reviewjournal.com -- Business: 2004 IN REVIEW: MERGING AND CONVERGING

reviewjournal.com -- Business: 2004 IN REVIEW: MERGING AND CONVERGING : "6 Las Vegas heads to Macau An estimated 50,000 gamblers and curiosity seekers helped Sheldon Adelson open Macau to 'an exciting new era' for U.S. investments in China's multibillion-dollar gaming market. It took just minutes for an overflow crowd of about 30,000 to rush in and pack Adelson's Sands Macau casino after it opened in May. The $240 million, 1-million-square-foot Sands Macau casino and entertainment complex is the first of several U.S.-owned-and-operated casino projects planned to open in the Chinese enclave over the next several years. In addition to the Sands Macau, Adelson, who owns The Venetian's holding company, Las Vegas Sands, plans to develop a $10 billion gaming destination resort complex on Macau's Cotai Strip. Industry sources are calling the opening of Macau to U.S. gaming companies the most significant event for the Las Vegas operators in 25 years because of the size of the potential market. Las Vegas Sands President Bill Weidner said Macau is the most opportune developing gaming environment his company has ever seen. Macau's casinos raked in an estimated $3.6 billion last year, and could bring in nearly $5 billion this year, he said. That would surpass the revenue from Atlantic City's casinos and rival those from Las Vegas' casinos. More than 1 billion people live within an easy plane flight of Macau, he said, and the World Travel Organization estimates that China will grant 100 million worldwide travel visas in 2020, up from 10 million in 2002. 'We believe we can help bring a major portion of those (travelers) to Las Vegas,' Weidner said. Las Vegas casino operator Steve Wynn is scheduled to enter the market with his own resort, Wynn Macau, by the end of 2006."