China Sands to Build Parisian Casino in Macau

The recent Chinese economic slowdown does not stop Las Vegas tycoon Sheldon Adelson from building a new casino in Macau, CNBC reports about the latest Chinese gambling news.

The entrepreneur recently announced his plans to build The Parisian on the Cotai Strip, a new 3,000-room hotel and casino featuring hundreds of gambling tables and Chinese poker rooms and a half-size replica of the Eiffel Tower.

The mogul estimates the total cost of the Parisian to be around $2.5 – $3 billion and expects it to open its doors in two or three years.

Even though Macau’s gaming revenues grew 58 percent in 2010 and 42 percent in 2011, industry analyst Fitch downgraded its 2012 growth forecast to 10-12 percent in July from a previous 15 percent.

Adelson is not worried about Macau’s recent situation, saying: “We would not be expanding if we did not think there was a future here.”

Macau is seen as one world’s most lucrative casino spots, mainly because the Chinese gambling laws in the special administrative region allow casinos and gambling.

The former Portuguese colony attracts millions of visitors from Mainland China. The new direct rail connection between Guangzhou and Macau, and the doubling of the border gate capacity between Macau and China could further help the growth of tourism industry.

Adelson, labeled by many as a Modern Day Rothschild, was in Macau for the opening of the second phase of his Sands Cotai Central resort on Thursday. The Sands Cotai Central is the fourth Macau enterprise of Sands China, a subsidiary of Amercian gaming giant Las Vegas Sands, Adelson’s company.

The Las Vegas mogul, rumored to save $2 Billion under US Presidential Candidate Romney’s Tax Plan, operates casinos in resort in the prime spots in Macau, Japan, Korea and Vietnam in the Asian region. Recently, Las Vegas Sands has announced the launch of its first European enterprise, the Euro Vegas in Madrid, Spain.