City of Dreams, an astonishing new resort developed on Cotai Strip in Macau, opened its doors on 1st June. It was a day of feast for Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd., its powerful owner.

The new resort - a $2.1 billion project - aims to become the first gambling destination on the Cotai Strip, surpassing Las Vegas Sands’ Venetian Macau, the first entertainment center in Macau, owned by the billionaire Sheldon Anderson.

 City of Dreams brings together famous brands including Hard Rock, Grand Hyatt and Crown, in order to deliver exceptional entertainment and hotels of the highest quality. As co-chairman Lawrence Ho stated in a declaration, the City Center project is “crucial” to ensuring the progress of the strip. Ho claims that his entertainment center will cater to a community unhappy with the offer of Venetian resort: “If you are a younger, hipper, cooler crowd and you like to party or you like music, then the Hard Rock is our solution” Ho said, referring to the state-of-the-art hotel.

Nevertheless, the main attraction of the resort will be a casino measuring 420.000 square-feet and featuring approximately 520 gambling tables and 1.350 gaming machines.

“Our dream for a new standard of entertainment in Macau has become a reality,” added Lawrence Ho, proud of the company’s great deed. In his statement, he made allusion at theirs competitors, “who have a very stretched balance sheet”, unlike Melco Crown Entertainment managers, who “have always managed the balance sheet very carefully.”

However, “City of Dreams” is likely to confront tough problems. The gambling market in Macau have been hit not only by the financial crisis, but also by the tight legal restrictions on Chinese visitors adopted last year. Gaming revenues have been falling since the beginning of the year and they are expected to fall over again.