Las Vegas Invests $8 Billion in Asian Casinos

The Las Vegas Sands is planning to invest more than $8 billion in its casino, leisure and convention facilities in Macau and on a neighboring island over the next four to six years. The size of the investment, double that reported originally, is part of the US-based gaming company's plans to change the face of the former Portuguese enclave's tourism industry from offering one-day gambling trips to becoming a longer-stay destination.

The company's plans for Macau follow its success in Singapore, where it has won the right to build and operate the $3.6 billion Marina Bay casino complex, scheduled to open in 2009.

Bill Weidner, Las Vegas Sands president and chief operating officer said: "These development opportunities are contingent upon approvals by government at several levels and will occur in phases over time as the markets develop and mature."

Analysts say both investments should allow it to dominate Asia's two largest casino markets: the greater China market, which Merrill Lynch this year estimated to be worth $7.3 billion in sales, and the $3.8 billion south-east Asian market.

In Singapore and Macau, the company is seeking to emulate its business model in Las Vegas, where industry-wide non-gaming revenues last year, at $9.2 billion, outstripped casino sales of $6.3 billion.

In Macau, the company plans to spend $3 billion each in two phases on the Cotai Strip. The company is also in talks to develop Heng Qin Island, a Chinese island bordering the Cotai Strip.

"Most of the company's investments and revenues will be in Asia," Mr. Weidner said. The US Company's total investments and turnover would triple as a result of its initiatives in Asia.