Friday 29 Mar 2024
By
main news image

KUALA LUMPUR: Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, head of the Genting group is on a roll. Emboldened by Resorts World Sentosa’s (RWS, by Genting Singapore plc) raving success in Singapore in spite of the presence of Sheldon Adelson’s Marina Bay Sands in the tiny city state, Lim is taking another battle against the US casino magnate halfway across the world to sunny Miami, Florida.

Last week, Lim’s Genting Malaysia Bhd bagged for US$236 million (RM713 million) a 13.9-acre tract of waterfront land in northern downtown Miami to be used for a mixed development that would include hotels, restaurants, residences, retail shops and a convention centre. But there’s little doubt his people will do all they can to also get a gaming licence there. Lim isn’t alone.

Genting group, Wynn Resorts and Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands Corp this year hired a stable of lobbyists to push through a bill that would give them the chance to bid for a licence to operate an exclusive casino resort in any of the five cities in Florida — Miami, Jacksonville, Tallahassee, Tampa and Orlando —  where Walt Disney World is located — according to a write-up posted on The Miami Herald’s website. [The land Genting Malaysia bought includes the building which houses The Miami Herald Media Company.]

The lobbying began since the Seminole Tribe of Florida won exclusive rights to offer slot machines as well as other casino favourites like black jack and baccarat within tribal areas two years ago. Giants of the casino world have reportedly been lobbying for a chance to set up shop in one of the US’ most popular tourist destinations, The Miami Herald said. The existing revenue-sharing model where the tribe pays the state at least US$150 million a year through 2015 will stop if additional gambling were to be authorised by the state, the write-up read.

To win, lobbyists will need to prove the economic good to the state and its people far exceeds the potential social impact from a possible rise in negative activities associated with gaming. In his 30-page letter vetoing a US$400,000 study on the feasibility of bringing casino resorts to Florida, Governor Rick Scott did say he thought it “important to have a full consideration of the positive economic impact, the costs that may result from this policy, and the impact on current gaming in [the] state” — leaving the door open for the casino lobbyists.

Genting head for Miami

Singapore’s success story in transforming itself into an attractive business and leisure destination with the two casino resorts may just boost the hand of these lobbyists. The city-state’s casino gamble had thus far paid off handsomely with record high tourist arrivals that helped fuel Singapore’s enviable 14.7% GDP growth last year and is expected to continue aiding growth this year. PricewaterhouseCoppers had estimated Singapore’s gaming market at S$2.8 billion (RM6.9 billion) last year. Fuller state coffers from gaming-related receipts allowed for a 20% tax rebate on all residents’ taxable income last year and other benefits for citizens ahead of its watershed elections earlier this month.

Even without a casino licence just yet, Genting Malaysia sees the Miami land acquisition as “an integral step” in its pursuit of expanding internationally in the leisure, hospitality and entertainment industry. “The envisioned Resorts World Miami represents Genting Malaysia’s second venture in the US, after Resorts World New York at the historic Aqueduct Racetrack in New York City,” Genting said in a statement last Friday.

Scheduled for opening by end-2011, some three months ahead of schedule, Resorts World New York — the first casino in the Big Apple — will reportedly have 4,525 video lottery terminals, a seven-outlet food court, the 360° bar, entertainment space as well as grab-and-go food outlets in its initial phase. A sky bridge connecting a train station to the casino entrance, initially scheduled to complete in spring 2012, has been fast-tracked to complete by the end of this year.

Back in Singapore, work has been accelerated to ensure Phase 2 of RWS is back on track for completion by year-end, Lim told reporters last Friday. With the opening of new attractions, starting with the maritime museum in 3Q, RWS was also confident of attracting over 16 million visitors this year, up from last year’s 15 million, Lim reportedly said. Other attractions under phase 2 of RWS include an oceanarium and a water theme park.

To be sure, RWS’ non-casino attraction Universal Studios Singapore — which is next to its casino — was already bringing people like former American Idol judge Paula Abdul to the city state for the first time in two decades. She was among celebrities like Asian superstars Jet Li, Maggie Cheung and Vicki Zhao to walk the red carpet at Universal Studios Singapore’s grand opening last Friday evening along with some 1,600 guests.

Not everything that the Genting group has touched has turned to gold, though. Its five casinos in London and 38 others in the UK, for instance, have yet to be a big money spinner, though efforts have been underway over the last year to revamp the operations there. Still, the Genting Highlands hilltop casino resort in Malaysia (under Genting Malaysia), built by Lim’s father, the late Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong, continues to remain strong despite the opening of Genting Singapore’s RWS and Adelson’s Sands in Singapore since early 2010.

As Genting group’s cash pile from the Malaysia and Singapore casinos grows, some investors think it should return more cash to shareholders instead of putting money in unrelated pursuits or lofty projects that may take some time to pay off. Some analysts are hopeful of higher dividends but aren’t betting on that happening anytime soon though. After all, if it is the likes of Adelson that Lim’s genting Group is girding itself up for battle with in Miami, it would need all the ammunition it can get.


This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, May 30, 2011.

      Print
      Text Size
      Share