Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Wynn opens casino?� in Macau - World business




Stephen Wynn ready to open casino?� in Macau

U.S. gaming mogul sees Asia as new destination for high rollers
Kin Cheung / AP
Workers prepare the red carpet for the opening ceremony of the new hotel Wynn Macau in Macau Tuesday. American gaming mogul Stephen Wynn was ready to throw open the doors of his new $1.2 billion?�casino to gamblers Wednesday in Macau, the Chinese territory that's rivaling the Las Vegas Strip as the world's epicenter for gambling.

MACAU - American gaming mogul Stephen Wynn threw open the doors of his new US$1.2 billion (euro930 mil.) casino to gamblers Wednesday in Macau ??" the Chinese territory that seeks to rival the Las Vegas Strip as the world??�s epicenter for gambling.

The sleek Wynn Macau casino with a sloping roof is a key part of Macau??�s bid to transform itself from a second-rate spot for day-tripping gamblers to a major global tourist destination with luxury hotels, resorts, shows and convention centers.

Investors and casino tycoons have been pouring billions into the former Portuguese enclave during the past four years. They??�re hoping to cash in on a huge surge in tourists from China, which took control of the tiny territory seven years ago.

Macau ??" a peninsula and two islands off the southeastern Chinese coast ??" is the only place in China that allows casino gambling.

Wynn told reporters Tuesday that the future of his Wynn Resorts Ltd. was in Macau and Asia.

The speed of development is dizzying. The population it seeks to serve is expanding, Wynn said, just hours before his resort??�s midnight opening.

Wynn, 65, the son of a bingo parlor operator, met the media in his employees??� dining hall because he said he wanted to stress that group were the most important part of the hotel. He wore white loafers, slacks and an untucked blue button-up shirt that said on the back: Knowledge destroys fear.

After a fireworks show, thousands of group lined up to enter the casino resort when it opened at midnight.

Zhu Jingqing, a middle-aged man from the central Chinese province of Hubei, said he liked the atmosphere. I feel all mainlanders should come here to have a look, he said.

Kong Ermu, 28, a tourist from the eastern province of Anhui, said: It??�s far better than what I imagined. It??�s classier and comfortable.

The resort features 600 rooms, some with views of the South China Sea. The casino has plush bright red carpets and offers 200 table games and 380 slot machines in a hall of 9,300 square meters (100,000 sq. feet). The complex also has a spa, six gourmet restaurants and a shopping esplanade with Bulgari, Chanel, Fendi, Prada and Giorgio Armani stores.

The front of the casino has a performance lake with 3 mil. liters (800,000 gallons) of water. The hotel??�s lobby looks out over a lush garden with a blue-tile swimming pool.

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