Las Vegas Sands MD of global development, George Tanasijevich, said that his company wants to build an iconic integrated resort (IR) in Yokohama. He has a dream for IR that will be a scenery symbol for the city and a driver of the local economy. George is taking inspiration from Singapore Marina Bay Sands (MBS).
Glitzy Singapore is inspiring Tanasijevich to offer Yokohama a gaming property that would be unique.
“I want to build an iconic building like MBS. However, it should be a building completely different from MBS and other IRs. I want it to be a unique, complementing and integrating with existing infrastructure,” Tanasijevich said in a recent conference in Japan.
It’s Going To Be Expensive
MBS was built at Las Vegas Sands at a cost of $5.88 billion when it opened in 2010. It was believed to be the most expensive free-standing casino in the world. According to Casino.org, the gaming venue has become world-renown. LVS is planning to inject $3.3 billion for the expansion of the property.
In the third quarter of 2019, LVS derived $1.28 billion gross revenue from eight casinos and $435 million from MBS while $93 million from Palazzo and Venetian.
However, building an IR in Japan will come at a considerable cost. Industry analyst estimates that a first-class venue in Japan could cost $15 billion. In his conference speech, Tanasijevich however failed to mention the planned spending for the IR.
The Right Inspiration
Sand is viewed as the favorite license competitor in Japan because of its Singapore model. Japanese politicians want a casino that would be profitable and not detrimental to the neighborhood.
IRs in Japan are expected to boost tourism and the economy. Japan has been slow in implementing gaming initiatives and has been left out by other Asia countries.
