1. Wednesday • November 16, 2005 • todayonline.com
incorporating
FROM CROWN TO COOKING POTS 2 SNAPSHOT SINGAPORE 10 INDRA: SHOW HIM THE MONEY 68
Gentlemen, place your bets that would be common to the process,” he told
No show by Peermont as IR WHO TURNED UP
TODAY. “It would be useful for us to understand
guidelines released; GST to be BIDDER EYEING
MICA (P) 112/07/2005
Genting International and Star Cruises both sites what the government was looking for.”
levied on gaming revenues GuocoLand Marina Bay Two big folders – wrapped in glossy pink
Harrah’s Entertainment and Keppel Land both sites paper and placed in a “Uniquely Singapore”
ANSLEY NG Kerzner International and CapitaLand Sentosa paperbag — contained guidelines on how the
ansley@newstoday.com.sg MGM Mirage and CapitaLand Marina Bay Marina Bay resort should be built and run.
Publishing & Broadcast and Melco Int’l Marina Bay Apart from Peermont, Australia’s Tabcorp,
THE bidding process for the Marina Bay In- Las Vegas Sands Corp Marina Bay which is gunning for both projects, did not
tegrated Resort entered a critical stage yes- Wynn Resorts Marina Bay show up but it would be collecting the RFP
terday as the Government unveiled the rules WHO DID NOT today.
under which the island’s first casino will be built. BIDDER EYEING Bidders have to pay a refundable $60 mil-
While broad details have already been Peermont Global Marina Bay lion deposit, which is 5 per cent of the land
spelt out, the bidders who picked up their copy cost of $1.2 billion, when they submit their pro-
INSIDE of the request for proposals (RFP) yesterday,
Tabcorp
REMAINING BIDDERS (SENTOSA ONLY)
both
posals. STB would hold a closed door meet-
hot news 2 officially learnt for the first time that whoever ing with the Marina Bay bidders on Friday.
BIDDER
singapore news 4 operates the Marina Bay site will have to pay Eighth Wonder According to them, 50 RFP kits were pre-
world news 14 an yearly casino licence fee of $12.5 million. Sun International pared. The Government was charging for the
voices 24 Also, the gaming revenue would be sub- information in the RFP because of the research
business 34 ject to the Goods and Service Tax (GST). Ex- ment that they sought to pick up yesterday was that had gone into it, reported Bloomberg.
growth 44 perts have estimated that the Marina Bay and available for $1,000 to the casino bidders and The only “member” of public who bought
plus 52 Sentosa resorts could generate around $1.7 for $10,000 to members of the public. a copy of the RFP yesterday was Mr Sean
tv & radio listings 60 billion in gaming revenue in their first year. It set parameters for convention cen- Monaghan, Vice President of equity research
Of nine bidders that were shortlisted for tres, hotels, museums and other facilities to at Merrill Lynch, who paid for the documents
classad 61
the Marina Bay project, only seven turned up (see be included in the downtown site. The guide- in cash. Saying he was using it to study “ma-
sports 63
chart), suggesting that there could be an early lines for the casino-resort at Sentosa will be terial issues”, Mr Monaghan told TODAY he
we set you thinking casualty in the race. There was no sign yester- released only next year. Although Kerzner In- wanted to write a report for Merrill Lynch
day of hotel and casino company Peermont Glob- ternational is eyeing only the Sentosa proj- clients after assessing the “profitability” and
al. In September, the South African company had ect, its executive director in Singapore, Mr “the impact the RFP has on bidders”.
ARE YOU BEING SERVED? said it would quit the competition if it did not find Ian Douglas, braved the rain and was the He added that countries that are con-
What about when the
a local partner by the end of October. first to arrive at the Singapore Tourism Board templating building casinos — like Thailand
campaigns stop? 3
Bidders have until March 29 next year to office at 9am yesterday to pick up a copy. and Japan — would be keen to buy a copy of
submit their proposals. The 800-page docu- “The RFP on Marina has information the RFP document.
MR MIYAGI
Pretty girls get slimed
all the time 31
Showdown at Atlantis resort in the Bahamas,
is among the early bidders in the
SUDOKU PUZZLE
Sharpen your pencils,
the IR corral IR race. The colourful Mr Kerzn-
er, who has been married four
sharpen your mind 57
DANIEL CHENG times, was the chairman of the
news@newstoday.com.sg Sun International empire up to
52 2001 before relinquishing the cor-
AS THE companies in the run- poration to his former lieutenant,
ning to operate the Integrated Mr Peter Bacon.
