When the government of Singapore voted to allow casino gambling into their country the idea was to bring in more cash. Singapore has always been a desirable place to do business. The island city-state has also been one of the highest rated places to live. However, lawmakers looked at their sources of revenue and decided they could bring in more. They wanted to give their tourism industry a boost. They looked to casinos, but these weren’t just casinos. Singapore wanted to create environments where the casino would be part of the attraction. They gave out to licenses and two very different casino companies set up two very different casino resorts.
Las Vegas Sands Corporation built the Marina Bay Sands. The Marina Bay Sands Casino resort is a huge three tower complex that includes, theatres, museums, restaurants, and a park that spans across the towers. Of course, it is run by one of the largest casino resort companies in the world, so gambling is a centerpiece, but it offers many other forms of entertainment as well as a great deal of convention and meeting space. Genting Group created Resorts World. Again, there is a casino. However, this is also a luxury hotel, restaurants, the world’s largest audio animatronics show, and a Universal Studios theme park.
So far it seems that Singapore’s plan has worked. The highly anticipated and publicized grand openings of these two casino resorts this year, has brought an influx of visitors to Singapore. Reports are stating that the gross domestic product for Singapore has grown 17.9 percent in the first six months of 2010. July alone saw close to 1 million visitors to Singapore. This is the highest Singapore has ever seen in one month.
This stream of growth is expected to continue. Casino revenue in Singapore is predicted to climb 15 percent this year. This could fuel the economy with almost $2 billion. Singapore’s plan seems to be working. They have created an environment where casino gambling is hot, but a small part of the draw for tourists.
