Source : Straits Times – 16 Jul 2009
NIGHTLIFE kingpin Dennis Foo has scored a coup – his outfit has been picked to open a club at Resorts World at Sentosa (RWS).
The 56-year-old veteran of the nightlife scene here said yesterday that he would open a 5,000 sq ft outlet by April next year.
It will be located along FestiveWalk, a 500m waterfront strip of restaurants, clubs and shops.
The news yesterday marks the first time a tenant at RWS has been named.
The resort has so far remained tight-lipped over the retail and F&B mix at the integrated resort, and has only said that it will have world-class restaurants, niche nightclubs and celebrity chefs.
Yesterday, RWS said it had picked Mr Foo’s company, St James Holdings, to open a nightspot because it already has a club that is close to Sentosa.
St James Power Station is located at Harbourfront.
Said RWS spokesman Robin Goh: ‘We are always keen to collaborate with our partners located within the Sentosa-Harbourfront precinct.
‘Such a partnership is useful in driving more local and overseas visitors to the area, making it even more bustling than it already is.’
Mr Foo inked a five-year renewable lease with RWS yesterday.
Asked about his plans for the IR club, he would only say that the entertainment there would be of ‘international standing’, and that it would complement St James Power Station.
He added: ‘We will spare no effort to make this nightspot an attraction in itself.’
Mr Foo said he has big ambitions for the club.
He hopes it will be part of what he calls ‘the super leisure hub’ of Singapore – the Sentosa-Harbourfront precinct, which has attractions such as VivoCity, the Singapore Cruise Centre and St James Power Station.
‘All these elements will be within walking distance of each other,’ he said. ‘It will be one big entertainment hub.’
A new wholly owned subsidiary, Butterfly Entertainment, has been set up to operate the new venue.
‘I have been waiting for this for a long time,’ said Mr Foo, who also runs live music venue Bellini Grande at Clarke Quay.
The $6.59billion RWS project is slated to open in phases beginning in the first quarter of next year.
It will have six hotels with a total of 1,800 rooms, a casino and attractions such as a Universal Studios theme park, the only one in South-east Asia.
The integrated resort is expected to generate a total of 10,000 jobs when it is fully up and running, and expects about 13million visitors in its first year.
Asked about his plans for the IR club, Mr Dennis Foo would only say that the entertainment there would be of ‘international standing’, and that it would complement St James Power Station.
No comments:
Post a Comment