The Las Vegas Sands, known for its casinos and popular betting sites, has commemorated a long-awaited luxury resort expansion in Singapore with the groundbreaking ceremony of an $8 billion tower and sports arena.
Jewel of the Far East
At its opening in February 2010, the Marina Bay Sands was considered one of the most expensive casino resorts in the world at a cost of roughly $6.88 billion. The project is owned and operated by the Las Vegas Sands in cooperation with Singaporean authorities.
The original three towers include a 1,850-room hotel, a 1.3 million square foot convention facility, an 800,000 square foot luxury shopping mall, a 2,183-capacity theater, the world’s first floating Apple store, the world’s first Louis Vuitton Island Maison, as well as several celebrity chef signature restaurants. The casino is equipped with 500 tables and 3,000 electronic gaming machines.
However, in 2019, Sheldon Adelson, owner of the Sands, had another expensive vision for his exotic tourist destination: an expansion that would include a fourth tower, a 15,000-capacity sports arena, and several opulent accouterments, including luxury retail boutiques, wellness amenities such as a holistic spa, 200,000 square feet of convention space, and its own casino floor. The same company that designed the Las Vegas Sphere in Nevada and the O2 Arena in London, Populous, is also designing the arena.
The Dream Is a Reality
The tower will stand 55 stories high and will be connected to the rest of the facility by a 1,120-foot-long SkyPark Observation Deck. There will be 576 luxury suites, which will be accessible to a 76,000-square-foot Skyloop that will feature shops, restaurants, infinity-edge pools, and a rooftop garden for good measure. The cost has skyrocketed from the pre-pandemic estimate of $3.3 billion to $8 billion after delays, which caused the Sands to seek additional financing.
The groundbreaking ceremony was held earlier this week and was attended by Dr., the widow of Sheldon Adelson, who passed away in 2021; Patrick Dumont, Sands’ president and chief operating officer; and Sands CEO Rob Goldstein.
“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.
New Development Aims to Redefine Luxury Tourism
“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,” added Goldstein.
The Sands has focused all of its energies on Macau and Singapore, divesting all of its U.S. assets. Just two months after Sheldon Adelson died, the Venetian/Palazzo on the Las Vegas Strip was sold for $6.25 billion. The company sold a casino in Pennsylvania before Adelson died in 2018, as his vision was firmly focused on the Far East market.
In 2025, a complete renovation of the hotel rooms in the other three towers was completed.
