SINGAPORE -- As reported by the Las Vegas Review Journal: "Harrah's Entertainment officially ended its 20-month-long quest to build a casino in the city-state of Singapore, announcing Friday that
it would not submit a bid proposal for a site at Sentosa Island.
"The Las Vegas-based casino operator said the decision, made jointly with its Singapore-based partner, Keppel Land, does not mean the company has given up on expanding into Asia.
"In a brief statement, the companies said they had "determined it would not be possible to deliver a development on the scale we envisioned for Sentosa Island while meeting our objectives for this project."
"Harrah's made no mention of this week's massive buyout offer by two private equity groups, who proposed to pay more than $15 billion for the company, as a reason for pulling out of the Singapore bidding.
"On Tuesday, Harrah's spokesman Alberto Lopez said recent events caused the company to re-evaluate its Singapore proposal.
"'The development team put together a spectacular package, but we just couldn't make the financials work,' Lopez said.
Dennis Farrell, a gaming analyst with Wachovia High Yield Research, thought Harrah's would turn its interest in Asia toward Japan, which may become the next Asian market to allow for Las Vegas-style casinos.
"'With Singapore, I think it was related to return on investment,' Farrell said. 'They just couldn't get the return they wanted. The company is in a good position, however, to take advantage of the potential investment opportunities in Japan. I think the market there may even be a little more favorable than Singapore.'..."
Caesars Entertainment owns or manages through various subsidiaries more than 40 casinos in three countries, primarily under the Harrah's, Caesars and Horseshoe brand names. Caesars also owns the World Series of PokerŪ and the London Clubs International family of casinos. |
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