Macau bets on new casino

MACAU - Thousands of gamblers on Sunday jammed into a new casino owned by a local billionaire who is trying to fend off an invasion by Las Vegas tycoons who have been gobbling up market share in the booming Chinese territory of Macau.
Many of the punters who crowded into the Grand Lisboa - shaped like a huge lotus flower covered in blinking lights - were big-betting mainland Chinese who helped push Macau past the Las Vegas Strip last year as the world's gaming center.
The five-floor casino is owned by Hong Kong billionaire Stanley Ho, who held a monopoly on gaming in Macau for four decades until 2002. The former Portuguese enclave - two islands and a peninsula off China's southeastern coast - is the only place in China where casinos are legal.
In the past four years, some of the biggest names from Las Vegas - Las Vegas Sands Corp.'s Sheldon Adelson, Wynn Resorts Ltd.'s Stephen Wynn and MGM Mirage Inc.

CityCenter's Mandarin Oriental newly sold out

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- More than 90 percent of the luxury residential offerings at CityCenter's Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas have sold in a mere 14 days and generated more than $600 million, signifying a robust market for Las Vegas' next generation development. The first of CityCenter's four residential developments to be released to the public for purchase, The Residences at Mandarin Oriental achieved prices well above expectations.
Still available is the Mandarin Penthouse collection, including luxurious two- and three- bedroom units ranging in size from 2,065 square feet to 4,259 square feet. These residences are priced from $3.7 million to $9.1 million and will be delivered as grey shells.
CityCenter, MGM MIRAGE's (NYSE: MGM) $7 billion dazzling vertical city, will open in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip between Bellagio and Monte Carlo resorts in late 2009.

Qatari Diar Real Estate and NorthCourse Leisure Real Estate ...

Real estate industry leaders Qatari Diar, a regional leader in sustainable real estate development, and NorthCourse, a global leisure real estate consulting and asset management company, signed a joint venture agreement today, creating what is poised to be a significant player in luxury real estate brokerage in parts of the Middle East and North Africa region. The company that will be established, Qatar Real Estate Partners, has obtained the exclusive franchise rights for the Sothebys International Realty brand in Qatar, Morocco, Egypt and Oman.
The company, which will market luxury real estate, will be headquartered in Doha, Qatar and expects to initially open Sothebys International Realty offices there and in Casablanca, Morocco. Offices in Cairo, Egypt and Muscat, Oman are planned to follow shortly.

Luxury resort set for Lake of Ozarks

Springfield hotel developer John Q. Hammons is bringing his vision of luxury lodging to the Lake of the Ozarks, on a peninsula where the 15-story hotel is sure to stand out. Hammons estimates that his property -- a European-style hotel, to be called Chateau on Lake of the Ozarks, Osage Beach -- will cost $80 million to $90 million. The hotel will have 320 rooms and more than 100,000 square feet of meeting space. The 30-acre site went to Hammons in January. It sits on a peninsula visible from U.S. 54 in both directions on the Grand Glaize bridge. Osage Beach officials have been looking forward to the project for more than a year and offered plenty of praise ahead of an official announcement scheduled for today. "It will be a huge benefit and boost to the city," said Nancy Viselli, Osage Beach's city administrator.

Club La Costa sets sail into luxury holiday market

This spring, Club La Costa Resorts & Hotels will launch its exclusive Yacht Club in Palma, when the first of its fleet of 60 ft luxury €1 million catamarans will sail around the island of Mallorca for its inaugural spring/summer season (from March 17th to October 20th, 2007, inclusive.) The Club intends to quickly expand its fleet and destinations in the future to include Italy, Turkey and the Aegean. With the backing of parent company Club La Costa - which this year will celebrate 23 years in the holiday industry - the Yacht Club aims to bring the luxury of sailing holidays within the financial reach of everyone, for considerably less than a similar vacation available from the usual charter operators. Set to cater for those wishing to experience the ultimate holiday lifestyle of the yachting elite – minus the expense and management that comes with owning your own yacht – this unique style of holiday means guests can relax onboard, soak up the sun and enjoy the high life while the crew takes care of everything else, from serving breakfast to mixing mojitos at sunset, or from arranging excursions to scuba diving lessons along with a variety of other water sports.