Singapore On Pace to Pass Las Vegas in Gaming RevenueU.S. Casino Capital to Fall into Third Place in Worldwide Rankings |
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As early as this year, Las Vegas will fall to third on the list of the world’s biggest casino markets, as the Southeast Asian city-state of Singapore is set to overtake the second spot, a U.S. gambling industry group said this week, according to the Associated Press.
Singapore, which opened its first two casinos last year after lifting a casino ban in 2005, raked in $5.1 billion in gaming revenue last year and could bring in up to $6.4 billion this year, according to Frank Fahrenkopf, president of the American Gaming Association. Singapore, a tourism hub in the region, was the fastest-growing economy in the world, with GDP growth of 14.5 percent for the year 2010, according to Bloomberg.com.
Las Vegas, which lost its no. 1 ranking to Macau in 2006, earned $5.8 billion in casino revenue last year.
“It’s going to be an extremely good year,” in Singapore and Macau, Fahrenkopf said at a gambling industry conference in Macau. Casino revenue in Macau will probably grow 25 to 50 percent this year, Fahrenkopf added, even after the world’s most profitable gambling market hit $23.5 billion last year.