At Singapore casino Resorts World Sentosa¡¯s Lunar New Year lucky draw for high rollers earlier this year, the biggest prize was a bottle of Martell Cognac. Across the harbor at rival Marina Bay Sands, the top sweepstakes winner walked away with a new Mercedes-Benz CLA 200 worth much more.
It¡¯s one of the incidents that has made the casino duopoly in one of the world¡¯s top gambling venues more lopsided in the past few years. That¡¯s putting pressure on the Sentosa island resort, whose gaming license is due for renewal in the coming months.
The Southeast Asian financial hub has seen a strong post-COVID rebound in tourist arrivals and an increase in wealthy gamblers from neighboring countries and China. It¡¯s also taken some business from Macau, which has been impacted by Chinese government crackdowns on casino junkets and illegal money-exchange activities.
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