Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | October 2012 36 Feature Cotai’s Second Wave Complete W ith the opening of the second phase of Sands Cotai Central last month, Cotai 2.0 was realized— comprising Sands China’s SCC, Venetian Macao and Four Seasons properties; Melco Crown Entertainment’s City of Dreams; and Galaxy Entertainment Group’s Galaxy Macau. Although a few more additions to SCC’s second phase—including additional hotel rooms and retail offerings—will only be unveiled over the coming months, the current landscape of Cotai will remain essentially unchanged for the next three years, ahead of the arrival of the third wave of Cotai properties, likely to get kicked off with Galaxy Macau Phase II, and followed by Studio City and Steve Wynn’s Cotai opus. The coming three-year supply gap bodes well for Sands China, as it has by far the greatest capacity in place on Cotai to capture an outsized share of the strong and sustained mass market growth that analysts expects will continue in the short- to medium-term. Our cover picture this month shows the eager mass market throngs rushing to be among the first to experience the latest facilities at SCC’s second phase, which opened 20th September, following on from the 11th April first phase opening. Some half a million visitors thronged to Sands China Limited’s various Macau properties during the SCC second phase opening weekend, setting a new record for the company, and surpassing the previous all-time high visitation during this year’s Chinese New Year weekend. SCC’s second phase includes the world’s largest Sheraton Hotel—over 2,000 of the 4,000 Sheraton-branded hotel rooms are now online, with the remainder expected to open over the next few months—as well as new restaurants and retail outlets, and a new Polynesian-themed gaming area, Pacifica. “We are very pleased with the customer response to our new facilities at Sands Cotai Central and it bodes well for the long term growth of Cotai,” said Sands China President and CEO Edward Tracy at the opening. He added: “The addition of Sheraton Macao to Sands Cotai Central means Sands China’s integrated resorts on the Cotai Strip will soon have a combined 9,000 rooms on offer—a significant step towards developing Macao into a world center of business, tourism and leisure.” Mr Tracy remarked on the continuing development and realization of Las Vegas Sands Corp Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson’s vision of a fully integrated resort destination on Cotai: “We’ve come a long way from that muddy swampland that Mr Adelson first surveyed. And there were plenty along the way who said it couldn’t be done. But here we are today, marking yet another grand achievement.” The following pictures show highlights of the opening ceremony and offer a glimpse of the amenities now on offer at Sands Cotai Central.