The Venetian Macao
| The Venetian Macao | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Address | Cotai Strip |
| Opening date | 28 August 2007 |
| Number of rooms | 3000 |
| Total gaming space | 550,000 sq ft (51,000 m2) |
| Signature attractions | CotaiArena |
| Casino type | Land-based |
| Owner | Las Vegas Sands |
| Architect | Aedas and HKS, Inc. |
| Website | Venetian Macao |
The Venetian Macao (Chinese: 澳門威尼斯人度假村酒店) is a luxury hotel and casino resort in Macau owned by Las Vegas Sands. The Venetian is a 39-story,[1] $2.4 billion anchor for the seven hotels on the Cotai Strip in Macau. The 10,500,000-square-foot (980,000 m2) Venetian Macao is modeled on its sister casino resort The Venetian Las Vegas, and is the seventh-largest building in the world by floor area. The Venetian Macao is also the largest casino in the world, and the largest single structure hotel building in Asia.
The main hotel tower was finished in July 2007 and the resort officially opened on 28 August 2007.[2] The resort has 3000 suites, 1,200,000 sq ft (110,000 m2) of convention space, 1,600,000 sq ft (150,000 m2) of retail, 550,000 square feet (51,000 m2) of casino space – with 3400 slot machines and 800 gambling tables and a 15,000 seat CotaiArena for entertainment and sports events.
The lead architect for the Venetian Macao were Aedas and HKS, Inc. joint venture, who were responsible for the design, coordination and implementation of the project on site.[3]
Casino
The casino measures 546,000 sq ft (50,700 m2).[4] It is further divided into 4 themed gaming areas namely Golden Fish, Imperial House, Red Dragon and Phoenix. The casino consists of over 3400 slot machines and 800 gambling tables.
The hotel offers a club called Paiza Club which caters to premium guests. The club comes with its own entrance, lobby, reception, and guest lifts to the rooms. The gaming area of the Paiza Club is divided into individual private gaming rooms each named for notable Asian cities and regions such as Yunnan, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. The guests of the club have exclusive access to the club dining outlet, the Paiza Club Dining & Lounge, which is open 24 hours a day.
Accommodation
The hotel tower offers 2,905 suites. The accommodation floors starts from level 7 up to level 38. These floors are served by guest lifts.
Paiza suites are reserved for premium guests. The largest is the Presidente, a 12-bay suite with four bedrooms.
Entertainment
The CotaiArena (formerly known as the Venetian Arena) is an indoor arena, opened in 2007 with a seating capacity of 15,000. It hosts sporting events such as basketball, tennis, and boxing, as well as concerts and international televised awards shows.
Zaia
Zaia, a 90-minute stage production by the Canadian entertainment company Cirque du Soleil, premiered on 27 August 2008 in a custom-built theater at the Venetian Macao and ran with regular performances for three and a half years. The show, directed by Neilson Vignola and Gilles Maheu, featured a cast of 75 circus artists.[5] The show's theme was a young girl's perception of the stars and planets, space and infinity, populated by otherworldly creatures. The theater housing the performance seated 1,800 spectators at a time.[6]
On 7 February 2012, Sands China and Cirque du Soleil announced that Zaia would be performed for the final time on 19 February 2012. Sands China said that the company was expanding its entertainment offering, which included a redesigned multi-purpose theatre at Venetian Macao, and new entertainment options at Sands Cotai Central, hoping to usher in a new era of entertainment in the city. "In view of the market trend and customer demand," Sands said, "the company will again be investing to redesign the theatre to open up a new world of exciting entertainment."[7]
Controversies
On 12 November 2008, the gates were locked to the construction labour force from a variety of Asian countries as projects were suspended. Hsin Chong, the project manager for the Venetian, laid off approximately 400 staff. As many workers had been there for less than two years, no severance was due. The next day, Sands' president for Asia announced that up to 11,000 workers would be losing their jobs as the company was halting building projects in Macao.[8]
In 2010 the Chinese press reported that as part of a "sex-trade crackdown" authorities had found more than 100 prostitutes inside the casino.[9]
In early 2011 the United States Department of Justice and the Securities Exchange Commission initiated an investigation into the Las Vegas Sands Corporation with respect to the compliance of its Macao properties with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.[9]
See also
- Gambling in Macau
- Macau gaming law
- Cotai Jet – owned by The Venetian Macao, operating high speed Catamaran ferry services between Taipa Temporary Ferry Terminal and Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Terminal, Hong Kong
References
- ↑ "The Venetian". Emporis.com. Retrieved 2014-06-23.
- ↑ "Venetian Macao press release". Phx.corporate-ir.net. 27 August 2007. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
- ↑ "case study" (PDF). gillespieuk.co.uk.
- ↑ "Top-10 Largest Casinos". Casino City Times. 10 December 2007.
- ↑ "The first permanent Cirque du Soleil show in Asia celebrates its world premiere on August 28 at the Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel – Written and directed by Gilles Maheu". Cirque du Soleil – Press Release. Retrieved 8 February 2011.
- ↑ "Zaia: The Show – Theater". Cirque du Soleil. Retrieved 8 February 2011.
- ↑ ZAİA ending 3-year run at Venetian Macao this month Macau Daily Times. 8 February 2012.
- ↑ "Up to 11,000 Macau workers to lose jobs". The Standard.
- 1 2 Brian Ross (27 January 2012), "Bribes, Chinese Mob Ties Alleged at Casino of Gingrich Money Man". ABC News.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Venetian Macao. |
Coordinates: 22°8′55″N 113°33′38″E / 22.14861°N 113.56056°E
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