MACAU, May 7 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- City of Dreams today announced it will open on June 1. City of Dreams is an integrated entertainment resort set to become the "must experience" destination in Macau. It is being developed by Melco Crown Entertainment Limited (Nasdaq: MPEL) ("Melco Crown Entertainment"), an entertainment company listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market.
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"Our goal with City of Dreams, our flagship development in Macau, has been to set a new standard of gaming and entertainment experience in Asia. I believe that we will achieve this goal," said Lawrence Ho, Co-Chairman and CEO of Melco Crown Entertainment.
"City of Dreams is a 'must experience' next generation resort like no other in Asia, or perhaps the world, comprising distinctly branded casino floors, three separate world-class hotels, a unique shopping precinct The Boulevard which wraps around the casino floors and links the three hotel towers, and an awe-inspiring fully immersive multimedia show housed in the unique theater, The Bubble."
"The opening of City of Dreams represents a culmination of nearly five years of planning and development. As our flagship property, it represents a major step forward in Macau's transformation as the region's premiere leisure, entertainment, and gaming destination," he said.
"In addition to creating close to 7,000 job opportunities in Macau and providing career advancement opportunities throughout our organization, we have been able to deliver on our commitment to the employees of Altira Macau by returning them to normalized work schedules. As a people-centric organization with deep roots in Macau, we remain committed to grooming our employees and to having more than 50 percent of our core management positions held by local Macau people by the end of 2011."
"With the opening of City of Dreams, I believe Melco Crown Entertainment is in the best position to thrive and add value to our stakeholders and the Macau community."
The initial opening phase of City of Dreams will feature a 420,000-square-foot casino, a diverse range of accommodations including approximately 300 guest rooms Crown Towers offering unrivaled levels of personalized service, lavish style and uncompromising sophistication. The exciting music-inspired Hard Rock Hotel is a vibrant hospitality option of electrifying music themes and memorabilia, with approximately 300 guest rooms. Over 20 restaurants and bars, an impressive array of some of the world's most sought-after retail brands within the unique lifestyle precinct The Boulevard is operated by leading travel retailer DFS; and the spectacular, one of its kind, audio visual multimedia extravaganza, Dragon's Treasure, featured in the iconic dome-shaped The Bubble theatre.
"The opening of City of Dreams on June 1, will represent the only large-scale entertainment resort to open its doors in Macau this year," said Greg Hawkins, President of City of Dreams. "Diversity is the key to City of Dreams. It is diverse by the nature of its dynamic mix of dining, shopping, leisure and entertainment offerings which are all quite unique. What we offer from Crown, to Hard Rock, to The Bubble experience, and in later stages Grand Hyatt Macau and Dragone, is distinct and different both to each other and to anything else in Macau."
"This exciting project has also provided an abundance of jobs and outstanding career opportunities to the Macau people. City of Dreams will generate a diverse range of travel, food and beverage, leisure and entertainment industry related careers, essential for the long-term growth of Macau."
"By appealing to a wide-array of travelers with the complete set of dining, shopping, leisure and entertainment offerings, City of Dreams is helping to reposition Macau as the leisure and entertainment epicenter of Asia."
The impressive launch of City of Dreams on June 1 will be followed by opening of Grand Hyatt Macau and the highly anticipated Dragone show. Grand Hyatt Macau offering approximately 800 guest rooms will be completed in the third quarter of 2009 and the Dragone inspired theatre production will open in the purpose-built Theatre of Dreams soon thereafter. The final planned phase of development at City of Dreams will feature a luxury apartment hotel consisting of approximately 800 units.
Mr Ho said celebrations to be held in conjunction with the Grand Opening of City of Dreams will be announced shortly.
About Melco Crown Entertainment Limited
Melco Crown Entertainment Limited ("Melco Crown Entertainment") is a developer, owner and through a Macau subsidiary which holds a gaming sub-concession, an operator of casino gaming and entertainment casino resort facilities. Melco Crown Entertainment's first property, Altira Macau ( http://www.altiramacau.com ) (formerly Crown Macau), opened on May 12, 2007. Other development projects include City of Dreams, an integrated urban casino resort located in Cotai, Macau ( http://www.cityofdreamsmacau.com ). Melco Crown Entertainment's business also includes the Mocha Clubs ( http://www.mochaclubs.com ), which feature a total of approximately 1,300 gaming machines in eight locations and comprise the largest non-casino based operations of electronic gaming machines in Macau. Melco Crown Entertainment has entered into an agreement, subject to certain conditions, to acquire a third development site on the Macau Peninsula. For more information about Melco Crown Entertainment, please visit http://www.melco-crown.com .
