SINGAPORE Singapore’s newest integrated resort, Marina Bay Sands (MBS), which opened last month, has set a new standard in the industry, according to Las Vegas Sands Corp chairman Sheldon Adelson. 

Despite delays with construction work on the Skypark, museum and theatres, MBS president and CEO Thomas Arasi described the property as a “category killer”.

He said: “It is a whole new way of doing business… we are not just a casino.”

The US$5.5 billion project is opening in phases. The first phase, which opened on April 27, includes more than 900 of 2,560 hotel rooms located in three 55-storey towers, 60% of the convention centre, 35 shops, a dozen restaurants and bars, 75% of the casino tables and all 1,500 slot machines.

Where business and resort hotels rely on either weekday or weekend traffic, MBS is counting on drawing both markets. 

Adelson said: “For us, with our meeting and convention business and plentiful leisure amenities, the entire week is our peak period.”

Arasi said he expected the resort would cater to between 70,000 and 80,000 people daily when fully opened in 2011. 

“We think MICE will grow dramatically to as much as 50% of total business,” he said.

More than 160 events are already booked at the 120,000 sqm Sands Expo and Convention Centre. Early bookings have come mainly from Singapore and Southeast Asia, but other markets are expected to follow.