Las Vegas Sands' Singapore Casino on Track for March Open

Las Vegas Sands’ Singapore casino resort is on track to open end of March, but may face delays depending on the weather, said its chairman, Sheldon Adelson.

In an exclusive interview with CNBC, Adelson said delays to the launch of the $5.5 billion casino complex were due to rain.

“If we are a little late, it would be a couple of weeks, not months,” said Adelson.

As Asia recovers from the recession, the casino resort in Singapore has been key for the Las Vegas Sands’ business, he added.

The Singapore project, the Marina Bay Sands, which was originally expected to cost around $3.2 billion, has also suffered massive cost overruns.

The chairman of the world’s No 2 casino operator also said the company could complete all its planned five projects on Macau’s Cotai strip within five years.

The firm -- which raised $2.5 billion from the listing of its Macau unit, Sands China, in late November -- plans to build five properties on the Cotai strip, a swathe of reclaimed land some Macau developers have touted as the next Las Vegas strip.

Those properties, including two that are halfway through construction, would complement two existing casinos in Macau, one of which is the Venetian Macau, the world's largest casino.

Sands competes in Macau with Wynn Macau, Galaxy Entertainment Group, SJM Holdings, Melco Crown Entertainment and MGM Mirage.

Adelson said he was confident of the market recovery as the nature of business would take its course.

“Nothing keeps me awake at night because I believe in the cycle of business….and I got to make sure I’m prepared to go forward.”