The Cotai Strip is Asia’s answer to Las Vegas. Located on a strip of reclaimed land that connects Macau’s islands of Taipa and Coloane, the Cotai Strip is fast becoming Asia’s leading tourism destination. Inspired by the glitz and excitement of the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada, USA, developers are spicing up this gambling hotspot with luxury hotels, Las Vegas-style casinos, world-class entertainment and brand-name and designer shopping.

The main developer of the Cotai Strip, Las Vegas Sands, is planning seven resort hotels and casinos for the area, including the US $2.4-billion Venetian Macao Resort Hotel, which opened on August 28, 2007. The Venetian Macao casino hotel drew 114,000 people over the first 24 hours of operations.

All in all, the Las Vegas Sands’ development will boast 20,000 hotel rooms, more than 3 million square feet of retail space, anchored by the Grand Canal Shoppes at The Venetian Macao shopping centre and more than 2.5 million square feet of meeting and convention facilities. Six Las Vegas-style showrooms and a large arena for sports and entertainment events are also in the works for the Cotai Strip Macau.

Beyond the US $12-15 billion Las Vegas Sands development plan, other foreign and local investors are jumping on the opportunity to become part of “Asia’s Las Vegas.” Galaxy Entertainment is currently building the Cotai Mega Resort, which will complement its Grand Waldo Hotel—the first casino to open on the Cotai Strip in 2006. Wynn Resorts and MGM Grand Paradise are also in the planning stages for casinos.

There are even plans of a Playboy Mansion Macao which is expected to open in late 2009. The approximate 40,000 square-foot entertainment destination will consist of numerous nightlife and entertainment options, dining, specialty retail elements and a Hugh M. Hefner Villa, which will be a part of the Macao Studio City complex that broke ground earlier this year on the Cotai Strip. Macao Studio City will be developed on an approximately 33-acre site strategically located “Where Cotai Begins(TM)”, next to the new Lotus Bridge immigration checkpoint, linking the complex directly to Zhuhai’s Hengqin Island. When completed, Macao Studio City will boast some of the most comprehensive entertainment and retail facilities of any single property in Macao, as well as a one million square foot Studio Retail(TM) complex called The Mall at Studio City – created in partnership with Taubman Centers, Inc.

With an estimated 30 American-style casino resorts and more than 30,000 hotel rooms and vacation suites by 2010, some people say the Cotai Strip may actually outshine the original Las Vegas Strip in money, visitors and lights!

Cotai Strip Location

There are three bridges connecting Macau to Taipa and Cotai (Cotai Strip area). The Macau-Taipa Bridge, the Friendship Bridge, and the Sai Van Bridge. The Friendship Bridge is the longest bridge at 4.4 KM in length and it leads directly to Macau International Airport which is located on the Island of Taipa.

The Sai Van Bridge is 2.2 KM in length and opened in January 2005, is the first cable stayed bridge in Macau. The double deck bridge has six lanes in the upper deck and four in the lower - the lower deck only opens when a typhoon hits the city. This bridge runs from the western tip of the Cotai Strip to Western Macau.

The Macau-Taipa Bridge runs 2.5 KM in length and runs right in the middle of the other two Bridges from Central Macau to Central Taipa leading into the Cotai Strip. This bridge runs next to the Wynn Macau and the new MGM Grand Macau.

Besides the Barrier Gate (Portas do Cerco), people can access Mainland China through the Cotai Frontier Post. Immigration and Customs are located in the reclaimed area between the islands of Taipa and Coloane.

Cotai Strip Hotels and Facilities

Galaxy Entertainment’s Grand Waldo Hotel, which started operations in 2006, boasts more than 300 rooms, nine restaurants and the Grand Waldo casino. Its larger Cotai Mega Resort is currently under construction.

The Venetian Macao will be the flagship of the Las Vegas Sands development of the Cotai Strip. The $2.4 billion Venetian Macao is the largest single-structure hotel in Asia and the second largest building in the world. It will feature:

The Las Vegas Sands development on the Cotai Strip will also include resorts run by some of the most prestigious 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 Macao Studio City will offer accommodations by Marriott, Ritz Carlton and Tang Hotels, as well as world-class gaming and entertainment.

Finally, Wynn Resorts and MGM Grand Paradise are both in the planning stages for casinos on the Cotai Strip. Wynn is rumored to be considering up to three luxury resorts.