On Tuesday, Marina Bay Sands started building its $8 billion expansion that company officials claim will be a "tourism gamechanger" for Singapore.
Representatives from Sands, including the largest shareholder of the Las Vegas-based casino firm, Dr. Miriam Adelson, the widow of Sheldon Adelson — who turned Marina Bay into a leading global casino destination — were present at the groundbreaking ceremony. Patrick Dumont, the president and chief operating officer of Sands who is related by marriage to the Adelson family, was present, along with Sands CEO Rob Goldstein, the individual who oversaw the divestment of Sands’ Las Vegas Strip properties in 2022.
The $8 billion project is marked by a 55-story hotel tower that will be located south of the three towers linked by the 1,120-foot-long SkyPark Observation Deck, which includes the Instagram-worthy infinity pool. The fourth tower will be independent and provide 570 suites, along with a 76,000-square-foot Skyloop that will include restaurants, a rooftop garden, infinity-edge pools, and areas for both private and public use.
The expansion features a 15K-seat venue, high-end retail shops, wellness facilities including a holistic spa, 200K square feet of MICE (meeting, incentive, convention, and exhibition) area, and more casino gaming options. Populous, the firm responsible for the Las Vegas Sphere and O2 Arena in London, is designing the arena.
Years of Development
Marina Bay Sands' plans for expansion as the benchmark of the global integrated resort sector began in April 2019, when Las Vegas Sands obtained a gaming license extension in Singapore until at least 2030.
Sands announced it would invest around $3.3 billion to add a fourth tower, a 15K-seat arena, and more MICE spaces to the site. The project was significantly postponed by the COVID-19 pandemic. In January 2021, Sheldon Adelson, the founder of Sands and its longtime chairman and CEO, passed away.
Over six years since its announcement and approximately $4.7 billion more expensive than Sands first anticipated, the project is progressing.
"With its opening in 2010, our founder, Sheldon G. Adelson, embarked on a journey in Singapore with Marina Bay Sands and the people of Singapore that promised to change the face of tourism in the region. Fifteen years later, we have delivered on these ambitions and more,” said Goldstein.
“Marina Bay Sands is the world’s most successful integrated resort in history, and the gold standard in the industry. It has been truly incredible to witness Mr. Adelson’s vision come to life, and we are proud to carry his legacy forward with today’s groundbreaking ceremony for our new development here. We have every intention of delivering a product that will be the envy of the hospitality industry and usher in a new era of luxury tourism in Singapore.”
Singapore Emphasis
Las Vegas Sands has no casinos remaining in Las Vegas or anywhere in the United States. Goldstein oversaw the $6.25 billion sale of The Venetian/Palazzo on the Las Vegas Strip merely two months following Adelson's death.
Sands contemplated pursuing a license in downstate New York but discontinued its Long Island ambitions earlier this year. Sands disposed of its casino in eastern Pennsylvania back in 2018.
Sands is concentrated on its five interconnected resorts in Macau, China, and Singapore, with the latter appearing to be where the company shows the most optimism.