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Singapore Issues Casino License
新加坡首個賭場開張
Singapore's first casino won regulatory approval to open, paving the way for the debut of gambling in the squeaky clean city-state as early as next week's Lunar New Year holiday.
新加坡監管當局批準該國首個賭場開門營業。博彩業最早將于農歷新年期間在這個一塵不染的城市國家登臺亮相。
The opening of the casino by Malaysian gambling company Genting Singapore PLC---ahead of Las Vegas Sands Corp.'s much-delayed showpiece project in Singapore's downtown---would bring a formal end to the Singapore government's decades-long opposition to gambling.
該賭場由馬來西亞博彩上市公司——新加坡紳士經營，拉斯維加斯金沙集團 (Las Vegas Sands Corp.)在新加坡市中心的示范項目嚴重滯后，未能搶得先機。意味著新加坡政府數十年來反對賭博的政策正式結束。
It also establishes an important new front for the growth of the booming casino industry in Asia, roping in new gamblers even as it seeks to take business away from Macau and smaller gambling operations in Malaysia, Cambodia, the philippines and elsewhere.
新加坡此舉為亞洲蓬勃發展的博彩產業建立了重要的新陣地，不但能吸引新的賭客，還力圖從澳門以及馬來西亞、柬埔寨、菲律賓等其他地方的小賭場吸引生意。
It comes as the city-state seeks to find a competitive edge amid a nascent boom in outbound tourism and business travel from China, India and the rest of the region.
來自中國、印度及該地區其他地方的出境游和商務旅行客流不斷壯大，新加坡力求通過此舉在該新興市場中保持競爭優勢。
But bringing casinos to Singapore also raises a number of sticky questions for the cautious government, which is barring under-21s from entering a casino, proscribing automatic-teller machines from the casino floor and blacklisting anyone deemed to have gambling problems. Authorities are also trying to dissuade Singaporeans and permanent residents from gambling by forcing them to pay a US$70 entry fee to casinos---a levy from which tourists are exempt.
但允許賭場進入新加坡也給謹慎的新加坡政府帶來了一些難題。政府禁止21歲以下人士進入賭場，不允許在賭場內放置自動柜員機，并將據稱有賭博問題的人士列入黑名單。當局要求，新加坡公民及永久居民進入賭場時需繳納每人70美元的入場費，以試圖勸阻其遠離賭場。外國游客無需繳納這筆費用。
Singapore's Casino Regulatory Authority posted a notice announcing the approval of the license Saturday. While the approval was expected, its timing was unclear. Lim Kok Thay, chairman of Genting Singapore's Resorts World Sentosa said in a statement that he was "happy to have received the casino license."
新加坡賭場管制局在網上發布通知，宣布營業執照已于周六獲批。盡管外界預計執照將獲批準，但時間并不確定。云頂新加坡公司旗下的圣淘沙名勝世界董事長林國泰在聲明中說非常高興獲得賭場執照。
While largely a formality, Singapore regulators said they wouldn't grant a gambling license to either of the city's two resort operators until a certain proportion of the broader property is finished. Last month, Genting opened four luxury hotels at its project and has been giving private tours of its casino floor, which has been fitted out in anticipation of the license approval.
盡管主要是形式上的要求，新加坡監管機構稱在當地兩個休閑場所運營商的相關地產建設進度達到確定比例之前，他們不會為其頒發賭場執照。上個月，云頂公司該項目中的4家豪華酒店開業，賭場也裝備齊全，開始允許私人參觀。
The company has long hoped to launch its casino operations ahead of the Chinese New Year holiday, which begins on Feb. 14 and is a time when many people in the region will be traveling or on holiday. The company has booked Stefanie Sun, the city's best-known homegrown pop singer, for Feb. 16.
該公司一直希望賭場能在中國農歷新年假期之前開門營業。中國農歷新年假期開始于2月14日，屆時該地區將會有許多人出門旅行或度假。該公司已經預訂了新加坡最著名的流行歌手孫燕姿于2月16日作為嘉賓到場。
The centerpiece of Resorts World's family-oriented attractions, a large Universal Studios theme park, is also expected to open.
該名勝世界的中心區是一個吸引家庭游玩的大型環球影城主題公園也即將開業。
The timing of gambling's arrival in Singapore could prove to be lucky, both for Singapore and for the global gambling industry. Growth prospects remain uncertain in Las Vegas and across the US, while policy uncertainties continue to hover over Macau, the Chinese enclave that delivered most of the industry's revenue growth since 2002.
對新加坡及全球的博彩業而言，該國開放博彩業的時機極佳：拉斯維加斯及全美的增長前景仍不明朗，政策不確定性問題繼續困擾中國澳門。自2002年以來，整個博彩業的收入增長大多來自于澳門。
In this environment, Singapore's casinos could open a big untapped market in Southeast Asia---a fast-growing region of 600 million people---and in doing so help Asia further eclipse the US-based gambling industry.
在此背景下，新加坡的賭場將能夠在東南亞這一具有6億人口且經濟快速增長的地區打開一個巨大的未開發市場，這有助于亞洲進一步趕超美國的博彩業。
