According to Melco Crown Entertainment, City of Dreams is a unique integrated resort combining electrifying entertainment, an amazing array of accommodation, regional and international dining, as well as designer brand shopping. Calling it ‘the must-experience destination in Macau,’ with a spectacular multi-media attraction The Bubble and The Boulvard, a chic precinct of entertainment, restaurants and shopping, City of Dreams today opens for business.

Grand opening celebrations and a firework display commenced at 7:30 pm local time. The US$2.4 billion complex is being seen by some as a test of the Macau gaming market after a series of declining revenue results and lower tourist numbers. Last November Las Vegas Sands halted construction on its Cotai Strip development following the market downturn, which had been exacerbated by tighter visa restrictions imposed on visitors from mainland China.

Analysts will be watching to see if City of Dreams can be a successful venture without markedly denting revenue at The Venetian Macao, its neighbour on the Cotai Strip. After a period of rapid expansion before last year, City of Dreams will be the only new casino to open this year. Crown Towers will accommodate the high rollers while it is hoped that the Hard Rock Hotel will attract a younger clientele and increase mass-market visitors. Melco Crown Entertainment’s Altira Casino, not on the Cotai Strip, caters mainly for high rollers.

So far tourists have proved resistant to staying longer in Macau. The average stay is up, but only slightly at around 1.6 nights. Lawrence Ho and James Packer will be hoping that their latest venture will encourage people to look at Macau as a destination resort and not just as a place to go and gamble. At present it is estimated that most tourists, mainly day trippers, spend 50% of their gambling budget at the first casino they enter, 30% at the second and 20% at a third. (E-06.01.09)

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