It seems that Macau is getting used to housing some of the most spectacular developments in the world. But Las Vegas Sands' Venetian Macau, which has its official opening on August 28, could be the most breathtaking yet...

The Venetian Macau Resort Hotel will be Las Vegas Sands’ anchor property on the Cotai Strip, and is three times the size of its Las Vegas cousin, which also recreates the famous canals of Venice.

“This is truly a defining moment for Las Vegas Sands, as our work to open Macau’s first multi-use integrated resort comes to fruition and our vision of creating ‘Asia’s Las Vegas’ comes one step closer to reality,” said Sheldon Adelson, chairman and chief executive officer of Las Vegas Sands.

“As this one-of-a-kind destination resort opens, and our development of the Cotai Strip continues, Macau will begin its transformation into the type of business and tourist destination only dreamt of in the past and in doing so fulfilling the desire of the government to turn Macao into a premier leisure, entertainment, and meeting and convention destination.”

At 10.5 million sq.ft, the Venetian Macau will be the second largest building in the world and the largest in Asia. It will feature 3,000 all-suite rooms, 1.2 million sq.ft of meeting, convention and exhibition space, an 1,800-seat Cirque du Soleil theatre, world-class entertainment in a 15,000-seat arena, and one million sq.ft of retail space, which will be home to 350 stores and many of the world’s most renowned brands. It will also play host to the G2E Asia show from next year.

“With the opening of the Venetian Macau, we are now uniquely positioned as the first destination resort in Macau to offer all the integrated amenities necessary to attract a multi-night visitor,” said William P Weidner, president and chief operating officer of Las Vegas Sands. “By appealing to a wide-array of travelers with our complete set of dining, shopping, leisure and entertainment offerings, we are repositioning Macau as a premier destination for shoppers, diners and entertainment-seekers, as well as the ideal location for businesses to hold their group meetings, conventions, or exhibitions.”

The 546,000sq.ft casino gaming floor includes around 6,000 slot machines specifically designed for the Asian market and over 700 table games featuring baccarat, fan tan, Caribbean stud poker, yee hah hi, three-card poker, blackjack, sic bo and roulette.

The launch of the Venetian Macau also marks the opening of the first property on the Cotai Strip in Macau. The Cotai Strip is a master planned development of hotel and resort properties being constructed by Las Vegas Sands and intended to recreate the success and excitement of the Las Vegas Strip. Upon completion, the Cotai Strip will feature 20,000 hotel rooms, more than three million sq.ft of retail space, and more than 2.5 million sq.ft of meeting and convention facilities, including hundreds of individual meeting rooms.

While Las Vegas Sands will construct and own each of the properties on the Cotai Strip, they will be operated by some of the most prestigious names in the hotel industry, including Four Seasons, Sheraton, St Regis, Shangri-La, Traders, Hilton, Conrad, Fairmont, Raffles, Swiss Hotel, Intercontinental, Holiday Inn and Cosmopolitan. All of the properties will be connected via enclosed pedestrian walkways. The Cotai Strip will also be home to six Las Vegas-style showrooms and a large arena used for a wide variety of sports and entertainment content - in all the Cotai Strip will be home to more than 25,000 seats of live entertainment.

“World-class entertainment offerings are an important component of Macau’s future as an international tour and travel destination and the Venetian Macau is pleased to lead the way in bringing these events to Macau,” said Weidner.

On July 23, Las Vegas Sands sponsored the Venetian Macau Cup featuring Manchester United FC in a match with the Shenzhen Xiangxue Eifiti in Macau.