No trip to Macau would be complete without casino hopping adventure. Gambling in Macau has been legal since the 1850s when the Portuguese government legalized the activity in the colony. Macau's economy is heavily dependent on gambling and tourism. Starting in 1962, the gambling industry had been operated under a government-issued monopoly license by Stanley Ho's Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macau. The monopoly ended in 2002, and several casino owners from Las Vegas attempted to enter the market. With the opening of the Sands Macau in 2004 and Wynn Macau in 2006, gambling revenues from Macau's casinos were greatly prosperous. In 2007, the Venetian Macau~Resort~Hotel opened its doors to the public, followed by MGM Grand Macau.

The Venetian Macau is a hotel and casino resort on the Cotai Strip, Macau, owned by the Las Vegas Sands corporation. As the main developer of the Cotai Strip (the casino and tourism project in the Cotai District, which is inspired by the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada, USA on a considerably smaller scale), Las Vegas Sands is planning 7 resort hotels and casinos for the area, including the US $2.4-billion Venetian Macau~Resort~Hotel, which opened on August 28, 2007.

The Las Vegas Sands development on the Cotai Strip will also include resorts run by some of the biggest names in the hotel industry: Four Seasons, Sheraton, St. Regis, Shangri-La, Traders, Hilton, Conrad, Fairmont, Raffles, Swiss Hotel, Intercontinental, Holiday Inn and Cosmopolitan.

Melco-PBL’s City of Dreams casino resort on the Cotai Strip will include Hyatt, Hard Rock and Crown Towers hotels; while its Macau Studio City will offer accommodations by Marriott, Ritz Carlton and Tang Hotels, as well as world-class gaming and entertainment. Not to mention other foreign and local investors that are jumping on the opportunity to become part of “Asia’s Las Vegas”, such as Wynn Resorts, MGM Grand Paradise and Galaxy Entertainment which is currently building the Cotai Mega Resort, which will complement its Grand Waldo Hotel—the first casino opened on the Cotai Strip in 2006.

Since my issue is time due to my super-duper tight itinerary, I had to narrow down my casino hopping adventure to... merely 1 gambling resort :( Hahaha... What kind of casino hopping adventure was that? Anyway my choice would definitely be none but the largest single-structure hotel in Asia and the second largest building in the world - the grand Venetian Macau~Resort~Hotel 澳門威尼斯人~度假村~酒店. As for the Venetian Macau~Resort~Hotel, I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves.

www.venetianmacao.com
The Venetian Macau~Resort~Hotel
Estrada da Baia de N. Senhora da Esperanca, s/n, Taipa, Macau SaR, P.R. China
澳門氹仔望德聖母灣大馬路澳門威尼斯人~度假村~酒店

Great Hall 瑰麗堂

The Venetian-Macau-Resort-Hotel houses not only a huge casino, but also opulent 5-star hotel, a massive gaming area, a breathtaking shopping esplanade, extensive exhibition and convention facilities, dozens of restaurants, and top-caliber entertainment.


Great Hall


St. Mark's Square 聖馬可廣場

Replica of St. Mark's Square. Piazza San Marco (often known in English as Saint Mark's Square), is the principal square of Venice, Italy, where it is generally known as "The Piazza".

St. Mark's Clocktower

Replica of St. Mark's Clocktower in Venice. Notice the cloud-painting ceiling.


The Grand Canal Shoppes

The Grand Canal Shoppes 大運河購物中心
Surrounded by the world's finest brands with over 330 boutique stores, stroll along winding cobblestone walkways, or relax with an authentic gondola ride.

And to add sensation to your shopping experience, you'll be accompanied by the serenading sounds of the Streetmosphere performances and singing gondoliers who transform the Grand Canal Shoppes with the romantic sounds of Venice.

Mall Operating Hours:
Sunday-Thursday: 10.00-23.00
Friday-Saturday: 10.00-24.00

購物中心營業時間:
星期日- 星期四: 10.00-23.00
星期五 - 星期六: 10.00-24.00

Streetmosphere

Streetmosphere 街頭表演 at St. Mark's Square
The "Artiste Del Arte" or "Streetmosphere" program is comprised of classically trained vocalists, musicians, visual artists and living statues, dressed in authentic and elaborate Venetian costumes. They will bring you back in time to Renaissance Venice.

Streetmosphere at St. Mark's Square show time: 14.30, 16.30, 19.00, 21.00.


Streetmosphere Performers


Streetmosphere Performers


A Performer


Photo Session


Gondola Rides

No trip to Venice or the Venetian-Macau-Resort-Hotel would be complete without a graceful and romantic glide down one of the 3 canals (Grand Canal 大運河, Marco Polo Canal 馬可孛羅運河, San Luca Canal 聖路卡運河) in authentic Venetian gondola, accompanied by a singing gondolier.

Tickets are available at Boutique di Gondola (Shop 2301) and Emporio di Gondola ( Shop 2660)
顧客可前往貢多拉禮品及售票廊 ( 2301 鋪及 2660 鋪 ) 購買貢多拉船票

Pricing:
MOP108 (per ride) for adults
MOP80 (per ride) for kids

Grand Canal 大運河

Marco Polo Canal 馬可孛羅運河

Marco Polo Canal 馬可孛羅運河
Wonder whether this is the bridge where Gu Junpyo and Geum Jandi broke up in the all-time-favorite KBS K-pop drama Boys Before Flowers ( 꽃보다 남자 Kgotboda Namja )? Lee Min-ho ohhh... Lee Min-ho.

San Luca Canal 聖路卡運河


The Amazing Ceiling Mural


Elevators to The Great Hall

Colonnade 酒店長廊

Hotel Main Lobby 酒店大堂


Crown Towers Hotel

Crown Towers Hotel at City of Dreams 新濠天地 xin1hao2tian1di4 (Crown Towers 皇冠度假酒店, Hard Rock Hotel, Grand Hyatt Macau 澳門君悅酒店). The City of Dreams was still on construction while I was there.