Singapore will name the winner of casino bid this week
Singapore is expected to announce the winning bid for its second casino resort this week in a deal worth as much as US$3.5bil. The city-state is building two gaming resorts with family attractions in a bid to lure more tourists and develop the services sector. The two casino projects have attracted bids from several of the big gaming groups. 
In May, US gaming giant Las Vegas Sands won the licence to build Singapores first casino project – a downtown waterfront resort that is expected to cost more than US$3.2bil. Three consortiums have submitted bids for the second casino, which will be built on Singapores resort island of Sentosa. The bids are worth up to US$3.5bil, including a S$605mil price tag for the 49ha site. The resort is expected to operate from 2010. A panel of seven ministers will pick the winning bid, looking for a project that will best generate repeat visitors from abroad. They will also take into account the architectural quality and the investment amount of each bid. Analysts reckon Genting group is slight favourite because of its exclusive tie-up with theme parks developer Universal Studios.