With the cutting of a ceremonial ribbon,
executives of Las Vegas Sands Corp., parent company of The Venetian, and
senior government officials from Macau, a Special Administrative Region of the
People’s Republic of China, today kicked-off a week long art exhibition at the
luxurious Las Vegas Strip resort.Las Vegas Sands Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Sheldon G. Adelson,
President and Chief Operating Officer William Weidner, and Executive Vice
President Bradley Stone joined Macau Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture
Dr. Fernando Chui Sai On and the Director of the Macau Government Tourist
Office Joao Manuel Costa Antunes, to unveil the XXI Collective Exhibition of
Macau Artists.  The 53-piece selection includes award-winning exhibits in
Chinese painting, Western painting and Chinese calligraphy.
  “It is an honor to host Dr. Chui Sai On, Director Antunes and our many
guests for this special celebration of Macau culture and heritage.  This is an
opportunity for The Venetian to highlight the many cultural aspects of Macau
and we are happy to do so,” said Mr. Adelson.  “As a company we look forward
with great anticipation to the opening of The Venetian Macau and the further
development of the Cotai Strip.  In the coming months, we will build on
our already strong relationship with the people and government of Macau and
help usher in a new era of tourism in Macau.”
  Destined to become “Asia’s Las Vegas”, the Cotai Strip is a master
planned development of resort casino properties on Cotai, an area of reclaimed
land between the islands of Taipa and Coloane in Macau.  In addition to the
10,000 guest rooms, the first phase of the Cotai Strip will offer a critical
mass of business, leisure and entertainment attractions, including world class
meetings and convention facilities, over 20,000 seats of live entertainment in
eight separate theater venues and the most modern and exciting casinos in
Asia.
  The $2 billion Venetian Macau, which is currently under construction and
is scheduled to open in mid-2007, will occupy 10.5 million square feet of
space and will serve as the anchor of the Cotai Strip.  At completion, the
luxury resort will feature 3,000 suites, one million square feet of meeting
and exhibition space, a 2,000 seat showroom, 850,000 square feet of retail
mall space, and a 15,000 seat arena.
  In addition to the XXI Collective Exhibition of Macau Artists being held
at The Venetian this week, the property is displaying Macanese
art-in-the-making as Chinese calligraphers and handicraft artists ply their
trades in St. Mark’s Square in The Grand Canal Shoppes as well as offering
diners at Royal Star restaurant the opportunity to indulge in an authentic
Macanese meal.
——-