Cotai Strip
Encyclopedia
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
and tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
project in the Cotai
Cotai
Cotai is a 5.2 km2 piece of newly reclaimed land between Taipa and Coloane islands in Macau, that has not yet been assigned to any of the freguesias. The Chinese and Portuguese names are a portmanteau of the two islands, Coloane and Taipa....
District, Macau
Macau
Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...
, inspired by the Las Vegas Strip
Las Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...
in Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
, USA, on a considerably smaller scale.
The project is funded by Las Vegas Sands
Las Vegas Sands
Las Vegas Sands Corp. is an integrated resort company based in Paradise, Nevada, USA.-History:Founded in 1988, the company was the owner and operator of the Sands Hotel, which was demolished in 1996 to make room for The Venetian, which opened in 1999....
, which currently has a trademark
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
application pending with the United States Patent and Trademark Office
United States Patent and Trademark Office
The United States Patent and Trademark Office is an agency in the United States Department of Commerce that issues patents to inventors and businesses for their inventions, and trademark registration for product and intellectual property identification.The USPTO is based in Alexandria, Virginia,...
for the name "Cotai Strip". However, the name Cotai Strip is used generically by the press, as well as other Cotai Strip casino companies, such as Melco-PBL and Galaxy Entertainment, in their financial filings and websites.
The name "Cotai" is a portmanteau of the names of the two islands, Taipa Island
Taipa
Taipa is the smaller of the two islands in the Chinese special administrative region of Macao .- Geography :It is 2.5 kilometres from Macau Peninsula and east of the Lesser Hengqin Island of Zhuhai, Guangdong Province...
and Coloane Island
Coloane
Coloane is one of the two main islands of the Macau Special Administrative Region, located directly south of Macau's other main island, Taipa , and east of Hengqin Island of Zhuhai in Guangdong province....
.
Galaxy Entertainment's Grand Waldo Hotel was the first casino to open on the Cotai Strip, commencing operations in 2006. Las Vegas Sands’ Venetian Macao opened on August 28, 2007, and was a major milestone for the project.
Current properties
The following properties have opened:- Grand Waldo Hotel
- Venetian Resort Macau
- Four Seasons Macau
- City of Dreams (Grand Hyatt Macau, Hard Rock Macau and Crown Towers Hotels)
- Galaxy Macau Resort (contains the Galaxy Hotel, Hotel Okura and the Banyan Tree Macau)
Las Vegas Sands
On 24 March 2011, Las Vegas SandsLas Vegas Sands
Las Vegas Sands Corp. is an integrated resort company based in Paradise, Nevada, USA.-History:Founded in 1988, the company was the owner and operator of the Sands Hotel, which was demolished in 1996 to make room for The Venetian, which opened in 1999....
announced it has terminated a hotel-management agreement with Shangri-La International Hotel Management for its new casino resort development being built on plots 5 and 6 in Cotai. Las Vegas Sands is now allegedly in talks with InterContinental Hotels Group PLC
InterContinental Hotels Group
InterContinental Hotels Group plc is a global hotels company headquartered in Denham, United Kingdom. It is the largest hotels company in the world measured by rooms , and has over 4,500 hotels across over 100 countries...
to manage the two hotel towers at its USD 4.1 billion expansion project, the Dow Jones Newswires reported quoting a person familiar with the matter.
The first phase of Sands China’s new Cotai sites 5 and 6 resort could open in the first quarter of 2012, Las Vegas Sands (LVS) president and chief operating officer, Michael Leven, told Macau Daily Times. "I think in the next few weeks we will be able to determine exactly when and what will open, by the middle of June we will make that decision. We are talking about opening a portion of site 5 by the end of 2011 and right now it looks like we can open it as planned," he added. However, the executive revealed Sands China is considering "perhaps opening the entire site 5 at one time and that would be in the middle of the first quarter of 2012. We feel pretty confident that we can open all of site 5 by the end of the first quarter of 2012."
Sands China also decided to manage the hotel tower on site 5 that was supposed to be operated by Shangri-La. “We will be licensing names from two major international brands but we will manage those facilities ourselves,” he said. Sands China signed a franchise deal with Hilton Worldwide
Hilton Hotels
Hilton Hotels & Resorts is an international chain of full-service hotels and resorts founded by Conrad Hilton and now owned by Hilton Worldwide. Hilton hotels are either owned by, managed by, or franchised to independent operators by Hilton Worldwide. Hilton Hotels became the first coast-to-coast...
and InterContinental Hotels
InterContinental Hotels Group
InterContinental Hotels Group plc is a global hotels company headquartered in Denham, United Kingdom. It is the largest hotels company in the world measured by rooms , and has over 4,500 hotels across over 100 countries...
to brand over 1,800 rooms at Cotai site 5 and 6. The resort will officially be named Sands Cotai Central
Sands Cotai Central
Sands Cotai Central is a casino resort on the Cotai Strip, Macau. On 5 August 2011, Sands China announced that the $4 billion property long-referred to as parcels five and six is now officially been named Sands Cotai Central...
