The casino projects are part of a casino building boom rolling across Asia, where governments are trying to develop their tourism markets to capture increasingly affluent Asians with a penchant for gambling.

The Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa together cost more than $10 billion and have put Singapore on track to becoming the world's second-biggest gambling market as predicted by industry players.

In the Philippines, a $4 billion casino project will soon rise from reclaimed land on Manila Bay.

In South Korea, foreign investors will break ground next year on a clutch of casino resorts offshore.