Resort at Marina Bay finally start- Their bitter falling out was
ed getting their hands on the re- compounded by the fact that
quest for proposal (RFP), it is a PHOTOS FROM AFP Mr Bacon also married one of
good time to look at who will be Las Vegas Sands’ Sheldon Adelson. Macau casino mogul Stanley Ho. Mr Kerzner’s former wives, one-
left standing when the smoke fi- time Miss World Anneline Kriel.
nally clears. Since Thailand has also an- PBL/Melco look rank outsiders, Having moved out of Africa to
So far, only two of the 14 nounced its plans to jump on the but the battle will continue to be set up Kerzner International,
companies invited to bid have casino bandwagon, many will re- intense as many of the bidders he is set to fight the Bacon-helmed
dropped out of the race. Argosy assess their strategies as only have a history of open hostility Sun International again in Singa-
RAHIMAH Gaming cited the distractions of the bigger players have the re- that could have come straight out pore’s Sentosa.
RAHIM an ongoing M&A deal. sources to fight on both fronts. of soap operas Dallas or Dynasty.
RETURNS The local property and re- At first glance it looks as if NO LOVE LOST
tail alliance of Hotel Properties the big winners may come from OUT OF AFRICA One casino owner who is friend-
(HPL) and Metro also quit. The the world’s two largest gaming The most compelling rivalry ly with Mr Kerzner is Mr Steve
list could be further pruned down companies (Harrah’s and MGM- comes from South Africa. Apart Wynn. His casinos such as the Mi-
to 11 as relative minnows, Peer- Mirage) and the premium Las from two former friends and a rage, Treasure Island, the Bella-
mont, have found it difficult to Vegas operators (Las Vegas business empire, it also involves gio and Wynn Las Vegas have all
find a suitable partner. Sands and Wynn Resorts). a former Miss World. made waves. But now he is up
The days ahead will further More modest companies Mr Sol Kerzner, the South against Mr Sheldon Adelson of
separate the merely hopefuls such as like Peermont, Sun, Guo- African billionaire behind the Sun
from the serious players. coLand, Kerzner, Tabcorp and City in his home country and the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

2. 2 TODAY • Wednesday • November 16, 2005
hot news
From crown to cooking pots
Before marrying commoner,
Japanese princess learned
to drive, clean and cook
TOKYO — Japanese Princess Sayako , the em-
peror’s only daughter, bid farewell to her
life as a privileged princess when she mar-
ried urban planner Yoshiki Kuroda, a com- palace. In April, they plan to move into a
moner, yesterday. 110-million-yen ($1.6 million) condominium.
Wearing a white silk, Western-style dress Their home will remain under tight securi-
and a pearl necklace, Princess Sayako walked ty with infrared cameras.
three steps behind her husband-to-be, who However a hint of the culture shock
wore a black tuxedo with a silver tie, into a awaiting Ms Sayako was revealed in an ex-
room at the Imperial Hotel, where a Shinto change with a lady-in-waiting.
altar was prepared. “It’s really hard to clean everything up,
The ceremony was attended by 23 royal things like closets and bureaus just after you
family members, including the emperor in a AFP
move into a new place,” the Asahi Shimbun
black tuxedo, the empress in an off-white WEDDED BLISS: The former Princess Sayako (right), with husband Yoshiki Kuroda, smiling as the groom newspaper quoted the lady-in-waiting as say-
dress, and the families of her two brothers. bows to reporters at a news conference following their wedding ceremony at a Tokyo hotel yesterday. ing. To which Princess Sayako replied: “What,
Mr Kuroda invited eight relatives including you have to clean up?”
his mother, Sumiko. She has been taking driving and cooking Ms Sayako lost her royal allowance, but But her serious, bespectacled husband
More than 6,000 well-wishers greeted a and cleaning lessons, all in a bid to slip com- this is eased by a US$1.3 million ($2.2 mil- has said he is determined to help her adjust
motorcade of black cars when Princess fortably into the life of being an ordinary lion) allowance for becoming a commoner. to her new life. “In the beginning of our new
Sayako and her royal relations left the imperial Japanese housewife. Ms Sayako, the youngest Ms Sayako had reportedly told her aides life, I believe there will be many things we
home in Tokyo to drive to the hotel. child of Emperor Akihito and Empress that she was looking forward to preparing the are not used to and unexpected events, but
The marriage means she relinquishes her Michiko and the last of their three children couple’s first meal together – breakfast. we would like to join hands and move step
title, swaps the grandeur of the Imperial to wed also gave up her part-time job as a re- When the princess cooked in the past, by step,” he said.
