Marina Bay Sands, one of Singapore’s two casino resorts, has dropped a S$10 million lawsuit against an Australian high roller who failed to pay a gambling debt he amassed at the property five years ago.
Local news outlets reported earlier this week that Marina Bay Sands filed a notice of discontinuance with the High Court of Singapore last week, thus putting an end to a five-year court battle.
Marina Bay Sands previously sought recovery of a casino debt worth S$9,996,250, plus interest of S$3,782,690 and costs of $7,398 from Australian VIP gambler Wang Zhi Cai. Mr. Wang played at the casino in April 2013 and January 2014, court papers showed. The high roller admitted to incurring losses at the gambling venue, it also became known.
When sought for comment, Marina Bay Sands said earlier this week that the matter has been resolved amicably. Details about the settlement remained confidential. Marina Bay Sands also invited Mr. Wang back to its gaming floor “as a valued patron.”
The Australian gambler himself confirmed that he has reached a settlement with the casino and that he has been invited back to the property.
Five-Year Pursuit
Marina Bay Sands had pursued Mr. Wang to pay his debt for nearly five years before the recent resolution of the dispute. As mentioned earlier, the case was prompted by the gambler’s visits at the casino in 2013 and then in 2014.
In 2017, a Singapore court issued a default judgment in favor of Marina Bay Sands after the high roller patron failed to appear in court. A Sydney court order issued shortly after enforced the Singapore judgment against Mr. Wang’s assets in Australia.
Mr. Wang has said he had not appeared in court because he had been unaware Marina Bay Sands had sued him. The gambler further explained that he had refused to deal directly with the casino because he had been introduced to the venue through a Beijing-based junket operator and that it was that operator that was supposed to pay for his losses and collect his winnings.
Marina Bay Sands’ lawyer, Kelvin Tan, has said previously that the property has had no domestic or overseas arrangements with junket operators.
The High Court of Singapore set aside earlier this year the 2017 default judgment against Mr. Wang after listening to arguments presented by the legal teams of both the casino patron and the gambling venue.
If the case had gone to trial, the role of junket operators in the payment of gambling debts would have received broad attention.
Expansion at Marina Bay Sands
As mentioned earlier, Marina Bay Sands is one of two integrated resorts with casino in Singapore, the other being Genting’s Resorts World Sentosa. Earlier this year, the government of the city-state agreed to extend the two properties’ casino duopoly until 2030 and gave the green light to a S$9 billion build-out of the resorts, with each investing S$4.5 billion to boost their offering.
Marina Bay Sands has tapped Safdie Architects for a new stand-alone hotel tower that will be built near the property’s existing three towers, topped and connected by a boat-like structure. The new tower will feature 1,000 hotel suites and its own sky roof with a swimming pool and restaurant.
Marina Bay Sands’ expansion also includes a new entertainment district with a 15,000-seat music arena among other facilities.
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