Tuesday 23 Apr 2024
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SINGAPORE (Feb 22): Sheldon Adelson – one of the world’s richest men and notably among the biggest funders of Donald Trump’s US presidency campaign – has pledged to spend up to US$10 billion (S$14.2 billion) on building a casino facility in Japan, should he be given the opportunity over his rivals.  

In an article published by The Financial Times on Tuesday, the billionaire chairman of Las Vegas Sands had dubbed the highly-contested chance to build Japan’s first integrated resort (IR) the “holy grail” as well as “the ultimate of business opportunities” while at the CLSA Japan Forum in Tokyo.

Comparatively, Adelson said his US$6 billion investment in Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands casino, including the price of the land, was but a “warm-up” to the opportunity that now lies in Japan – adding that it could cost anywhere US$6-10 billion to build a resort in Tokyo.

Japan prime minster Shinzo Abe’s legalisation of casino gambling officially came into effect on Dec 26 last year.

According to Reuters, US casino operator MGM Resorts International and Hong Kong’s Melco Crown Entertainment have also said they are ready to invest up to US$10 billion on building the resort.  

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