Palace for an ordinary apartment, and trades searcher at an ornithology centre. she consulted recipe books and prepared Equally confident, Ms Sayako said: “Hold-
official duties for housework and the super- The former princess and Mr Kuroda, a the food herself after having a chef for the ing memories of the days with my family in
market run. Over the past year, the reserved descendant of Japan’s now-abolished aris- Emperor’s family supply the ingredients, an my mind, I would like to learn various things
Ms Sayako, 36, who is a keen birdwatcher, tocracy, were childhood acquaintances. Their aide close to her said. and am going to face a new life as a member
has been preparing for her life in middle- romance began two years ago at a tennis The couple will live in a 50 sq m, one bed- of the Kuroda family.”
class Tokyo. party thrown by one of her brothers. room rented apartment not far from the — AGENCIES
Showdown at “COLD STORAGE”
VS “NTUC FAIRPRICE”
the IR Corral Then there’s the biggest duel of them all,
between Harrah’s Entertainment and MGM-
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Mirage.
Harrah’s gobbled up Caesar’s Enter-
Las Vegas Sands fame, a man as ferocious- tainment, making it the world’s largest
ly competitive as Mr Wynn himself. Industry gaming company, while MGM-Mirage ac-
folklore records an incident in the 90s when quired Mandalay Resorts to take second
Mr Wynn threw Mr Adelson out of his office spot. They are also competing in Britain for
after an argument. Since then, it has been the single super-casino licence.
a game of one-upmanship. After its open- In Macau, MGM-Mirage upstaged Har-
ing in Las Vegas in 1995, Mr Adelson’s rah’s by partnering with Stanley Ho’s daugh-
Venetian eclipsed Mr Wynn’s Bellagio and PHOTOS FROM BLOOMBERG ter, Pansy, to build the MGM-Grand Macau.
Mirage. It took Mr Wynn 10 years to reclaim MGM-Mirage’s Terrence Lanni. Kerzner International’s Sol Kerzner. It’s old school versus new school here
the bragging rights by opening the new with Harrah’s Gary Loveman, a relative
Wynn Las Vegas earlier this year. WALTZING MATILDAS macy, Tabcorp placed a ad in a newspaper gaming industry outsider, up against in-
Before that, they clashed in Macau. Each A more subdued battle rages between Aus- congratulating Singapore on its National Day. dustry veteran Terrence Lanni of MGM-
acquired a casino operating licence, but tralia’s two largest gaming companies, Tab- Mirage. In Singapore, MGM-Mirage has
Mr Adelson stole the limelight by opening his corp and Publishing & Broadcasting Limit- ASIAN DRAGONS formed a formidable partnership with Cap-
Sands Macau casino first — last year. ed (PBL). PBL, which earlier lost out in its Also in the fray are Asian gaming kingpins, itaLand while Harrah’s has tied up with
The battlefront now moves to Singapore. bid for a casino concession in Macau, has Macau’s Sociedade de Jogos Macau (SJM) Keppel Land. In general, MGM-Mirage
Mr Wynn did himself no favours by saying that taken the backdoor route, teaming up with and Malaysia’s Genting Bhd. Both have been reaches out to the high rollers while Har-
the authorities here were “issuing thunder- Mr Stanley Ho’s son, Lawrence. The joint- monopolies in their respective territories. rah’s attracts the average American.
bolts of wisdom from Mount Olympus”. venture is building the Crown Macau casino Genting’s Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong may For the Singapore IR, Harrah’s has po-
and an audacious underwater casino named have handed over the reins to his succes- sitioned its high-end Caesar’s brand to take
the City of Dreams at the same Cotai loca- sor, but he has left a powerful legacy. on MGM-Mirage.
4 tion as Mr Adelson’s upcoming Venetian Genting’s cruise business extends through-
Macau. The duo is also targeting the IR here. out Asia and extends to Britain and the US. HIGH NOON
Tabcorp, with no investments outside Aus- It encroached into its rival’s Macau territo- This town ain’t big enough for the all of ’em.
tralia, seems hungry for success in Singapore. ry by taking a substantial stake in one of the Favourites for the cellar dweller spots are
It flew its entire board of directors to Singapore new concessionaires there, Galaxy Casino SA. Peermont, Sun International and Guocoland.
in July to survey the Marina Bayfront site. To Mr Stanley Ho still calls the shots at Others will ride off into the sunset to fight
meet the Singapore government’s criteria of SJM, although the man in charge here is his another battle, perhaps in Thailand.
an iconic development, they recruited the serv- son, Lawrence, who is partnering with PBL. Only four or five parties will remain for
ices of famed architect Arata Isozaki, who de- Technically, Singapore is Genting’s domain, the final shootout. Regardless of who walks
signed the Museum of Contemporary Art in where its cruise business is based. Genting’s out of the IR Corral with prize in hand, Sin-
Los Angeles. Showing a smart sense of diplo- international pedigree gives it an edge. gapore’s tourism industry will gain, OK?