allo wrote:
Interesting...
Singapore casinos now have a visitor quota. Not more than 30% casino
visitors should be local.
Amazingly, over 97% Singaporean have not visited the casinos.
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MBS does a balancing act with local gamblers
It mentions cap on local visitors; MCYS says casinos are 'tourist products'
By GRACE LEONG
(SINGAPORE) The Singapore government has told Las Vegas Sands to ensure
that not more than 30 per cent of all visitors to its casino at Marina
Bay Sands are Singaporean, a top company executive revealed.
In for a flutter: While the $100 entry levy hasn't deterred many locals
from going to the casino, Mr Leven believes that the fee does prevent
the very low income person from doing so
'We are basically told that as long as only about 30 per cent of the
people coming in are Singaporean, then it shouldn't be a problem. If the
amount of Singaporean attendance gets much higher than that, there may
be some cause for concern,' Michael Leven, Las Vegas Sands president and
chief operating officer, said.
That 30 per cent figure isn't published, he said in an interview last
week with Inside Asian Gaming. 'That's what our numbers have been,
roughly 30 per cent Singaporean. That doesn't seem to cause any problem.'
To this day, only about 3 per cent of Singapore's population has ever
played in a casino, he said.
But a spokesman with the Ministry of Community Development did not
confirm the 30 per cent cap, saying only that 'the IR operators have
been told very clearly that the casinos are tourist products and they
are not to target the domestic market'.
In response to speculation that the Singapore government may further
limit local access to casinos, Mr Leven said that the company hasn't had
problems with the 30 per cent cap, but doesn't rule out the possibility
of more intervention.
'You're always going to have in the casino business some people who
overplay. That's part of the business, but the great majority of people
can control themselves and I don't think we're creating more poverty in
Singapore because of our presence. But if that were to happen, the
government would have every right and every reason to come in and try to
restrict play.'
But he said that Sands needed local gamblers in order to support its
investment in integrated resorts. 'We have to have some local play in
order to be consistent when we don't have conventions and we don't have
tourists. Otherwise, you've got an awful lot of overhead sitting there
not generating any revenue.'
While the $100 entry levy hasn't deterred locals from going to the
casino, Mr Leven said that he believes the fee does prevent the very low
income person from coming in.
'I think casinos need to be careful not to attract the kind of people
that can't afford to come in. The people who would normally play a
lottery, for instance, where they can play pennies or dollars,' he said.
'But I think when you come into a large casino like ours or Genting, the
fee structure only inhibits those low-end people. It doesn't inhibit
people from coming in for an evening of entertainment. So I like it.
'Frankly, I would be surprised, if we expand in other countries in Asia,
that we don't have an entry fee in almost every country, if not every
country.'
In discussions with governments in Japan, South Korea and Vietnam -
countries targeted by Sands for potential gaming expansion - Mr Leven
said that there were political reasons why certain constituencies have
concerns about local gaming.
'So they begin to see the virtue of our system because our system drives
tourists and drives conventions and meetings and entertainment and
builds an enormous amount of jobs,' he said.
While Sands rival Genting Singapore has managed to hang on to the lion's
share of the gaming market in Singapore because of its contacts in
Malaysia and aggressive wooing of VIP highrollers, Mr Leven said that
MBS has caught up in the mass market segment, which Sands expects to
dominate in Singapore.
'In the early days, Genting won both the market share game in VIP gaming
as well as mass market. We are now winning the mass market game and they
continue to lead in the VIP game for a variety of reasons.
'On the VIP end, they're more aggressive than we've been and doing a
better job. But they had a headstart on us because of all their contacts
in Malaysia. And we'll eventually catch up and probably that market will
be split, but I think we'll continue to dominate the mass market.'
But Mr Leven also acknowledged picking up a few tips on its mass market
floor strategy from Genting Singapore.
'The mass market floor in Singapore constantly changes. One of the
things we learned from Genting was the electronic table games, which
they put, and the stadium table games. We didn't know about that. We saw
that there and we immediately ordered them and put them in. They've been
very good,' he said.
Sands has made over 2,000 changes in the past six months on its MBS
gaming floor: changing slot machines and other electronic gaming
machines, tables, and putting in new games, he said.
'Most people don't realise that there is both an art and science to the
gaming business. It's not just getting people in there to play. You have
to put the right game in the right place so that revenue per square foot
is maximised,' he said.
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