The Cotai Strip is where it’s all happening. Three of the biggest operators on the Macau peninsula have recently opened or are building new mega-casinos along the strip.
You’ll find the bigger resorts in Macau, but the Grand Lisboa, Sands Casino Macau, Wynn, and other amazing casinos are located on the island.
Most of Macau’s casinos are located within internationally recognized luxury hotels or are fully integrated resorts, with the largest having three or four mega-hotels within a single complex.
In addition, the world’s largest casino has 430 rooms and suites and is home to some of the best fine dining in Macau.
The Grand Lisboa was designed with gaming as its top priority, so while the casino boasts some of the best fine dining in Macau, don’t expect to find many of the entertainment options or attractions found at other venues.
The casino is known for being the first to offer Texas Hold’em poker and dice games, but several other casinos in Macau now offer these games.
Currently under construction next to the newly built Wynn Palace in the casino hub is the Grand Lisboa.
Located on the Macau peninsula, Wynn Palace has been a mainstay of the casino scene since it opened in 2007.
It has a similar luxury vibe to HubCasino, but it’s all bigger, brighter, and a little more shiny.
A reinvention of the Venetian Resort Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Wynn Palace is twice the size of its sister property and is the largest casino resort in the world.
The world’s largest casino has 1,706 rooms and suites, the largest health club in Macau, more than a dozen restaurants, and stunning floral and artwork.
Wynn Palace has 23,000 square meters of gaming space, with 20-meter-high ceilings, more than 200 table games, 1,000 slots, and a mix of Asian and European casino games.
The Venetian Macau boasts a popular indoor arena, Cotai Arena, and has produced a variety of entertainment programs throughout its history.
The Venetian’s Macau is still the largest casino in the world today, trailing only the WinStar World Casino in Oklahoma, USA. Since moving to mainland China in 1999, Macau has been the only place to allow casinos to the point where, 20 years later, Macau is responsible for almost six times the revenue.
I gamble in Las Vegas every year. Since 2006, Macau has routinely generated up to five times the annual gaming revenue of Las Vegas.
It’s a special administrative region of China and home to some of the most amazing casino resorts in the world.
Boasting more than 30 casinos and hosting some of the highest stakes gaming in the world, Macau combines culture, opulent architecture, incredible entertainment and dining options, and cutting-edge technology to create an experience unlike any other.
Macau has more than 41 casinos covered in slots and table games, with private VIP rooms hidden away from the crowds on the casino floor, reserved for the best connected players Macau has to offer.
Casinos from six operators – gaming powerhouse SJM Holdings, Wynn Macau, Sands China, Galaxy Entertainment Group, MGM China Holdings, and Melco Crown Entertainment – have expanded in the past two years, with most of the large new properties opening.
Until recently, extending concessions seemed like a foregone conclusion for the Macau oligopoly of three Las Vegas-based casino giants – Sands China, MGM China, and Wynn Macaus.
The gambling licenses of all six casino operators in Macau are up for renewal this year.
In 2002, gambling licenses were granted for 20 years for all 41 casinos in Macau, but the new licensing provisions were reduced to 10. The licenses of all six gambling operators in Macau, including Las Vegas Sands Asia, MGM International, and Wynn Resorts, will expire at the end of 2022.
New casino licenses for Macau are expected to begin in 2023, which is crucial for all six existing players in Macau to continue operating their multi-billion dollar properties.
Due to diversification, Macau now has to compete for business with international casinos. Macau has grown thanks to China’s massive globalization, the core of which is foreign transnational casinos.
Several Vegas properties are investing heavily in a new casino resort in Macau, with luxury being a big driving force. Sociedad de Turismo Diversos de Macau, S.A. (STDM) was the only company with a license to operate a casino.
The renewal value of operating licenses granted between June and December was $5.7 million per casino. According to the Inside Asia Gaming report, it cost $47 million, or $5.7 million per casino macanesa pataca (MOP), to extend operating licenses from June to December.
Las Vegas Sands, founded by the late billionaire entrepreneur Sheldon Adelson, has invested $15 billion since opening its first casino in Macau in 2004. While casinos are now open and operating in Macau, the Asian gambling capital has a long way to go to recover.
The renegotiation is an industry shakeup that raises questions about whether Macau can continue to be the world’s leading casino center, whether it needs to find an alternative path, and whether its golden age is behind it.