Sands’ Singapore property casino shut down for COVID-19 cleaning

The casino at Las Vegas Sands’ iconic Marina Bay Sands resort in Singapore has been closed while the company addresses new COVID-19 alerts established by the government.

“In view of the heightened COVID-19 situation in Singapore, Marina Bay Sands will be operating on revised capacities and stricter measures across property, in support of the government’s latest efforts,” the company said in a post on its website.

The closure began Thursday and is expected to continue through Aug. 5 while the company initiates “deep cleaning” in the casino. Other parts of the resort, including the three-tower hotel, remain open with some areas, including the Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands mall and the Sands Expo Centre there operating at reduced capacity.

Marina Bay Sands’ Singapore rival, Resorts World Sentosa, remains open with limited capacities through Aug. 18.

“The Multi-Ministry Taskforce has announced a set of stricter safe management measures as part of Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) in Singapore’s fight against COVID-19,” the Resorts World Sentosa website says.

“Resorts World Sentosa fully supports this latest round of measures. We will remain operational at reduced guest capacity for selected attractions and hotels until Aug. 18. Due to the suspension of dine-in services, most of our restaurants will be closed until further notice. Feng Shui Inn, Fratelli and Malaysian Food Street will remain open for takeaways.”

The shutdown at Resorts World Sentosa began Thursday.

Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman and CEO Rob Goldstein alluded to a possible reduction in services and revenue at the company’s Singapore property during the company’s Wednesday earnings call with investors.

But he added that the company remains committed to Singapore and is investing more than $3 billion for a 1,000-suite hotel tower and a 15,000-seat arena at Marina Bay Sands.

The company had no further comment on the closure.

Efforts to contact representatives of the Genting Group, operators of Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore, were unsuccessful.

The Review-Journal is owned by the family of Dr. Miriam Adelson, the majority shareholder of Las Vegas Sands Corp., and operates The Venetian and Palazzo as well as six properties in Macao and one in Singapore.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on Twitter.