CHINA: The world's biggest casino opens in Macau
- 00:00:09
- ITN Source
CHINA: The world's biggest casino opens in Macau
Las Vegas Sands Corp. opens the world's biggest casino in Macao. The world's biggest casino was built in a 24 billion U.S dollar- effort to look like a Las Vegas-style "neon alley" in this once-sleazy Chinese gambling enclave. The hopes of more than a dozen hotel-, casino- and retail operators building on the "Cotai Strip" -- 4 square km (1.5 square miles) of reclaimed land fusing two islands -- are pinned on the Venetian Macao, built by U.S. operator Las Vegas Sands Corp. To mark the opening, Sands Chairman Sheldon Adelson and his wife smashed a bottle of champagne against the prow of a black gondola, steered by a gondolier with a single oar through a faux-Venetian streetscape. "There has never been such an entertainment centre in the history of Asia, in the five thousand history of China, and other countries. There's never been such a destination resort or integrated resort, " said Adelson. Construction delays, funding problems, infrastructure bottlenecks and the risk of an oversupply of both hotel rooms and baccarat tables could threaten such rosy forecasts for the only place in gambling-mad China where casinos are legal. "Even if they open ten more casinos, it's still not enough. These days, you can see all the casinos (in Macao) are always full," said Zhao Zu a resident of Zhuhai -- a Chinese city close to Macao, who queued outside for hours with hundreds of others, to try his luck on the mint-new gaming tables and slot machines. "These days, you can see all the (Macao) casinos are always full," he added. Such zeal has helped gaming revenues in Macao, on the southern tip of China, overtake those of the iconic Las Vegas Strip last year, and if the Venetian succeeds, analysts say it will help double that annual income to 13.7 billion U.S. dollars by 2010. The Venetian boasts 3,000 hotel suites, 1,150 gaming tables, 7,000 slot machines, 350 shops, a 1,800-seat conference centre and a 15,000-seat entertainment arena. The Macao government and casino operators hope the Cotai Strip will persuade gamblers, mainly from China, to stay a couple of days and spend more money. Many of the 20 million visitors who visit the former Portuguese colony each year do not book into a hotel, preferring to gamble to dawn or visit massage parlours.
ITN Source | September 3, 2007