, the company announced on 5 August 2011. The site will include more than 300000 square feet (27,870.9 m²) of meeting space, 11 food and beverage establishments and 106000 square feet (9,847.7 m²) of gaming area but also 13700000 square feet (1,272,771.6 m²) of non-gaming facilities.
Theme Park and Resort
The Macau Theme Park and Resort Ltd, controlled by Angela Leong On Kei, has said that it intends to build a MOP 10.4 billion family-oriented amusement resort and hotels in Cotai. According to a press statement, the integrated resort project will be developed in three phases and each of them will take about two and a half to three years to complete.The company revealed that the entire family resort will consist of one 5-star, four 4-star and one 3-star hotels with over 6,000 guest rooms, shopping malls, convention facilities, an indoor beach and wave pool, amusement rides, a 4D theatre, an equestrian centre, a horse carriage trail as well as a water sports performance centre. SJM Holdings
Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macau
The Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macau, SA is a company in Macau owned by Stanley Ho and his family. Historically it held a monopoly to Macau's gambling industry as the only licensee for casinos. In 2002, the Macau government began issuing more licenses and the monopoly was broken...
is in talks with Macau Theme Park and Resort Ltd to try to find a way for both companies to cooperate on Cotai, chief executive officer, Ambrose So Shu Fai, revealed on 16 December 2010. Stanley Ho’s SJM is still waiting for the Government to approve the application for a plot in Cotai, which sits just beside the Macau Dome and the land where the company, headed by businesswoman and lawmaker Angela Leong On Kei – who is also Stanley Ho’s fourth wife and SJM’s director –, is set to build the theme park. “We are not a shareholder in the theme park development, but we did talk with Angela Leong, who is developing that theme park, to see if there is a synergy between the two plots of land,” So told reporters.
Wynn Macau
Wynn announced in mid August 2010 that he will be building a new casino resort on a 52 acres (210,436.7 m²) plot behind the City of Dreams and Las Vegas Sands ' St Regis, plot 5 and Sheraton Resorts. Steve Wynn said the Cotai project could break ground in March or April 2011, as the building’s design is complete. The casino magnate said it could open in late 2014 or early 2015. But Citi believes that Steve Wynn may have to wait until at least 2016 to open its Cotai resort, noting that the company gave no timeframe in its latest report. Wynn’s new project in Macau is expected to cost over MOP 20 billion. Asked when the construction will begin on 16 May 2011, Steve Wynn replied, "Right away, after we get the approval from the government". He said the new hotel casino would open within four or five years, which means the end of 2014 or early 2015. The new resort would more than double the operator's hotel rooms in the SAR. "I believe the Cotai project is the best work we have done. It's a departure in many aspects. It has many new things and new approaches to the way the property is presented. I think the public is going to be very excited. It's very comfortable and user-friendly. Now that we have nine years of experience in Macau, as you saw with Encore we are learning how to really address the emotional and physical needs of our guests. That kind of insight comes with time and experience. Thankfully we have the experience."Wynn Macau Ltd. said on 12 September 2011 it accepted the terms and conditions of a land concession contract from the Macau government to develop 51 acres (206,389.9 m²) of land in Macau's Cotai area. It said the contract permits its Palo Estate Co. Ltd. unit and Wynn Resorts (Macau) S.A. to develop a resort containing a five-star hotel, gaming areas, retail, entertainment, food and beverage, spa and convention offerings.
Under the contract, Palo will lease the Cotai land from the Macau government for an initial term of 25 years and have the right to renew the contract for additional periods. On top of a US$193.43 million land premium payment, Palo is also required to pay the Macau government US$771,738 per year in rent during development phase of the resort and US$1.08 million per year in rent once development is completed, the company said, adding the rent may be reviewed by the Macau government every five year.
