- Title: CHINA: Macau's Galaxy resort dazzles with $2 billion casino opening
- Date: 17th May 2011
- Summary: EXTERIOR OF THE RESORT VARIOUS OF PEOPLE QUEUING AND WAITING TO GET IN (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) HOANG THI QUY, VIETNAMESE WORKER, SAYING: "Today is Sunday and we don't need to work, we heard this place is very beautiful and crowded so we came to have a look." PEOPLE QUEUEING AND WAITING TO GET IN (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) ROBERT CHAO, LOCAL MACANESE, SAYING: "We will spend some time looking around to see how big the place is, have some food and maybe spend some time in the casino." EXTERIOR OF THE RESORT AND THE SKYTOP WAVE POOL VARIOUS OF THE SKYTOP WAVE POOL AND PEOPLE SWIMMING IN IT (*** FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY ***) VARIOUS OF GUEST GIVING SPEECH IN PRESS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English), ROBERT DRAKE, GALAXY'S CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER, SAYING: "Galaxy Macau is positioned as a mass integrated resort. We are very confident that our products offering, with the wave pool, the world's largest skytop wave pool, our hotel brands of Banyan Tree and Okura will appeal to the emerging middle class of China. Given all the infrastructure development, it will make Macau a very successful market, a weekend destination market, and we are quite confident that it will drive increased visitation and the length of stay here as well. "
- Embargoed: 1st June 2011 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: China, China
- Country: China
- Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment / Showbiz,Lifestyle
- Reuters ID: LVACKS12RQ61JCR8TE84W4KD0977
- Story Text: Macau's new resort boasts at least 2,000 rooms, the world's largest rooftop wave pool and gold-leaf gilding enough to cover 87 football pitches.
Hong Kong property and construction tycoon Lui Che Woo was all smiles as he opened the doors to his new $2 billion casino in Macau on Sunday (May 15), with Macau's chief executive and son by his side.
Lui, chairman of Macau casino operator Galaxy Entertainment, is the only operator to open a casino this year in Macau, the world's largest gaming market, where revenues surpass Las Vegas four-fold.
Designed as an Asian-style palace, the 550,000 square metre property is the third casino to open on the developing Cotai strip, Macau's version of the Vegas strip and which authorities hope will transform Macau from a pure gaming destination into a renowned tourist and leisure destination.
Like gilded ice cream cones, Galaxy Macau's gold embossed turrets glow against the Macau skyline, magnifying the glitz of billionaire Sheldon Adelson's Venetian property and Melco Crown Entertainment's City of Dreams, all situated within walking distance of each other.
The gold leaf on the turrets cost $2 million alone and was said to be enough to cover 87 football pitches.
Hundreds of people queued for hours to be among the first to catch a glimpse of Macau's latest offering.
"Today is Sunday and we don't need to work, we heard this place is very beautiful and crowded so we come to have a look," said Hoang Thi Quy, a Vietnamese working in Macau.
"We will spend some time looking around to see how big the place is, have some food and maybe spend some time in the casino," said local resident Robert Chao who came with his girlfriend.
With its 350 tonne white sand beach, the world's largest simulated rooftop wave pool and southeast Asian resort-style spa facilities, Galaxy is hoping to create a niche market in the former Portuguese colony, emphasising the health and well-being of its visitors.
Macau, formerly a hotbed for piracy and smuggling, has been trying to upgrade its image with Michelin starred dining options and vast luxury retail outlets, all in a bid to woo China's rising middle class."
While around 70 per cent of gaming revenue is still accrued from the high-rolling VIP sector, Galaxy Macau is allocating two-thirds of its 450 gaming tables to the mass market, confident of delivering returns in the mid to high teens to investors, Chief Financial Officer Robert Drake said.
Galaxy's new 2,200 room property, which incorporates international hotel brands Banyan Tree and Japan's Okura, is hoping to creating a "super industry" of gaming and tourism in the former Portuguese colony.
But it remains to be seen whether the chain-smoking, hard-core gamblers that flood from into Macau from the mainland will have significant interest outside the heaving baccarat tables.
Galaxy Macau is following in the footsteps of rivals Melco Crown and Sands China in targeting China's mass market, betting that improving infrastructure and rising consumption will help propel demand.
Galaxy shares have surged more than 300 per cent over the past 12 months, compared with the Hang Seng Index's roughly 17 per cent gain. Analysts remain bullish on the firm's prospects.
Galaxy's new project only covers around a third of its available land space on the Cotai strip. It plans to develop the rest of its land bank over the next seven to eight years.
Wynn Macau, casino mogul Steve Wynn's Macau unit of Wynn Resorts, MGM Resorts International, and SJM Holdings are the three other licensed operators yet to start construction on the strip. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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