5 Billion Reasons Why Investors Like Singapore

An article, just out, by Howard Stutz in the Las Vegas review journal surprised me. I knew that the 2 casinos in Singapore were doing well, but I didn’t know that their annual earnings of S$5 billion exceeded that of the 41 casinos on the Las Vegas Strip. I am personally more interested in the other fun offerings at the resort like the Food and Entertainment as gambling has never appealed to me. I just don’t find it much fun. I’d rather watch a show or a concert for entertainment. And don’t people know the house always wins? That’s why casinos generate so much revenue. It seems that the S$100 entry fee for Singaporeans and PRs is not much of a deterrance. For me it is. Anyway it makes for an interesting read.

In Singapore news however there have been quite a number of negative stories in relation to the social aspect of the casinos. What I find more troubling is that society is becoming lopsided, with a greater disparity between the rich and poor. Also people seem desperate and willing to do silly things to get in. Is Singapore becoming Sin City? One good thing is that tourism has been boosted by 18% and that’s great if it means more jobs. I always hoped they would have brought Disneyland to Sentosa instead, since Singapore has been touted as a kind of urban Disneyland, although not quite in a positive way as we have been called soulless due to all the stringent laws in the country. When I was working 8am to 10pm in the Corporate jungle, I sure did feel like a zombie.

About bookjunkie

Blogging about life in Singapore & recently cancer too.
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2 Responses to 5 Billion Reasons Why Investors Like Singapore

  1. Kirsten says:

    I really don’t know if the casinos are actually generating more jobs for the locals, or if they’re actually just hiring “interns” and foreigners! But either way I’m not really convinced that the additional jobs are actually balancing out the bad social effects…

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