Singapore, a country in Far East Asia has planned to build the first casino resort, which should create a new and better economy especially in the tourism sector, even though there is stiff competition from China and other Southeast Asian countries. The country chose Las Vegas Sands in May 2006 to build Singapore Casino, which will open by July 2009. Analysts said the project would be the world’s most expensive casino resort situated on 51 acres of waterfront property opposite downtown Singapore that city planners are turning into a new central business district. Las Vegas Sands will receive a 30 year concession to operate the casino, which would bring an estimate of $3.4 billion a year in revenue.

The second Singapore Casino Resort, which is scheduled to open in 2010 on a site of 121 acres on Sentosa Island, would be built and operated by Genting International, a Malaysian firm. The company proposed a tourist-friendly plan to include a Universal Studios theme park and a huge outdoor marine park. The Singapore Casino aims to attract Asian gamblers and new visitors to approximately 17 million, which would boost tourism revenues. However, competition from Hong Kong Walt Disney theme park and Macau, the only place in China where casinos are legal, may become a barrier to Singapore’s plan to triple revenue from tourism by 2015.

The government said that there will not be another Singapore Casino license in the country for at least the next ten years. Singapore Casinos will also be heavily regulated and will include a 100-dollar-a-day levy on citizens and permanent residents entering the gambling rooms.