MGM China
MGM China is waiting for government approval for the concession of a site in Cotai. "We have identified a site of approximately" 17.8 acres (72,034.1 m²) "in Cotai and have submitted an application to the Macau Government to obtain the right to lease this parcel of land. We are awaiting approval of this application," the company wrote in a stock exchange filing released earlier in the week of 12 May 2011. MGM did not disclose the location of the site. The site that MGM is eyeing is almost three times smaller than the plot targeted by rival operator Wynn Macau, a 52 acres (210,436.7 m²) (0.2 square kilometres) area next to City of Dreams and Macau University of Science and Technology. CEO Grant Bowie said construction on MGM China's Cotai property would likely start in 2012, taking 27-36 months to complete. "It will be about" 3000000 square feet (278,709.1 m²) "of built space, that is 50 percent bigger than this one." The $7 billion operator is still waiting for approval to start construction on Macau's Cotai strip.Shun Tak Group
Shun Tak Group announced on 2 December 2008 that the Jumeirah Group, based in DubaiDubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
, will manage and operate a new hotel that Shun Tak invests in Macau. The Jumeirah Macau Hotel is to be located at Cotai across from the Macau Dome. It will be the fourth 5‐star hotel along a line of hotels that Shun Tak owns in Macau. It is scheduled for completion in 2013.
Economic crisis
Due to the 2008 financial crisis, up to 11,000 construction workers are to lose their jobs as US gaming giant Las Vegas Sands cuts back its development in Macau. Stephen Weaver, Sands' president for Asia, said up to 11,000 workers will lose their jobs in Macau after the company halted building projects in the city. Developments of site no. 5 and no. 6 on the strip will be halted.Las Vegas Sands has focused its construction work on the Marina Bay Sands Resort in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
.
On 30 November 2009 the Las Vegas Sands corp announced it had secured $1.75 billion dollars to complete its Shangri-La, Traders and Sheraton Hotels, which were abandoned 65% complete in mid-2008. The 636 room Shangri-La Hotel, 1,200 room Traders Hotel and a over 2,000 room Sheraton hotel will open in June 2011. In December 2011 the Sheraton will open a further 2,000 rooms in another tower. The Sheraton will have 4,067 rooms. The St Regis Hotel might be completed in a further stage. Sheldon Adelson
Sheldon Adelson
Sheldon Gary Adelson is an American casino magnate. Adelson is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Las Vegas Sands Corp., the parent company of Venetian Macao Limited which operates The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino and the Sands Expo and Convention Center...
revealed it would take “a year and a half or so” to complete the new Cotai resort at plots 5 and 6 on 9 January 2011, meaning the sites will be completed by about mid-2012.
No information was released about Cotai Strip Sites 3, 7 and 8. These are very likely to be cancelled. Macao's director of the Lands, Public Works and Transport Bureau (DSSOPT), Jaime Carion, said on 5 December 2010, that the Government is now looking at developing non-gaming projects in Cotai. He stressed that the Sands China application procedure for plots 7 and 8 was not fully complete and the Government would announce the result at the most convenient time.
Galaxy Entertainment who is building Galaxy Macau
Galaxy Macau
Galaxy Macau is a destination resort located on the Cotai Strip, Macau. Construction on the Cotai project began in 2002, but its opening has since then been rescheduled several times. Its developer Galaxy Entertainment Group announced on 10 March 2011 that its HKD 14.9 billion Galaxy Macau resort...
has also stated that after having very slow construction in 2009, it will try to get its Cotai strip first phase development open for Q1 2011. Galaxy Macau was eventually opened on 15 May 2011.
Plots 7 and 8
Sands China’s application for Cotai plots 7 and 8 was submitted after a freeze on gaming land concession was announced back in 2008, secretary for Economy and Finance, Francis Tam Pak Yuen, explained on 15 December 2010 on the sidelines of a meeting at the Legislative Assembly. On the other hand, the three gaming operators Wynn Macau, MGM Macau and SJM Holdings who are yet to be granted plots in Cotai have filed applications before that policy was stated. As such it’s likely the land concession requests of will be approved, the secretary said. But the Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau (DSSOPT) director Jaime Carion told local media on Thursday 16 December 2010 that the plots 7 and 8 in Cotai will not be granted to either gaming operators SJM Holdings or Sands China. After the Government snub, Las Vegas Sands (LVS) has dropped its interest in developing plots 7 and 8 in Cotai. “If somebody else builds on [parcels] 7 and 8, I will be happy. Happier than if I were going to build on it,” LVS chairman Sheldon AdelsonSheldon Adelson
Sheldon Gary Adelson is an American casino magnate. Adelson is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Las Vegas Sands Corp., the parent company of Venetian Macao Limited which operates The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino and the Sands Expo and Convention Center...
said at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Bank of America Merrill Lynch is the corporate and investment banking division of Bank of America. It provides services in mergers and acquisitions, equity and debt capital markets, lending, trading, risk management, research, and liquidity and payments management...
Global Gaming Conference in Las Vegas, on 9 January 2011.
