GGRAsia – MGM China holds topping off ceremony for Cotai property

MGM China holds topping off ceremony for Cotai property

Nov 06, 2015 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Top of the deck

Macau casino operator MGM China Holdings Ltd on Friday held a topping off ceremony for its under construction new resort, MGM Cotai.

In August, MGM China said the HKD24-billion (US$3.1-billion) scheme remained “on schedule” for a fourth quarter 2016 opening. The quoted budget excludes land costs and capitalised interest.

Those attending Friday’s event included Jim Murren (fourth from left), chairman and chief executive of U.S.-based casino firm MGM Resorts International, which holds a 51-percent stake in MGM China.

“When we open in 2016, this property will surely be a must-see attraction and a welcomed addition in making Macau a global tourism destination,” said Mr Murren in a prepared statement released to announce the topping out.

Also attending the ceremony was Pansy Ho Chiu King (third from left), co-chairperson and executive director of MGM China. Ms Ho originally secured Macau gaming rights for MGM China for US$200 million via a sub-concession from SJM Holdings Ltd, a firm founded by her father Stanley Ho Hung Sun.

MGM Cotai “plans to offer approximately 1,500 hotel rooms and suites”, meeting space, a luxury spa, shops and restaurants, said Friday’s release, adding the property would also have what it described as “the first international ‘Mansion at MGM’” – a branding term used to describe some luxury boutique hotel accommodation within MGM Resorts’ properties in other markets.

MGM China also on Friday gave some details of non-gaming features planned for MGM Cotai. They include what the firm termed its “Spectacle Show”, which will use 23 LED walls in an atrium area, allowing the venue to show huge images with more than 80 megapixels of resolution.

There will additionally be a theatre that can offer 14 different seating arrangements; and Aji, described as Asia’s first “Nikkei cuisine restaurant” offering Peruvian-Japanese cuisine from chef Mitsuharu Tsumura.