for Singapore’s first casino resort in Marina Bay, will spend US$3.2 billion on the project.

Kerzner International, based in The Bahamas where it built the renowned Atlantis – Paradise Island resort, and partner CapitaLand, the largest property developer in South East Asia, have named as project architect Frank O. Gehry, creator of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilboa, Spain. The casino licence once awarded will be a 30-year concession for a market that will provide a potential 2.5 billion customers living within a 5-hour flight of Singapore.

The Singapore Government is hoping its two integrated casino resorts will emulate the success of Macau. Whilst its Chinese neighbour is generating gambling revenue to surpass that of Las Vegas, it so far has failed to persuade any significant number of visitors to stay longer than a day trip. Things may change with the development of the Cotai Strip resorts, but it will be an uphill battle. The Chinese market may be huge, but so far the tourists travel to gamble, and not to seek alternative entertainment.

Singapore wants gambling to be a minor part of its two resort developments. The Sentosa Island bid will be judged largely on its ability to draw tourists, followed by its architectural design. With the lifting of the 40-year ban on casinos, Singapore is hoping to double its overseas visitors and triple tourism spending by 2015. It’s an expensive gamble for the three remaining companies participating in the licence tender process. Several other potential bidders determined that the risks outweigh the possible benefits of such large-scale investment. (E-10.10.06)

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