Integrated Resorts

[Ponz]

Anyone been to the 2 IRs? What a disaster!!!  A big disgrace(s) - plus the rushing to open before things are ready (RWS = roller coaster ride problems; MBS = screw up a major convention).  Go take a visit there and tell me whether these are successes or failures??

[Toontown]

What was a great idea by the government to liven up the conservative (read boring) reputation of the Singapore tourist scene may be encountering troubles due to execution. RWS's multiple "soft launches" was a disaster in marketing. This might cater to the locals but will definitely alienate potential international clients. Folks, this is the age of the internet. An opening has to be perfect and complete. By using the uniquely Singapore "soft launch" approach the super-enthusiastic early birds will surely be disappointed (break-downs, continued construction, unready staff) if they take the trouble to come from out of town. The difference today is that they vent their frustration on the internet. Just Google RWS hotels and attractions and the customers reviews are prominently linked. They are awful. It is not surprising then that the majority of the casino goers are locals (as reported in the Straits Times). People from overseas are not dumb to be sucked in by fancy ads. They check the internet customer reviews first. The only way to get good reviews is to have a great product from day 1. If not, you're dead because the bad reviews don't go away. BTW, the Chinese are the biggest users of these types of resources.

[soft launch]

Soft launches arew commonly used by developers -  its the same mentality + cannot see the big picture.

[soft launch]

MBS looks like a big construction site. You can see the dust in the air, and piles of dirt everywhere. Heard at least two groups of foreigners complain that the place was a construction site.

[haha]

Jut a I thought - crickets chirp chirp.  Even the agents and the shills don't have anything to say

[they're not too bad]

I think they're both fine, MBS when I was there had a lot of energy, people had big smiles on their faces.  Yes there is a lot of construction going on but it's expected and people are understanding of it for now.

RWS doesn't have the same buzz IMO, and the crowd looked pretty thin when I was there.  I think the jury is still out, there are definitely some negatives about RWS but some positive things as well.

[just you wait]

What a bunch of armchair critics. Just give then a couple of quarters - by year end, most of the teething problems will be gone. By next year, when the billions start pouring into the cash till, all these will be forgotten

[right]

and then house prices will triple....

[correct, correct, correct]

Where have you been hiding - under a coconut shell? House prices have already tripled, and in some cases, by 400% to 500%.

[no no]

The IRs will cause it to triple again, on top of whatever price increases has happened. Otherwise how do you prove that Singapore is a success story?

[yes, yes]

no, no - you are correct, correct, correct. It has tripled, it will triple again and again.

Fact - a landed property used to cost S$7,000.  How much is it worth now?  How many "tripling" has it done so far?

[right right]

The IRs will cause it to triple again, on top of whatever price increases has happened. Otherwise how do you prove that Singapore is a success story?

I know you are being sarcastic, but in case someone doesn't realise it let's think about this: most casino patrons are locals. Some are problem gamblers, some just gamble away their extra cash. Everyone pays $100 to get in. The casino winnings go to overseas operators.

With much less money to invest, how could property prices possibly increase? Sure there are some overseas investors but they are the minority. Most units are bought by locals.

[First impressions]

We had a walk around RWS last weekend when we were at Sentosa for the day - it was really busy.  We didn't go in the themepark or the casino but just had a wander around the shops and by the fountain etc.  It seemed quite nice - had a bit of a Vegas feel about it.  Still lots of work going on, I think there are two hotels which are due to open later this year and they're also doing work on the seafront area.  I think it will be great when it is finished.  Despite the amount of people there, we had no problem getting a cab from the underground cab rank (you have to pay a $3 surcharge but that's only 50c more than booking a cab anyway).

I also had a wander around the Marina Bay Sands the previous weekend and it was very unfinished at the time, but again, it will look great when it is all done.  They had a kind of make-shift hawker centre in one of the convention halls and only a handful of shops were open but I can see the potential.  The waterfront area could be very nice once completed but I think they'll suffer from the heat - they'll have to have lots of shade out there for it to be a success.  It was easy to get to and from by bus too as they've re-routed some bus services to go past it.  The cab queue was massive but I hopped on a bus and was at Suntec in 5 mins.

The thing about places like this is you have to let them settle down a bit.  I haven't taken my kids to Universal Studios yet and I don't think I will until later this year when the teething problems have been ironed out and I probably won't go back to MBS or RWS again for a few months either.  Those who booked conferences and hotel rooms for the first week were a bit daft I think - there are bound to be problems at first, same with the casino - the staff were mostly new, they have to settle in.

I do think that Singapore are being a bit OTT with this levy that they're making the people pay - there was a report in the paper by one of the Singaporean journalists - she said she'll never go back to RWS because she was made to feel like a second class citizen and I can sympathise with her - I'd be really p!ssed off if this was my country and this was happening.  I hope they change it or drop the levy - someone suggested they use it as a deposit instead, where they get the money returned to them on the way out - That makes more sense to me, so if you spend all your cash in the casino, you can still get home!

[Even]

Those who booked conferences and hotel rooms for the first week were a bit daft I think - there are bound to be problems at first, same with the casino - the staff were mostly new, they have to settle in.

A little unfair to blame those that booked into MBS, like these legal eagles earlier in the month. The point was they booked it months/years in advance when MBS was already supposed to have been open for ages. The delay and delay and further delay was where that conference came unstuck and for MBS to keep to a $1m cancellation penalty only forced them to stick it out.

I hope their claim against MBS is successful but let's face it, for MBS to challenge some of the brightest lawyers in the game is going to take some doing



With regards opening too early, we most likely can compare RWS and MBS with the opening of the HK airport in 1997. Whilst everybody remembers how much of a disater that was at the time, now HK regularly wins awards and is lauded as one of the best airports in the world.

Yes, we remember but now it doesn't stop us going through it.

[Even Steven]

I appreciate the attempt to grasp straws but the example does not apply. Except for the local problem gamblers, going to RWS or MBS is a choice and there are many alternatives. If you need to be in Hong Kong, there are few (really none) alternatives other than the newish airport.

Truth is that the opening is critical for casinos (and for most businesses). It affects whether others will select Singapore over Macau or Las Vegas. Even a great opening does not guarantee future success. However, a really bad opening can be impossible to recover from.

To the earlier poster: If locals are made to feel like second class citizens and never wanting to return to the IRs, the government has succeeded wildly in their policy. If the government wanted Singaporeans to frequent the casinos, it would have been idiotic to impose the fee. Duh, the fee is to discourage locals from the casinos (but not other parts of the IRs of course). This government is highly enlightened to understand the terrible impact that casino gambling has on people. They should be applauded for having the courage to implement a policy that protects the people from destroying their lives. I've seen how casino gambling has destroyed families first-hand so I strongly support this policy. Judging from the attendance ratios though, it appears that fee is set too low. In all fairness, it should be extended to all residents of Singapore. Locals are not the only ones who would benefit from this protection. That might also help alleviate the second-class citizen sentiment.