Macao
The city of Macau has grown exponentially since its establishment in 1552 by the Portuguese as a place for their traders to dry goods drenched by seawater during the long trading voyages between Asia and Europe.
For 442 years, the three rivers in the Pearl River delta that consitute Macau were ruled by Portugal until a hand-over in 1999 to the People’s Republic Of China. Now one of the giant nation’s two Special Administrative Regions, the other being Hong Kong, the city has a high degree of autonomy, a separate political system and a capitalist economy run under the principle of ‘one country, two systems’.
Gambling in Macau has been legal since the 1850s and grew alongside the city’s popularity as a tourist destimation until it was responsible for half of the colony’s official revenue by the early 1960s.
The first casino monopoly concession was granted to the Tai Xing Company in 1937 but the firm was too conservative to fully exploit gambling’s economic potential. In 1961, the government issued a monopoly license to Stanley Ho’s Sociedade de Turismo e Diversoes de Macau, a license he held until the end of 2001 when several Las Vegas casino owners entered the market.
The entry of foreign developers proved a watershed moment for the city as gambling revenues from casinos grew to become greater for the first time than those of Las Vegas, just over six billion dollars, and make Macau the highest-volume gambling centre in the world. In addition, taxes from gambling now account for 70 per cent of the local government’s income compared to 25 per cent in Las Vegas.
The city now boasts over 30 casinos, 14 of which are owned by Ho’s company, with up to nine more scheduled to open before 2009 announced so far. In addition, the head of Virgin Group, Sir Richard Branson, is reported to be in the latter stages of negotiations to secure land to build a three billion dollar casino resort complex to open by 2010.
Hotels/Casinos
Sands Macau
Largo de Monte Carlo, No.203, Macau Tel: +853 288 833 88 www.sands.com.moThe first casino to open following the expiration of Stanley Ho’s monopoly, the Sands Macao is owned and operated by the Las Vegas Sands Corporation and opened in 2004 at a cost of $240 million. It now comprises 229,000 square feet of casino space and a 51-suite VIP hotel. The hotel portion was constructed to cater for millions of potential day trip visitors, mostly from mainland China, who may not need to stay overnight. There are 740 table games, more than any other single casino in the world, and Las Vegas Sands Corporation presents this figure to potential visitors as the world’s largest casino.
Wynn Macau
Rua Cidade de Sintra, NAPE, Macau Tel: +853 288 899 66 www.wynnmacau.comOpening a few years later, the Wynn Macau is owned by Las Vegas’ Wynn Resorts and offers gaming combined with a deluxe hotel, restaurants, designer shops, spa, and a performance lake. The first phase of Wynn Macau opened in September last year and features 600 hotel rooms and suites around 212 table games and 375 slot machines in approximately 100,000 square feet of casino gaming space, gourmet restaurants, 26,000 square feet of retail space, a spa, salon, entertainment lounges and meeting facilities. Plans for the second phase of Wynn Macau were announced in 2005 with the company intending to open about 25,000 square feet of additional gaming space by the end of this year including approximately 25 table games and 200 slot machines along with an additional restaurant.
MGM Grand Macau
3600 Las Vegas Boulevard South, Las Vegas, NV, 89109, USA Tel: +1 800 343 1162 www.mgmmirage.comOne of the latest venues in the city, the MGM Grand Macau will be a 28-story, 600-room casino resort when it is completed in December. It is to be owned and operated under a 50/50 partnership by MGM Mirage and Pansy Ho Chiu-king, the daughter of Stanley Ho. It was originally designed as a 222,000 square foot split-level casino with 300 table games and 1,000 slot machines. However, soon after expansion plans for the Wynn Macau became public, the MGM Grand Macau announced its own plans for expansion, only weeks after the project was publicly launched. The expansion will add 72,000 square feet to the casino floor’s second level. The additional space is to double the number of slot machines and add another 100 table games, which will make it the largest casino floor in the city. Another feature added was a new Portuguese garden under a conservatory and the property will also include a 1,500-seat theatre, a 5,500-square foot nightclub, 13,500 square feet of meeting and convention space including an 11,000 square foot ballroom, a 25,000-square-foot spa and nine restaurants including one on the roof with views of the city and the harbour.
The Venetian Macau Resort Hotel
17th Floor, Zhu Kuan Building, Av. Xian Xing Hai NAPE, Macao Tel: +853 2882 8888 www.venetianmacao.com/enWhen it comes to size, The Venetian Macau Resort Hotel takes the prize. It is the largest single hotel building in Asia and the second-largest building in the world after the Boeing factory in America. It is owned by the Las Vegas Sands Corporation hotel-casino chain and is a 32-story, $1.8 billion anchor for the seven resort hotels under construction on the Cotai Strip, an area of reclaimed land between two of city’s three islands. The 10.5 million square foot temple to gambling is modeled on its sister casino resort, the Venetian in Las Vegas, and was finished in July before officially opeing in in late-August.
