Las Vegas Sands is doubling down on its Singapore bet with a new $8 billion integrated resort, expanding its existing Marina Bay Sands casino complex in the Southeast Asian country.
The U.S. casino operator broke ground on the site on Tuesday in a ceremony attended by CEO Robert Goldstein and Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. The project will feature a 55-storey hotel tower which will include other facilities like luxury boutiques, a casino, and a 15,000-seat arena.
“We have every intention of delivering a product that will be the envy of the hospitality industry and usher in a new era of luxury tourism in Singapore,” Goldstein said at the groundbreaking ceremony.
The new tower will sit close to Las Vegas Sands’ existing buildings in Singapore’s southern Marina Bay Area. It will be designed by Safdie Architects, the firm behind the Marina Bay Sands.
Las Vegas Sands opened its Singapore casino in 2010, and the resort has become an important part of the company’s business, making up a significant share of the company’s revenue.
The casino operator reported $1.2 billion from its Singapore integrated resort for the first quarter of the year, compared to $1.7 billion for its five casinos in the Chinese city of Macau.
Las Vegas Sands reported greater earnings before interest, taxes depreciation and amortization from its Singapore business, compared to Macau.
Ranked no. 374 on the Fortune 500, Las Vegas Sands is one of the few companies on the ranking that makes most of its revenue outside of the U.S. The company completed the sale of its Las Vegas properties in 2022 to focus more on Asia.
Singapore’s travel market bounced back from COVID more quickly than Macau, which was subject to harsher travel restrictions. Chinese officials also cracked down on junket operators, which facilitated and organized casino trips for high rollers. Las Vegas Sands’s Macau business has also struggled due to ongoing renovations at the Londoner, one of its resorts based in the Chinese city.
Yet Las Vegas Sands thinks Singapore’s success is more to do with the country’s appeal rather than Chinese weakness. Chief operating officer Patrick Dumont, in an earnings briefing to analysts earlier this year, said Singapore has a “rarefied air” that attracts “the highest level of high-value tourism.”
Shares in Las Vegas Sands are flat for the year thus far, recoving from lows in early April. Shares in Sands China, a subsidiary that operates the company’s Macau casinos, are down 5.8% over the same period.
S&P Global expects a surge in Chinese tourists to markets like Singapore and Malaysia to sustain the premium gambling market this year.
Singapore is making a big play for “MICE” travelers, or those attending business meetings, conventions and exhibitions. The Marina Bay Sands complex hosted 2,200 events last year, drawing 1.2 million delegates.
The city has also successfully attracted high-profile artists like Coldplay, Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga, oftentimes being their only Southeast Asian stop.
Singapore’s success with gambling contrasts with its Southeast Asian neighbors, who are pulling back on plans to set up their own casinos. Thailand last week withdrew a draft law that would have allowed the country’s first casinos, citing a need for more public engagement.