Singapore’s Integrated Resorts

The creation of Integrated Resorts and casinos in Singapore.

Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has announced that Singapore will have two integrated resorts with casinos. One will be built at Marina Bay and the other on Sentosa island. They will be ready and operational around 2009.

With the two integrated resorts , Singapore will attract investments in the order of $5b. And the economy is expected to create some 35,000 jobs , including 10,000 positions within the integrated resorts themselves.

Speaking in Parliament , PM Lee said that when the casino idea was first mooted, he was personally against it. But the environment has changed , particularly in the tourism industry.

In addition to the obviously significant economic benefits arising from the growth in tourism , jobs creation , and tax revenues , the integrated resort will serve to provide a wider range of entertainment options to Singaporeans.

The Singapore society is maturing. As a progressive society we should continue to open up. Singaporeans are socially responsible and mature enough to understand that gambling is , and should remain , a personal choice and that this choice comes with solemn responsibilities — responsibilities which we consciously and willingly undertake.

Loan sharks , money launderers , mobsters and prostitutes,- they’re traditionally as much a part of casinos as the punters themselves.

But squeaky-clean Singapore is taking steps to make sure criminals have no place in the city-state’s two new gambling centers, which are due to open by 2009.

Analysts have confidence the strict regulatory system will work , and that Singapore will remain one of Asia’s most crime-free countries even after the multi-billion dollar Integrated Resorts change the face of the city.

Do you feel that constructing Singapore’s Integrated Resorts is a good move ? Are the economic benefits worth the social problems ? What protection and safeguard can we put in to discourage Singaporeans from gambling ? If we discourage Singaporean gamblers , will investors still find the project viable ?

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Hello Singapore