Again, another one bites the dust

Wah... Would my prediction come true???

Jan 2, 9:08 PM EST

Macau casino magnate, Australian partner withdraw from biding on Singapore casino

HONG KONG (AP) -- Macau casino magnate Stanley Ho and the media and
gaming empire headed by Australia's Packer family have abandoned their
joint bid to build Singapore's first casino, the companies said Tuesday.

Ho's Melco International Development Ltd. and Australia's Publishing
Broadcasting Ltd. said the expected returns didn't justify the
high capital costs of the casino at Marina Bay, just outside
Singapore's downtown business district.

"Both Melco and PBL have now decided to withdraw from the bidding," Melco said in a legal notice.

PBL head Kerry Packer died last week at age 68, setting the stage
for the elder of his two children - James Packer, 38 - to become the
fourth generation of the Packer dynasty to run the family business.

The scrapping of plans to build the new casino is the first major business decision announced by PBL since Kerry Packer's death.

James Packer, PBL's executive chairman, said in a statement Tuesday
his company would continue to look for opportunities to expand its
casino business around Asia with Melco.

"We are enthusiastic about the potential for new casino projects as
governments in the region liberalize gaming laws," Packer said.
"Expansion beyond Australia and Macau remains an important strategy for
both PBL and Melco."

The duo are building two casinos - the Crown Macau and the City of
Dreams - in the fast-growing casino market of Macau, a former
Portuguese enclave that returned to Chinese rule in 1999.

Melco and PBL's withdrawal from the process to select the builder
and operator of the planned casino resort in Singapore follows that of
Australian gaming and casino company Tabcorp Holdings Ltd. in December,
which also cited escalating costs to justify the move.

Other bidders for the development, expected to cost about US$3
billion (euro 2.53 billion), are consortia of Harrah's Entertainment
Inc. and Singapore's Keppel Land Ltd.; Las Vegas Sands Corp. of the
U.S. and Singapore's City Developments Ltd.; Malaysia's Genting
International PLC and Star Cruises Ltd.; U.S.-based MGM Mirage and
Singapore developer CapitaLand Ltd.

Singapore lifted its ban on casino gambling in April, hoping to draw
more tourists. The bidders for the casino license, the first of two,
have to submit their proposals by the end of March, with the casino at
Marina Bay expected to open in 2009 or 2010.