They say people do things in a big way in Las Vegas. Well, in Singapore, they do things bigger.
When a hotel or resort opens in Vegas, it’s normal to expect glitz, glam and a whole lot of sparkle.
When an integrated resort like the Marina Bay Sands opens in Singapore, you take your basic Vegas glitz and red carpet glam, and amp it up with a fabulous outdoor concert headlined by former Destiny’s Child Kelly Rowland and a spectacular fireworks display, before capping it off with a gala dinner and a ringside view of Diana Ross.
And that’s just the main program. To fully describe the MBS experience you have to factor in the lissome girls swinging from the atrium’s rafters, the sampan ride in the middle of the shopping strip, the line of jewelry shops beside the casino, and the first-ever “World Championship Climb to the Sands SkyPark.”
VIP country
With all that going on, it’s no wonder the VIPs couldn’t stay away. More than 2,000 special guests— financial taipans, celebrities, and high rollers—patiently stood in line (which snaked all the way to the parking lot) to walk down the red carpet and register for the gold tickets that would be their keys to the cocktails and the rest of the night’s extravaganza.
Among the guests enjoying cocktails at the Fuse restaurant at the Atrium of Tower 1 were the resort’s top brass led by Las Vegas Sands owner Sheldon Adelson and his wife, Miriam (who were celebrating their anniversary that night), Moshe Safdie (the world-renowned architect and urban planner who designed the Marina Bay Sands resort), Thomas Arasi, president and chief executive officer of Marina Bay Sands, and Michael Leven (president and chief operating officer of Las Vegas Sands), celebrity chefs Daniel Boulud and Tetsuya Wakuda, Singaporean singers JJ Lin and Sylvia Ratonel, TV host Oli Pettigrew, and Kelly Rowland. Diana Ross, who joined the red carpet event, skipped the cocktails to prepare for her performance later on.
After cocktails, the guests moved on to the Sands Expo and Convention Center, the resort’s MICE (meetings, incentives, conferencing and exhibits) component, adjacent to the Marina Bay Shoppes to enjoy the outdoor concert from the comfort of the center’s grand ballroom.
Event of the year
The resort’s opening, already delayed by a year, was one of the most anticipated events of the year.
Marina Bay Sands, the massive 20-hectare entertainment and gaming complex dominating Singapore’s Marina Bay area is the latest attraction offered by Las Vegas Sands, which owns and operates The Venetian and The Palazzo in Las Vegas, Nevada, as well as the Sands and Venetian hotels in Macau.
The resort is the second of two integrated resorts (the other being Universal Studios in Sentosa) heading up the extensive redevelopment campaign of the Singapore government. When completed, the nearly US$6 billion resort complex will house the most expensive standalone casino, a MICE center, a luxury shopping mall, two crystal pavilions (one of which will become the first Louis Vuitton standalone outlet), art and science galleries, an amphitheater, and its crowning glory, the 55-storey three-tower Marina Bay Sands Hotel and Skypark. The 340m-long SkyPark (big enough to hold 20 football fields) features a 150m swimming pool set on top of the world’s largest public cantilevered platform. The Skypark will also feature a row of restaurants operated by celebrity chefs like Daniel Boulud, Mario Batali, Wolfgang Puck, Tetsuya Wakuda, and Guy Savoy.
At the gala dinner that followed the cocktails, Adelson exuberantly welcomed the guests, saying “Marina Bay Sands is really the future of tourism development. For countries serious about boosting tourism and creating new jobs, the integrated resort model is unmatched and Marina Bays Sands will now be the reference point by which all new tourism projects are judged. In Singapore, Marina Bay Sands will be the pivot point in which tourism here is going to explode.”
Adelson, who good-naturedly ribbed Safdie for going overbudget on the project, admitted the expense was worth it.
“What a beautiful hotel this is, don’t you think?” he asked, to general applause.
Arasi, for his part, said “Marina Bay Sands will deliver an entertainment, leisure and business experience unlike any other in the world. Our amazing range of attractions from the Sands SkyPark to celebrity chef restaurants to The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands and the outdoor event plaza will have guests coming back again and again to experience every aspect we have to offer. We expect to attract over 70,000 visits a day and 18 million visitors a year after we are fully open.”
(Early reports have already pegged casino attendance at more than half a million since it opened.)
D for diva
After the concert, the guests settled down to a sumptuous dinner, which was served in stages timed to coincide with special performances.
Thus, the Lightly Smoked Balik Salmon with Laksa Paste Emulsion, Spiced Pomelo and Micro-Cress Greens appetizer was served as guests enjoyed the performance of the Kids Performing Choir, who sang “When You Believe” from The Prince of Egypt. The entrée, strangely named Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, is a dish of Shark’s Fin, Dried Scallops, Fish Maw, Baby Abalone and Wolf Berries in a rich Chicken Broth, and savoured along with an excerpt from Jersey Boys, performed by its Broadway cast.
The main course (deliciously Slow-cooked Prime Chuck Rib with Chinese Radish Galette, Potato Confit and Fava Beans with Truffle Oil) was served, slightly out of sync, ahead of the night’s highlight—the performance of the marvelous Diana Ross. A good judgment call, actually, as the diva brought everyone to their feet, many of them forgetting about the dessert of Szechuan Pepper-Chocolate Sabayon, Raspberry Lemongrass Concasse, Cacao Crumbs and Yoghurt Cremeux, that followed.
Diana’s flawless renditions of favorites like “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” “Do You Know Where You’re Going To?” and “Stop? In the Name of Love” had everyone whipping out cellphones and cameras to capture her performance.
The diva’s mini-concert was the best way to end the evening’s festivities as guests shuffled out of the ballroom animatedly discussing the day’s events, before heading for the comfort of their rooms to watch the World Cup matches.
