MACAU WILL SOON groan under thousands of square feet of floor space dedicated to all gaming-derived entertainment resorts.
First off the mark is Wynn Macau. Its bronze facade faces former gaming monopoly holder Stanley Ho Hung-sun's Hotel Lisboa. Mr Ho's answer to that is the Grand Lisboa behind the original Lisboa. It will open later this year.
When Wynn opened earlier this month, the Las Vegas-style gaming resort added 100,000 sqft of gaming floor area, 600 hotel rooms and 23,000 sqft of convention and exhibition facilities, and put a new spin on gaming resorts previously reserved for Las Vegas. By late next year, a 136,000 sqft gaming area will come on stream in phase two.
Venetian Macau will open its 3,000 room hotel and 546,000 sqft casino by the middle of next year. It will be followed by the unveiling of its imposing 1.2 million sqft convention and exhibition facilities at end of the year.
Hot on their heels are Melco's Crown Macau and City of Dreams, Galaxy's Grand Waldo and StarWorld, Pansy Ho Chiu-king and MGM's MGM Grand Macau, and Sociedade de Jogos de Macau (SJM)'s Oceanus.
A significant portion of these new developments is concentrated in the Cotai Strip - the reclaimed zone between Taipa and Coloane Island. This will be where Macau may live out its reputation as a mini Las Vegas.
