Las Vegas Sands betting on Singapore

Michael Leven, speaking at the Reuters Travel and Leisure Summit, said Sands will wait another 30 days before giving its board a fiscal plan, while it observes Genting Singapore, which opened the city-state's first casino resort on February 14, the start of the Chinese New Year. "We are not disappointed in what we're seeing in Genting, but it's too early to assess," said Leven, who is also president of Sands.

Sands will need to generate at least us$ 400 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) from the fully ramped-up Singapore resort in order to meet debt covenants, he said.

Sands Chief Executive Sheldon Adelson said in earlier interviews that the resort, Marina Bay Sands, could generate an annual profit of us$ 1 billion.

During the worldwide recession and credit crunch, Sands skated close to defaulting on its debt, sending its shares to a record low of us$ 1.38 in March. They now trade around $16.

Leven said Sands, which is based in Las Vegas, plans to renegotiate with its lenders, probably before the end of the year.

"We're accumulating cash ... the only risk is if Singapore doesn't do well," he said. "We have to do us$ 400 million in EBITDA to clear covenants. If we don't do that, we've made a bad investment in Singapore."

Sands currently operates the Palazzo and Venetian resorts on the Las Vegas Strip, casino-resorts in China's Macau, and a casino in Pennsylvania.