Melco Crown Entertainment has strong support from both of its major shareholders, Melco International Development Limited ("Melco") and Crown Limited ("Crown"). Melco is a listed company on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and is substantially owned and led by Mr. Lawrence Ho, who is Co-Chairman, a Director and the CEO of Melco Crown Entertainment. Crown is a top-100 company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange and led by Executive Chairman James Packer, who is also Co-Chairman and a Director of Melco Crown Entertainment.
About City of Dreams
City of Dreams is being developed by Melco Crown Entertainment Limited (Nasdaq: MPEL), an entertainment company listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market, and will be an integrated entertainment resort that is set to become the "must experience" destination in Macau. Combining electrifying entertainment, stylish nightclubs, a diverse array of accommodation, regional and international dining, world-class shopping and a spacious and contemporary casino, City of Dreams will usher in a new era of gaming and entertainment when it opens in Cotai on June 1, 2009. The resort brings together a dream team of world-renowned brands such as Crown, Grand Hyatt, Hard Rock and Dragone to create an exceptional entertainment experience that will appeal to the broadest spectrum of visitors from around Asia and the world. The initial opening of City of Dreams will feature a 420,000-square-foot casino with approximately 520 gaming tables and approximately 1,350 gaming machines; over 20 restaurants and bars; an impressive array of some of the world's most sought-after retail brands; and an iconic and spectacular audio visual multimedia experience; Crown Towers offering approximately 300 guest rooms and the Hard Rock Hotel offering approximately 300 guest rooms. Grand Hyatt Macau offering approximately 800 guest rooms will be completed in the third quarter of 2009 and a Dragone inspired theatre production will open in the purpose-built Theatre of Dreams soon thereafter. The final planned phase of development at City of Dreams will feature an apartment hotel consisting of approximately 800 units. For more information please visit: http://www.cityofdreamsmacau.com .
Safe Harbor Statement
This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under
the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by words or phrases such as "may,"
"will," "expect," "anticipate," "target," "aim," "estimate," "intend," "plan," "believe,"
"potential," "continue," "is/are likely to" or other similar expressions. The parent company of City of Dreams, Melco Crown Entertainment Limited ("Melco Crown Entertainment") may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its periodic reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in its annual report to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about beliefs and expectations of Melco Crown Entertainment, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors affecting Melco Crown Entertainment could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement, including but not limited to the following: growth of the gaming market and visitation in Macau; finalization of credit facilities to finance construction of projects; the completion of the construction of hotel casino resort projects; the acquisition and development of the Macau Peninsula site; increased competition and other planned casino hotel and resort projects in Macau and elsewhere in Asia; the completion of infrastructure projects in Macau; government regulation of the casino industry; the ability to raise additional financing; obtaining approval from the Macau government for an increase in the developable gross floor area of the City of Dreams site; the formal grant of an occupancy permit for City of Dreams; anticipated growth strategies; and future business development, results of operations and financial condition. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in Melco Crown Entertainment's Annual Report on Form 20-F filed on March 31, 2009 and other documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Melco Crown Entertainment does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law. All information provided in this press release is as of the date of this release, and Melco Crown Entertainment undertakes no duty to update such information, except as required under applicable law.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Fleishman-Hillard Hong Kong
Louisa Wong
Tel: +852-2111-3170
Mobile: +852-9144-3513
Email: louisa.wong@fleishman.com
Rebecca Chiu
Tel: +852-2111-8434
Mobile: +852-9192-3493
Email: rebecca.chiu@fleishman.com
City of Dreams
Charles Ngai
Tel: +853-8868-8953
Email: charlesngai@cod-macau.com
Jennifer Lam
Tel: +853-8868-8989
Email: jlam@cod-macau.com
