WITH Singapore's first casinos in the two integrated resorts (IRs) now open, industry analysts and number crunchers will have plenty of fodder to chew on.

While they say it is too early to predict how well the casinos will do, they seem certain about one thing - that, going by the numbers, both Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) and Marina Bay Sands (MBS) need to work harder to court foreign punters.

The surprisingly high number of Singaporean and permanent-resident (PR) punters has been noticed. A recent report by Bank of America-Merrill Lynch noted that they make up 50 per cent to 60 per cent of RWS' casino patrons. Of this lot, nine in 10 pay the $100 levy for a 24-hour turn at the tables, with one in 10 forking out the $2,000 annual fee.

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