Singapore’s Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) is set to significantly expand its poker offering amid considerable interest from high value customers, Inside Asian Gaming has learned.
The property’s Chief Casino Officer, Andrew MacDonald, said RWS recently installed four tables that are already showing positive signs but outlined plans to increase to between 18 and 20 tables by the end of the year. Around 500 lapsed players have already been reactivated, he added.
“The game in and of itself needs to make enough money to justify its position but the way we’ve got the rake set up, we’re generating significant revenues,” MacDonald said.
RWS recently hosted a high stakes cash game featuring a number of “very well known” poker identities and others, with increasing demand for more regular games to be run, he explained.
The poker offering is also seen as an opportunity to generate crossover play, with early indications showing that many of those playing poker at RWS are also playing baccarat – both the live and ETG versions.
“It’s very positive from an incremental profit point of view,” MacDonald said.
Poker was one game that took a significant hit across Asia during the pandemic years but has recently shown strong signs of recovery. A number of Macau IRs have either launched or expanded their poker rooms in 2024 while the likes of the Asian Poker Tour (APT) and World Poker Tour (WPT) have added multiple stops to their Asian poker festivals.
