Too much official control in design of IRs: casino mogul
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Hi, I am new here.
Just saw this in Business Time... personally I think this case truelly reflect our official style/ways of doing things....
By Vikram Khanna
May 14, 2005
The Business Times
(SINGAPORE) Too much direction and control by officials managing the bidding process for Singapore's integrated resorts (IRs) is counter-productive and could compromise the quality of the final product, says Las Vegas casino mogul Steve Wynn.
Mr Wynn, creator of some of the best-known IRs in Las Vegas, has praise for Singapore's fundamental strengths of good governance, safety, a world-class airport and laissez-faire economic policies - as well as the choice of the Marina Bayfront site for an IR.
But he is critical of what he sees as micro-management by 'bureaucrats' on several issues leading up to the submission of bids, particularly design-related issues. 'There's an awful lot of control and direction in the documents we've received which, frankly speaking, is unsophisticated,' he told BT in an exclusive interview in Las Vegas.
'It's control and direction given by people who've never done this before. I don't think it's appropriate to tell someone: Give us an attraction that's irresistible, that will reach into India and China - but we'll tell you how to design it.'
According to Mr Wynn, for instance, the requirement to submit line drawings by Sept 30 won't serve a useful purpose. 'By definition, anything done by Sept 30 will be a partially finished product,' he said. 'Everybody will make big promises and have fancy drawings. But you can't tell from a drawing or a rendering what space moves the human spirit. You have to be in it to understand.'
Mr Wynn's resorts in Las Vegas include The Mirage, Treasure Island, The Bellagio and, most recently, the US$2.7 billion Wynn Las Vegas - billed as the world's most expensive and up-scale resort. He also has a gaming licence in Macau, where he is constructing a resort due for completion next year. His company, Wynn Resorts is among the 12 remaining bidders for one of the proposed IRs in Singapore.
Mr Wynn told BT that Singapore government officials also want to know 'exactly what the show (in the resort) will be'. But it took more than three years to create shows such as the sellout O show, currently running at The Bellagio, and Le Reve, showing at Wynn Las Vegas, he said. The creation of such shows involves intricate choreography, music and lighting effects and is often an organic process over a period of time and perfected after audience feedback 'If I'd ever tried to describe the O show on a piece of paper to someone, they'd have laughed at me,' he said.
Rather than trying to specify detailed design requirements in documents, Mr Wynn suggested that Singapore officials visit Las Vegas and see the work done in the resorts there. 'Infer from what you see what you like,' he said. 'Don't issue thunderbolts of wisdom from the top of Mount Olympus. You're talking about the people of the world and what makes them go. That's the ballpark we play in. Running the government is the ballpark they play in. Those are two different games. Both sides have to be open and flexible. 'Telling us to go get a world-class architect with no specific name is not the way to go about it. On the other hand, telling us 'show us your work' and then asking us how to create something in Singapore as best we know and in a way that's not repugnant or antithetical to the sensibilities of the city is a perfectly valid instruction.
'And if someone does something that's offensive, you reject it, plain and simple. But you don't tell an expert how to do an expert's job. You ask.'
Mr Wynn said he accepts the rules governing the bidding for IRs. But according to him: 'The question is, do the rules interfere with the creative process? The question is, can we keep the promise to Singapore? There's a very definite agenda on the table here: We want to change Singapore's tourism profile from 5 per cent of GDP to closer to 15. Ultimately, this is not between me and the government, it's between me and the public'. -
Heh. Now Mr Wynn knows what kind of top-down social-engineering shit we Singaporeans go through. The ruling party's direct involvement, as it has in the past, will doom the project to failure.
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We've made it to the oddities page of state newssites in the USA with this, and the LHL hiphop saga.What the hell is going on man...Originally posted by av98m:Heh. Now Mr Wynn knows what kind of top-down social-engineering shit we Singaporeans go through. The ruling party's direct involvement, as it has in the past, will doom the project to failure. -
And how much are you willing to wager on such an outcome?Originally posted by av98m:Heh. Now Mr Wynn knows what kind of top-down social-engineering shit we Singaporeans go through. The ruling party's direct involvement, as it has in the past, will doom the project to failure. 
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Hit-on-bull's eye...
well said well said....
The government better take what he said
into account in other things they persue as well...
PAP really think they know everything well... -
It describes well and reminds me of a personal experinece i had
'And if someone does something that's offensive, you reject it, plain and simple. But you don't tell an expert how to do an expert's job. You ask.'
in a temp contract work with an ST subsidiary.
The project management team was arrogant and think
they know everything instructing even its senior employees etc etc..
when they only know how to talk...
thou they sound like they know the stuffs well esp to the less knowledgeable...
they only very superficial and more like an autocratic management style
to the more senior staff...who are experts in each field..... -
Scarily his venture gets out in the very next roundOriginally posted by NuLife:Hit-on-bull's eye...
well said well said....
The government better take what he said
into account in other things they persue as well...
PAP really think they know everything well... -
Put it this way..If I were Mr Wynn..i would not tarnish my reputation by working with the PAP.Originally posted by deathscythe99:Scarily his venture gets out in the very next round -
if i were him, i rather venture elsewhere...
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I'd feel his way too....Trying to ask companies to be creative, yet within the small sphere/working space given to them....
Trying to make the REALLY impossible possible...wahahaha -
Nobody picked up on the "give us an irresistable attraction, that will reach into China and India ... "?
You mean we are supposed to create attractions that cater only to Chinese and Indian tourists? -
The outcome is already there for everybody to see in the forms of the various architectural flops we have:Originally posted by iveco:And how much are you willing to wager on such an outcome?
1. Esplanade - Stinks like the Durian
2. Surpreme Court - Hey, it's Independence Day Pt 2!
3. National Library - a giant heap of metal
4. SMU Complex - looks like Howl's Moving Castle but without the magic
And did you hear DP Architects, the goons who designed the Esplanade are designing the IR???!! GASP!! Wonder what they are going to come up with this time. A mangosteen-shaped building?