Las Vegas on track for third place among world’s gambling meccas

That may be happening faster than expected.

According to an estimate this month from Royal Bank of Scotland, Singapore's two casino resorts are on track to generate gambling revenue of USUS$ 6.4 billion this year, higher than the Las Vegas Strip's anticipated USUS$ 6.2 billion. Both Las Vegas Sands-owned Marina Bay Sands and Genting-owned Resorts World Sentosa opened last year.

The estimates put Singapore in second place behind Macau, which years ago eclipsed the Strip's gambling revenue. Macau is expected to dominate the global casino business because it's the only place in China -- a nation of growing wealth, with a proclivity for gambling -- where casinos are legal.

UBS stock analyst Robin Farley last week said Macau gambling revenue is expected to grow 33 % this year, up from a prior estimate of 28 %. Macau is on track to generate US$31.5 billion in gambling revenue, Farley said in a research note to investors.

Dropping to third place, the 42 casinos on the Las Vegas Strip reported USUS$ 5.8 billion in gambling revenue last year. That's a 15 % decline from the market peak in 2007, when there were 38 casinos on and around the Strip.

Singapore's two casino resorts are supersized versions of their Las Vegas counterparts, each one the size of two or three of Strip megaresorts. In addition to all of the trappings of a Vegas resort, like theaters, shopping centers and convention facilities, Singapore's resorts feature large, all-ages attractions like theme parks, marine attractions and museums.

The Singapore government legalized casino resorts not to overtake Nevada as a gambling destination but to double tourism traffic and spending -- a goal that's well within reach, said Fredric Gushin, managing director of Spectrum Gaming Group, which did consulting work for the Singapore government.

Singapore was already a cultural and tourism attraction in Asia prior to the arrival of casino resorts, Gushin said. The resorts cater to well-to-do visitors, including those with second homes in Singapore, who appreciate the region's reputation for law and order, he said.