NBA teams invited to Macau mega-resort |
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Thu, 01 Mar 2007 10:24
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MACAU (AP) - The Venetian Macau resort hotel will open sooner than planned in August, and NBA teams and Manchester United are being invited to play at the massive complex in the Chinese territory, the developer said Thursday.The project's developer, Las Vegas casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, denied rumors that the building of the 3,000-suite mega-resort was delayed. Construction was ahead of schedule, he said.'We are not delaying it. We are accelerating it,' said Adelson, chairman and chief executive officer of Las Vegas Sands Corp at a media event.The Venetian, which will feature casinos, shopping malls and convention space, was originally slated to begin taking bookings for conventions in October. It's now taking bookings for August, executives said.The project also includes a 1,500-seat event center designed for world-class sporting events.Sands has been negotiating with Britain's Manchester United, one of the world's most popular soccer teams, to play at their complex. The talks are close to finishing, said William Weidner, president and chief operating officer of Las Vegas Sands.'We are in the process of finalizing' the deal, he told reporters.Weidner said the NBA, or U.S. National Basketball Association, helped design the events center at the Venetian. Sands has been talking to the NBA about arranging exhibition games, he said, but didn't name any teams.'We are very close to the NBA. The NBA will be involved with us over the years,' he said.The casinos at the Venetian will have a total of 6,000 slot machines and 700 gaming tables. The resort's design will be similar to the Venetian resort hotel in Las Vegas, with canals and gondola rides.Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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