List of casinos and hotels by Macau concessionaires
| Cotai Strip | ||||
| ↑ Taipa ↑ | ||||
| Site 1 | The Venetian Resort Hotel The Venetian Macao The Venetian Macao is a hotel and casino resort in Macau owned by the Las Vegas Sands corporation. The Venetian is a 40-story, $2.4 billion anchor for the 7 hotels on the Cotai Strip in Macau... (LVS Las Vegas Sands Las Vegas Sands Corp. is an integrated resort company based in Paradise, Nevada, USA.-History:Founded in 1988, the company was the owner and operator of the Sands Hotel, which was demolished in 1996 to make room for The Venetian, which opened in 1999.... ) The Venetian |
Estrada do Istmo | City of Dreams City of Dreams (casino) City of Dreams is a property along the Cotai Strip in the Cotai reclamation area in Macau built, owned and managed by Melco Crown Entertainment, formerly known as Melco PBL Entertainment. City of Dreams is Melco's second mega-sized property in Macau... (Melco-PBL Crown Limited Crown Limited is one of Australia's largest gaming and entertainment groups. At June 2010, Crown Limited had a market capitalisation of just over A$6 billion and accounted for 27.53% of the S&P/ASX 200 Hotels Restaurants & Leisure Industry Group.... ) Crown Towers / Hard Rock Hotel / Grand Hyatt |
Site 4 |
| Site 2 | Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts Four Seasons Hotels, Inc. is a Canadian-based international ultra-luxury, five-star hotel management company. Travel + Leisure magazine and Zagat Survey rank the hotel chain's 84 properties among the top luxury hotels worldwide... (LVS) Four Seasons |
→ Wynn Resorts Wynn Resorts Wynn Resorts Limited is a publicly traded corporation based in Paradise, Nevada that is a developer and operator of high end hotels and casinos. It was formed on October 25, 2002 by former Mirage Resorts Chairman and CEO Stephen A... & MGM Mirage MGM Mirage Not to be confused with the Las Vegas, Nevada based casino/resort operator Resorts International Holdings.MGM Resorts International is a Paradise, Nevada based corporation that brands itself as a global hospitality company. It is the second largest gaming company in the world by revenue - about... → Wynn Cotai & MGM Cotai |
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| Site 3 | Far East Consortium "The Phoenix" (LVS) Holiday Inn / InterContinental / Emperor Hotel |
Sands Cotai Central Sands Cotai Central Sands Cotai Central is a casino resort on the Cotai Strip, Macau. On 5 August 2011, Sands China announced that the $4 billion property long-referred to as parcels five and six is now officially been named Sands Cotai Central... (LVS) Conrad Macao Conrad Hotels Conrad Hotels is an international brand of upscale luxury hotels and resorts owned and operated by the Hilton Worldwide. Conrad was considered the luxury flagship brand in the Hilton Family of Brands, named after company founder Conrad Hilton, until being supplanted by The Waldorf-Astoria... /Holiday Inn Macao Holiday Inn Holiday Inn is a brand of hotels, formally a economy motel chain, forming part of the British InterContinental Hotels Group . It is one of the world's largest hotel chains with 238,440 bedrooms and 1,301 hotels globally. There are currently 5 hotels in the pipeline... |
Site 5 | |
| ---- | ← Galaxy Macau Galaxy Macau Galaxy Macau is a destination resort located on the Cotai Strip, Macau. Construction on the Cotai project began in 2002, but its opening has since then been rescheduled several times. Its developer Galaxy Entertainment Group announced on 10 March 2011 that its HKD 14.9 billion Galaxy Macau resort... (Galaxy Ent.) ← Galaxy / Okura / Banyan Tree |
Sands Cotai Central (LVS) Sheraton Macao Sheraton Hotels and Resorts Sheraton Hotels and Resorts is Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide's largest and second oldest brand . Starwood's headquarters are in White Plains, New York.-Sheraton history:... |
Site 6 | |
| ---- | Macao Studio City Macao studio city Macao Studio City is Asia's first leisure resort to integrate television and film production facilities, retail, gaming and hotels. It is jointly developed by U.S. investment firms Silver Point Capital LP and Oaktree Capital Management LLC and a Hong Kong entertainment company, eSun Holdings Ltd.... (Melco-PBL) W / Ritz-Carlton / Marriott / Playboy |
TBC |
Site 7 | |
| ---- | Harrah's Entertainment Harrah's Entertainment Caesars Entertainment Corporation is a private gaming corporation that owns and operates over 50 casinos, hotels, and seven golf courses under several brands. The company, based in Paradise, Nevada, is the largest gaming company in the world, with yearly revenues $8.9 billion... Harrah's / Macau Country Club |
TBC |
Site 8 | |
| ↓ Coloane ↓ | ||||