Asia Times: Singapore lets the crapshoot begin
By Muhammad Cohen

Resorts World Sentosa CEO Tan Hee Teck (L) �and Lim Kok Thay, Genting Group's chairman and CEO, pose with Chinese lion dance performers after officiating the opening of hotels at Resorts World Sentosa integrated casino resort in Singapore January 20, 2010. (Reuters/Daylife)

Visitors walk under a dome structure leading out from the casino, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2010 in Singapore. Singapore's first casino-resort partially opened Wednesday, a key part of a government plan to reduce reliance on manufacturing and brand the tightly controlled city-state as a cosmopolitan Asian capital. Resorts World Sentosa, built by Malaysia's Genting Bhd for US$5 billion, opened 1,340 rooms in four hotels, including a Hard Rock hotel and a property designed by architect Michael Graves. (AP/Daylife)

An aerial view shows the site of the soon-to-be-opened Resorts World Sentosa casino on Singapore's Sentosa Island February 11, 2010. Singapore will open its first casino on Sunday, coinciding with the start of the Chinese New Year, as the city-state makes the latest roll of the dice to turn itself into a playground for the rich. (Reuters/Daylife)

Chairman of Resorts World Sentosa and the Genting Group, Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, buys tips for his first play, Sunday, Feb. 14, 2010 in Singapore. Resorts World Sentosa, built by Malaysia's Genting Bhd for US$4.7 billion, opened Singapore's first casino Sunday. (AP/Daylife)

Interior view of Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore Sunday, Feb. 14, 2010. Resorts World Sentosa, built by Malaysia's Genting Bhd for US$4.7 billion, opened Singapore's first casino Sunday. (AP/Daylife)

A lion dancing troupe performs at the entrance to the Resorts World Sentosa casino on Singapore's Sentosa Island before its opening February 14, 2010. Singapore's first casino, a key part of a drive to boost tourism revenue and please wealthy visitors, opened it doors on Sunday, Lunar New Year -- the most auspicious day of the Chinese calendar. (Reuters/Daylife)

A croupier waits for gamblers in front of a roulette wheel inside the Resorts World Sentosa casino on Singapore's Sentosa Island February 14, 2010. Singapore's first casino, a key part of a drive to boost tourism revenue and please wealthy visitors, opened it doors on Sunday, Lunar New Year -- the most auspicious day of the Chinese calendar. (Reuters/Daylife)