As many expected from the get-go, Genting Bhd. is the lucky winner of Singapore’s Sentosa Island casino concession. Not only was Genting the favored candidate of Singaporean patriarch Lee Kuan Yew, its partnership with Universal Studios‘ theme park arm had predicted as the eventual tipping point in the bidding process. Singapore’s announced goal for Sentosa, after all, was "a large scale family resort," so Universal’s participation would have been a powerful trump card. Genting’s planned absorption of Stanley Leisure, should also give it a pipeline to the British market.

Although many initially showed interest in Singapore, only a few remained standing at the final round. These included Kerzner International and an improbable, everything-but-the-kitchen-sink coalition headed by Isle of Capri Casinos and Mark Advent, whose last Vegas project was the six-year-old Terrible’s Hotel & Casino. (The struggles of Advent’s Tropicana Ave. "East Village" project will be chronicled in Monday’s Business Press.) The Advent project got a last-minute boost from James Packer and Lawrence Ho, but their PBL/Melco consortium came late to the party — having pulled its own bid back in January — probably too late to do any good.

Isle of Capri would have made an odd choice to develop a multi-billion-dollar resort, too. Isle had some buzz 10 years ago, when casinos were a relative novelty outside of Nevada and Atlantic City. But the company hasn’t had a big, new idea in quite a while and Pittsburgh city planners were put off by how spartan Isle’s existing product seemed. (Isle has been pursuing a slot-parlor license in the Steel City.)

Inicdentally, Genting’s CEO was quite confident his bid would be the winner … as was Las Vegas Sands supremo Sheldon Adelson before him. (Sands won Singapore’s Marina Bay concession.) It makes you wonder who’s been whispering what to whom. As has been said many times before, the ship of state is the only ship that leaks from the top down.

Harrah’s pays $125 per vote: Today’s Boston Globe has the staggering numbers and statistics on Harrah’s Entertainment’s unsuccessful push for slots in Rhode Island — the most expensive political campaign in the state’s history, by a jaw-dropping margin. Despite outspending its foes by over four to one, Harrah’s only garnered 37% of the vote. Read the dollar amounts and weep (or think about all the Christmas goodies you could buy with them). At moments like this it’s difficult to be sure whether Harrah’s has a grand, all-encompassing strategy or is simply flailing about in every direction.