The Venetian features 3,000 suites, 1.2 million square feet of convention space, 1.6 million square feet of retail space, 550,000 square feet of casino space, the largest in the world, with 3,400 slot machines and 800 gambling tables and a 15,000 seat arena for entertainment and sporting events.
For the high roller, it offers VIP guests access to private jets, limousine, helicopter and jetfoil services, a 24-hour concierge, private entrances, exclusive entertainment lounges, VIP high-limit gaming areas, exclusive VIP gaming parlours for premium players, cigar bars, wine tasting areas and private dining. Attractions at The Venetian include a replica of the Grand Canal in Venice with St Marks Square and the Rialto Bridge where visitors may visit one of the 350 shops on offer or take condola rides accompanied by opera music. The current English Premier League champions Manchester United played a one-off match against Chinese team Shenzhen to celebrate the Venetian’s opening last summer while the Canadian circus troupe Cirque De Soleil recently announced plans to open a residency show at the hotel in the spring.
Casa Real Casino
Avenida do Dr. Rodrigo Rodrigues, No.1118, Macau Tel: +853 727 991 www.casarealhotel.com.moFor those not wanting to blend in with the crowds there are also smaller venues including Casa Real Casino with 53 gambling tables and 123 slot machines owned by Golden Resorts Group and operated by SJM. The hotel contains 231 rooms and suites with a restaurant serving traditional Cantonese cuisine alongside western food.
Golden Dragon Casino
Rua de Malaca, Macau Tel: +853 283 619 99The first new casino to open in Macau in 2005 was the Golden Dragon, the fourteenth of Ho’s gaming establishments in the city. Located in the Golden Dragon Hotel, the 170,000-sqare foot Brazilian carnival-themed casino has 120 gaming tables and 123 slot machines on three floors, a slot machine hall on the first floor, Baccarat, blackack and Caribbean poker, roulette, and Pai Gow on the second floor and VIP rooms on the third. Four dining options are available including the Farm House for Cantonese, Villa Picasso serving breakfast, lunch and a dinner buffet, the Nice Lounge bar and Japanese food in Tatuda.
Mandarin Oriental Casino
956-1110 Avenida da Amizade, Macau Tel: +853 793 3261 www.mandarinoriental.comThe Mandarin Oriental Casino has 388 rooms alongside 28 suites including four club floors with access to the Club Lounge. There are five poker tables alongside 15 table games and five roulette tables. There are also five blackjack tables with Baccarat, Boule, Sic Bo and Fish Prawn Crab available as well. It features an outdoor temperature-controlled swimming pool and waterfall, fitness centre and exercise studio, tennis and squash courts and a Mandarin Oriental Shopping Arcade with branded shops. Six restaurants are on-site including Mezzaluna for oven baked Italian cuisine and Naam Thai, the first international standard Thai restaurant in Macau.
Star World Hotel and Casino
Avenida da Amizade, Macau Tel: +853 283 838 38 www.starworldmacau.comThe tallest casino in Macau, the Star World Hotel and Casino features nine restaurants serving everything from Japanese to Portuguese to English fare. Located on the northernmost island, it features two gaming halls alongside a high limit gaming zone that features approximately 238 tables and 500 slot machines. A swimming pool, sauna, gymnasium and its Stargaze Lounge are all thrown in for good measure.
Game, Set and Match
The Venetian Macau Resort Hotel has announced that it is to host a historic tennis match between two of the greatest players of all time on November 24th when the world’s current number one player, Roger Federer, takes on former top star Pete Sampras.
In what is set to be one of the most anticipated events in world tennis, The Venetian Macau Tennis Showdown will take place at The Venetian Macau Resort Hotel’s new 15,000-seat event centre. This will be the final of a three-leg exhibition match tour, which includes matches in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on November 22nd and a match on November 20th at a location yet to be announced.
“We are delighted to bring to Macau what has to be one of the most thrilling match-ups in international tennis,” said William Weidner, President and Chief Operating Officer of Las Vegas Sands Corporation.
“The tennis world has always compared and contrasted these two greats of the game since Pete Sampras retired in 2002. We now have the prospect of an absolutely classic game between two phenomenal sportsmen.”
Sampras has won a record 14 Grand Slam titles during his career and the American also won 64 singles titles and was ranked the best player in the world for a record 286 weeks. He resumed training earlier this year and is on an eight-match winning run with back-to-back title wins at Champions’ tournaments in Boston and Greece.
Roger Federer is currently the best player in the world and many believe he may prove to be the greatest player ever. He has won ten Grand Slam titles in 31 appearances, three Tennis Masters Cup titles and 13 ATP Masters Series titles. In 2004, the Swiss player became the first man since Mats Wilander in 1988 to win three of four Grand Slam Singles titles in the same year.
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