Singapore's Airport Sets Passenger Record in 2011

The Casino Journal reported in its February issue that Singapore's airport passenger traffic rose 11.4% in December, continuing the positive trend since the opening of their two casino resort complexes. For the entire year, Singapore's Changi Airport handled 46.5 million passengers. As a comparison point, Las Vegas McCarran Airport handled 41.4 million passengers, well off its high of 47 million in 2007, before the financial meltdown.

A large difference, of course, is that Singapore is a key air traffic hub in south Asia, with a large amount of business being conducted in Singapore proper. Las Vegas' key attractant is the tourist/gaming industry.

Regardless, it is another point of proof to show that expansion of gaming to Singapore was a smart move, paying immediate dividends. You can reference other posts regarding Singapore gaming here, here and here.

Singapore Casinos Post Solid 1st Year Numbers

AsiaOne News reports that for the first year of operation, the two licensed casinos in Singapore, Resorts World Sentosa and Marina Bay Sands have done quite well. Although specific casino revenue isn't directly reported by the Sentosa resort, estimates for combined casino revenue likely exceed $2 billion US dollars. This is a very nice result for just the first year of operation.

From the article, "PricewaterhouseCoopers predicted that Singapore would overtake South Korea and Australia this year to become the second-largest Asia-Pacific casino market behind traditional leader Macau." If accurate, Singapore is becoming a big Asia-Pacific casino player at breakneck speed.

Out of curiosity, I wanted to see how Singapore casino revenue compares to Nevada. I reference an article in the Las Vegas Sun, which states that Nevada gaming revenue to recover to pre-recession levels by 2014. From the numbers in the article, Nevada gaming revenues for 2010 are likely in the $10 billion to $11 billion range. Singapore, with just two properties, is already about one-fifth of Nevada's gaming revenue. Singapore has done quite well.

Singapore Casinos Not Content Limited To Asia

The new casinos in Singapore are doing quite well. You can see my previous posts on the Singapore casinos here and here. The UK Independent has an article that states that Singapore is doing so well they already the 2nd largest casino market behind Macau after barely 6 months in operation.

What is amazing is that they may actually surpass Las Vegas as the 2nd largest casino market behind Macau in the next few years. This is great news for Singapore and bad news for Las Vegas. Las Vegas is getting losing business that formerly came from Asia, making its current economic slump even worse.

To put numbers behind the popularity, Resorts World Sentosa is quoted as guest numbers are now exceeding 1 million per month, with an expectation of 13 million visitors per year. Great news for Singapore. I've said before Singapore is a great locale.

Las Vegas needs to be concerned.

First Casino in Singapore Opens

February 14th marked the opening day of the first full-blown casino resort on Sentosa Island. Resorts World Sentosa, operated by the Genting Group, beat the Marina Bay Sands for the honors of being the first integrated casino resort open. The Marina Bay Sands should be open in the May timeframe. Perusing the website, the resort is not done. The resort will also be home to Universal Studios Singapore, opening on March 18th. Singapore is a great locale and this casino does nothing but enhance the attractiveness of Singapore.

Singapore licensed two large casinos in order to satisfy the growing gaming market, but only two in order to balance the benefits of gaming with the potential for abuse. An interesting wrinkle is the selective cover charge levied on Singapore citizens and permanent residents. Singaporeans and permanent residents pay a $100 Singapore dollar cover charge to enter the casino. No charge for visitors/tourists naturally.

In addition, a previous post discussed how Singapore is going to the extent of excluding patrons from the casinos that are on public assistance or have unresolved bankruptcies. That post is here. Overall, Singapore is entering the gaming market in a very measured, but well thought out manner. With Singapore's excellent central location in Asia (few major cities longer than a 7 hour flight) and excellent economy and business focus, I expect the casinos to be a success.

Should People on Welfare Be Allowed To Gamble?

Channel News Asia has a very interesting story regarding Singapore's upcoming casinos. There will be very strict regulations in place regarding the admission of prohibited persons. What will happen is that casinos will face penalties for admission of barred persons that could be as much as $1 million Singapore dollars or even the loss of the casino license. Other jurisdictions have policies and regulations regarding problem gamblers, forbidden persons and the like. Singapore is breaking new ground with what is called "third party exclusion orders."

What this means is that an outside party (like a government) is mandating certain persons to be excluded. Obviously known cheats or criminals would be normal persons subjected to a third party exclusion. In Singapore's case, the National Council on Problem Gambling is excluding people that don't fall in these obvious categories. They are excluding those that have undischarged bankruptcies and those on public assistance. This is a great idea. Why should deadbeats and welfare recipients be allowed to patronize casinos? They should be either paying their debts or getting a job, respectively.

This is something that should be implemented in the US but won't. Casinos want business and will scream if the states pushed this regulation on them but exempted state lotteries. Lotteries typically are played by lower income groups, many of which are on public assistance. People on welfare or disability really shouldn't be spending the money they get from taxpayers on gambling. Singapore, even though they are a small country, have a whole lot of common sense.