If it's not Vegas, it must be … Macau?

This tiny Chinese peninsula 37 miles southwest of Hong Kong, which includes the city of the same name, surpassed the gaming revenue of the Las Vegas Strip in 2006 and saw the opening August 28 of The Venetian Macao, which is billed as the world's biggest casino.

Expanding on the excesses of its sister property, The Venetian, and other Las Vegas resorts, The Venetian Macao features replicas of St. Mark's Square, the Grand Canal (complete with gondola rides), and two additional canals (the original Venetian has only one), as well as plenty of gold leaf and marble. All of the resort's 3,000 suites are more than 750 square feet. The gaming area features 1,150 gaming tables and enough space for 7,000 slot machines. The development also has space for 350 shops and features an 1,800-seat conference center, a 15,000-seat stadium, and about 1 million square feet of meeting and exhibit space. At 10.5 million square feet, the resort is twice the size of the Las Vegas original, and is touted by its developers as being the largest building in Asia.

Analysts say that the $2.4 billion project, headed by Sheldon Adelson, 75, chairman of Las Vegas Sands, could double Macau's gaming income to $13.7 billion by 2010, according to a report in USA Today.

The Venetian is on Macau's Cotai Strip, a 1.5-square-mile area created by filling in the space between the islands of Taipa and Coloane. The Cotai Strip was first envisioned as a Las Vegas-style development in 2002; more than a dozen more projects are planned for the area, and those developers are watching the Venetian closely.

Adelson's first Macau casino, the Sands Macao, opened in May 2004 and has been hugely successful. Based on that experience, Adelson says that he expects to recoup his investment in the Venetian within three to five years, according to Reuters Limited. The Las Vegas Sands group is reportedly investing a total of $12 billion in the Cotai Strip.

The Chinese spend billions on gambling, but the only place it is legal in the country is Macau, which draws 20 million visitors each year. Local officials and casino operators hope the Strip development will boost the region's reputation and encourage gamblers to stay overnight and spend more, but critics warn that a glut of development could cut into profits.

News Makers

Scott Obley has been promoted to director of group sales at the Wailea Beach Marriott Resort and Spa, Maui, Hawaii. Previously, Obley served for three years as senior account executive in the hotel's sales department.

John MacMullen has been appointed director of sales and marketing for The Landings, St. Lucia, which opens in December. MacMullen was most recently director of sales at the Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo, Fla.

Drew Toth has joined Associated Luxury Hotels International as senior vice president, based in the Washington, D.C., office. Toth joins ALHI from Tishman Hotel Corp., where he served as vice president.

The InterContinental San Francisco has hired a new sales and management team. Jeanette Perez and Patricia Guterres have been appointed sales managers; Diane Bulgo is director of catering; and Diane MacMath is director of conference services.

Massachusetts: Gaming Destination?

Gov. Deval L. Patrick has stirred up some heated discussion by filing legislation that would allow Massachusetts to license three resort casinos.

The legislation outlines three geographic areas, each of which would get a resort casino license. Patrick says the plan is intended to bring sustainable, long-term economic growth to the Commonwealth. He estimates that construction and operation of the casinos will create 20,000 permanent jobs.

The proposal would create a seven-member Massachusetts Gaming Control Authority consisting of the state treasurer, auditor, and five members appointed by the governor. Developers would be charged $350,000 for each casino resort application submitted, and would have to be willing to invest at least $1 billion in the project(s). The process could generate millions in revenue. And, Patrick says, the casinos could bring in up to $400 million in annual tax revenues.

According to press reports, some big names in gaming — Harrah's, MGM Mirage, and Wynn Resorts, to name a few — have expressed interest. But final approval of the proposal lies with the state legislature, where there has historically been resistance to expanded gambling.

Neighboring Connecticut is keeping a close eye on the situation, because development of resort casinos in Massachusetts could present a major challenge to that state's Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun facilities. According to a recent study by the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Policy Analysis, Massachusetts residents spend about $900 million annually at the Connecticut casinos.