Genting Singapore could benefit from Marina Bay Sands investigation
Sheldon Adelson’s Singapore casino company accused in US of money laundering
Last week a report emerged in Asia about Las Vegas Sands’ subsidiary in Singapore, Marina Bay Sands, which is currently under investigation by the US Department of Justice over concerns that anti-money laundering regulations may have been breached on behalf of some VIP customers. Casino mogul Sheldon Adelson is controlling shareholder in LVS.
In Singapore Marina Bay Sands has the choice pickings in direct competition for Asian high rollers with Genting Singapore’s Resorts World Sentosa, the other casino operating in the country. According to local analysts, money laundering suspicions by the US owned property could lead to Genting Singapore seizing a larger share of the local market.
A note issued by Maybank, explained, “We do not presume that either MBS, Sands China, or LVS was or is guilty or innocent of any charges. Which company has never had to deal with disgruntled ex-employees? What we gather is VIPs tend to avoid casinos which are under investigation, especially by the DOJ. Learning from history, we gather that GENS could benefit from a higher share of VIP volume. All it needs to do now is just reopen.”
The note also mentioned that, on average, Resorts World Sentosa’s VIP market share has been 47 percent, overall.
Last Friday, upon news of the scandal by Bloomberg, Las Vegas Sands shares fell to 5.3% before closing 1.1%, in New York. Marina Bay Sands is one of the most profitable casinos in the world, accounting for more than one-fifth of the revenue and about one-third of the U.S. parent company’s operating revenue. The Asian operations of Las Vegas Sands, which also include Macau, which contributed about 85% of the company’s US$13.7 billion revenue last year and have helped make Adelson one of the richest men in the United States.
Las Vegas Sands has also attracted another Justice Department investigation in recent years. In 2013, the company paid US$47.4 million to complete a federal investigation into its recognized breach of reporting suspicious deposits by a high-ranking player in Las Vegas. In 2017, it paid US$6.96 million to resolve an investigation into alleged violations of U.S. law in connection with bribes paid to government officials in China and Macau. Sands admitted that knowingly and voluntarily, he was unable to guarantee the legitimacy of approximately US$5.8 million in payments to a commercial consultant.
