Dr Stanley Ho, Managing Director of Sociedade de Jogos de Macau, SA (“SJM”) hosted on Friday the official opening ceremony for the eagerly anticipated Grand Lisboa, SJM’s new flagship leisure and entertainment attraction. The spacious, contemporary Chinese style Grand Lisboa Casino – located adjacent to SJM’s Casino Lisboa, with its 35 year heritage in Macau - is set to become the new top attraction for Macau visitors and residents alike with its bold, elegant architectural design and rich array of entertainment facilities.

Featuring nine floors of leisure adventures, the Grand Lisboa offers five floors of gaming with over 240 tables where guests can enjoy a variety of games including Baccarat, Caribbean Poker, Blackjack, and Macau’s unique Fan Tan. Furthermore, the venue will open with more than 480 slot machines located throughout the casino, and has SJM’s first virtual Sic Bo and Baccarat games. For guests looking for alternative pursuits, there is a live Sports Bar on the 2nd Floor, which offers the chance to bet on live sporting fixtures including football and horse racing, plus a stage with free live musical performances throughout the day.

Food lovers and wine connoisseurs can explore a wide variety of international cuisine to suit all tastes and budgets through any of the Grand Lisboa’s six restaurants. Most notably, Grand Lisboa’s Don Alfonso 1890, which offers not only fine Italian dining created by chef Alfonso Iaccarino, the highest ranking Michelin-starred chef from Southern Italy, but it also boasts one of the best wine cellars in Asia, sharing its cellar with Casino Lisboa’s Robuchon a Galera, holder of Wine Spectators Grand Award for the last two consecutive years.

The interior decor was designed by Khuan Chew. The portfolio of Ms Chew includes Dubai’s 7-star Burj Al Arab and the Four Seasons Hotel in Hong Kong. It combines an eclectic fusion of modern and traditional Chinese design to create a light and relaxing environment in the main gaming arena. It incorporates contemporary luxury reflected in the use of thousands of crystals adorning the ceiling throughout the venue, a fountain, the Urn, in the Grand Lisboa lobby which sparkles with 580,000 Swarovski crystals and gold plated leaves, and large decorative crystal balls. This complements the traditional opulence of the deep tread carpets and elegant soft furnishings. It also features a themed Treasure Trove section on the lower level gaming area with a range of slot machines as well as gaming tables.

The distinct and iconic architectural design for the Grand Lisboa was inspired by the lotus symbol of Macau combined with the flamboyancy of headdress plumes of Brazilian dancers and the exquisite intrigue of a Faberge egg. At night, the base is a kaleidoscope of colours thanks to 1.2 million light emitting diodes (LEDs) on its surface.

The Grand Lisboa is Macau’s tallest building with 52 storeys, after the Macau Tower, and in phase two, it will open a 430 room hotel.

“Grand Lisboa will offer our guests a truly memorable and unique experience. Stylistically, a daring and contemporary entertainment attraction, it remains true to our history and heritage within the Macau market, while reflecting the progressive direction of the organisation,” explains Dr Stanley Ho.

“Grand Lisboa, designed by Chinese for Chinese, will appeal to locals and Macau visitors alike. We look forward to welcoming old friends and new to this dynamic new entertainment venue.”

The Grand Lisboa Casino will open to the public at 22.00h on Sunday 11 February 2007.