[Devilishious]

SINGAPORE - Four groups submitted bids Wednesday for Singapore's first casino licence in a contest seen as slightly favouring US gambling giant MGM Mirage.

They wheeled in boxes of documents and mockups of their proposals to Singapore Tourism Board officials waiting behind closed doors.

Malaysia's Genting International was on the doorstep at Tourism Board headquarters when officials began receiving bids at 9:00 am (0100 GMT).

It was followed by Las Vegas Sands, then Las Vegas gaming giant MGM Mirage and its partner, Southeast Asia's biggest property group CapitaLand.

The last presenter Harrah's Entertainment, the world's biggest gaming operator, and its local partner prominent local developer Keppel Land, finished delivering their materials in the early afternoon.

Each took less than one hour to submit their bids.

A winner is expected to be announced in June for the project at the waterfront Marina Bay site near the financial district. The casino is to open in 2009.

Only Harrah's, which has mounted the most high-profile campaign, commented to waiting reporters who were kept behind a cordon outside the room where the bids were being received.

The firm's senior vice president of business development, Richard Mirman, said that despite publicly announcing many of its plans, government evaluators will be getting a first look at other aspects of Harrah's proposal.

"We've got a lot of surprises left in the bid that we haven't described to you guys," Mirman said.

"This is a big project for us and we are committed to it. We are dedicating all the resources necessary to make it happen."

Estimated to cost three billion US dollars, Singapore's casino project will be one of the priciest casino in the world.

Analysts have said the MGM bid has emerged a close favourite but admit it is anybody's game as details of the multi-billion dollar bets remain unknown to the public.

A government panel will grade the proposals according to their tourism appeal, architectural concept and design, development investment and bidders' financial strength.

Dubbed an "integrated resort", it is expected to include casino gambling as well as top-end leisure, entertainment and business facilities.

Analysts said MGM's partnership with CapitaLand will be a crucial factor in the tightly contested race but Harrah's and Las Vegas Sands, which runs a casino in Macau, should not be easily dismissed while Genting remains a dark horse.

Sands is submitting a solo bid after developer City Developments pulled out while Genting is allied with its sister company Star Cruises.

Malaysia's sole casino operator, Genting's crown jewel is a hilltop casino resort in central Pahang state which attracts more than 15 million visitors each year.

CapitaLand and Keppel Land are companies under the stable of state-linked Singapore investment firm Temasek Holdings although the government has insisted this would not influence how the winner is chosen.

"Noting that we are relying on what has been disclosed in the media, our best educated guess is that (the) MGM/CapitaLand consortium has a slight lead over Harrah's/Keppel Land," DBS Vickers Securities said in a report.

"However, we are mindful that each of the players may have trump cards that could sway their odds in their favour."

A DBS Vickers comparison table showed MGM fulfilled 95 percent of the criteria, with Harrah's a close second with 93 percent. Las Vegas Sands was a distant third with 85 percent and Genting with 80 percent.

Winston Liew, who covers the property market for OCBC Investment Research, and another analyst, who asked not to be named, told AFP they were placing their bets on the MGM-CapitaLand partnership.

Both noted that their predictions were based only on what has been publicly disclosed.

Singapore last year lifted a ban on casino gambling to boost its tourism appeal.

- AFP /ls