News Update Casino opening a boon

Feb 20, 2010
More visitors seen at shops and attractions both on and off Sentosa
By Lim Wei Chean , Jessica Lim and Tessa Wong

THE spotlight is now firmly on the casino at Resorts World Sentosa (RWS), but businesses on Sentosa, as well as at the HarbourFront Centre and VivoCity, do not mind - they are basking in the reflected glory of the first integrated resort here.
The crowds are in, and business has been better than they have seen in a while, they say. Twelve of the 20 businesses The Straits Times spoke to on Friday said sales are up 10 per cent to 50 per cent over Chinese New Year last year.
They put this down to a spillover from the surge of people checking out the casino and the Universal Studios theme park at RWS.
Sentosa itself logged a record turnout of 75,000 visitors on Sunday, when the casino debuted. Between Sunday and yesterday, an estimated 150,000 people visited the island, 24 per cent more than in the corresponding period last year.
Sentosa Development Corp's chief executive Mike Barclay, noting this figure excluded those who drove or took a bus directly into RWS, said the higher visitor numbers could be a result of new attractions like the Wave House and people nipping over to RWS after first entering the resort island.
Sentosa's other attractions, such as the Butterfly Park & Insect Kingdom, have had 20 per cent more visitors, as has the Sentosa Luge & Skyride. Even attractions off the island are doing better.