Las Vegas Sands’ second resort to open in Macau, called The Venetian, is the anchor of the much larger Cotai Strip mega-tourism development, an unparalleled master plan that will become the ''Las Vegas Strip'' of Asia. The Venetian Macao, opened on August 28, 2007, combines the glamour of Las Vegas with mystical Asian flair. “Bringing the charm of Venice and the glamour of Las Vegas” to Macau, as its construction billboard declares, The Venetian Macao will include 3,000 luxury suites in a 32-story tower, creating the beauty of baroque Venice complete with canals, gondolas, singing gondoliers and other legendary Venetian icons.
Sheldon Adelson is the mastermind behind Las Vegas Sands, Sands Macau and The Venetian Macau, as well as the visionary force behind the development of the Cotai strip. Adelson made his fortune in Vegas when he tapped into the business and group travel sector of the market. This enabled the Vegas strip to stay busy during the work week, as well as for the weekend vacationers. His focus on MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions, and exhibitions) catapulted the American Las Vegas into a world travel destination, attracting family and business travelers by providing a complete getaway entertainment roster, a casino-as-destination.
The Venetian Macau resort will do exactly that for Macau hotels, at a time when economic and travel restrictions from mainland China are lifting. Macau, which is within a 6-hour airline flight for half the world’s population, is the only place gambling is legal in China. As business opportunities continue to expand in the area, the MICE market is expected to come along for the ride. According to Adelson, “It’s like a firecracker. They’ve lit the fuse, and it is ready to explode.” Consequently, The Venetian Macau is not just another Macau luxury hotel.
The Venetian Macao will boast the world’s biggest casino (some 600,000 square feet of gambling space, about five times the size of your state-of-the-art Vegas gaming floor), 3,000 hotel suites and acres of swimming pools, 850,000 square feet of shopping, a 15,000-seat showroom, and a 1.2-million-square-foot convention center. It also plans to house 15 fine dining restaurants.
Beyond that, Adelson intends to invest another $2 billion or so to put up hotel-mall-casino complexes that will open alongside the Venetian around the end of 2007. These Macau hotels will be run by leading hotel operators, such as Four Seasons and Shangri-La. (Las Vegas Sands Inc. will retain control of their showrooms and casinos.) And although it took at least 30 years for Vegas to become Vegas, Adelson figures it’ll take about five for Cotai to become Asia’s—and thus the world’s—biggest gambling and entertainment mecca.