Guests were allowed inside the prestigious Marina Bay Sands Hotel for the first time on April 27th. There was a ribbon cutting ceremony in which CEO Sheldon G. Anderson had the honors. This took place during its 1st phase of construction, which celebrates the completion of 963 rooms that were available to the public. Sections of the mall were open as shoppers gathered eagerly at their favorite hi-fashion designer’s shops.

The convention center, the event plaza, some of the restaurants and the casino were all open for business. The official grand opening is being held June 23rd, this summer. At that point the remaining 2,560 rooms will be made available. The unavailing of night clubs, more dining and shops will be part of the opening.

This 5.5 billion dollar hotel boasts 1,400 slot machines, 1,000 tables, 300 retail stores and eventually 3,000 hotel rooms, not to mention it has a convention center large enough to hold 45,000 people. The Marina Bay Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson insisted that there be a 300 million dollars invested solely into the art museum which contains science based art, which he picked out himself. With phase 2 launching on June 23rd, new additions like Avalon night club (the Singapore branch of the already famous Avalon spot in Los Angeles), will be the perfect stage for celebrities Bruce Willis and Dan Aykroyd to launch their careers as co-club owners. All star Chef Wolfgang Puck will opened a CUT Steakhouse in the hotel with good friends Daniel Boulud and Guy Savoy along side him at the initial opening.

Singapore ribbon cutting ceremony.

The 55 story towers have retractable roofs that allow natural rainfall to water the plants living inside the building. This modern marvel has a 475 foot disappearing edge pool that holds 380,000 gallons of water 1,000 feet above the ground. These are a few the features that set this mega structure apart from the competition.

Wall Street fanatics are already predicting that the 5.5 billion dollar chunk of cash used to fund the project will be made back within the next 5 years. Some even say that within 12 months of paying back debt, Sheldon’s existing empire, which was made from the gaming industry, will be overshadowed. Whatever you do, save your pennies and buy a plane ticket. This could be the coolest hotel ever.

Stay worldly gents.

J.E. Albert