Las Vegas Sands, the American casino operator, announced this week its 3,600 million investment for building Marina Bay Sands, the first casino-resort in Singapore. The establishment will have 2,500 rooms, shopping centers, an auditorium, luxurious restaurants, theaters and a museum.

Marina Bay Sands would be inaugurated in 2009. It will be a really huge resort-casino: its shopping mall will be as big as five Wal-Mart supermarkets. Las Vegas Sands owns Venetian Hotel and Casino, the only place in Asia where gambling is currently legal.

Last year, the government of Singapore approved the construction of two resorts with casino in order to promote the country and attract tourists. Official plans clearly show the evolution of casinos, which are not planned to be just gambling places, but really huge resorts where betting is just one of many attractions.