The Venetian Macao, Casino resort on Cotai, Macau, China

The Venetian Macao is a 39-storey hotel and casino resort on the Cotai Strip, modelled on The Venetian Las Vegas. Its cream-ribbed facade carries a vertical VENETIAN sign and stands at the water's edge on a stone base; inside, a hall of cream stone, gold trim and blue-outlined arches holds parallel escalators and a circular mosaic medallion floor. It has 3,000 suites and a 546,000 sq ft casino.

The Venetian Macao opened on 28 August 2007, with its main hotel tower finished the previous month. It was built on reclaimed land on the Cotai Strip, with foundations carried by 1,530 concrete pilings. Aedas and HKS, Inc. led the design, coordination and implementation. The first phase drew about 70,000 visitors in its first five hours and its ten-millionth visitor on 12 February 2008, 169 days after opening.

The resort's name comes from its Venetian model, and its indoor canals carry gondolas past a replica of St Mark's Square, where piano solos and mime shows are staged. The casino's four zones are named Golden Fish, Imperial House, Red Dragon and Phoenix, and the Paiza Club's private rooms take the names of Asian cities such as Hong Kong, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.

The Venetian Macao sits on the Cotai Strip, with the Taipa line's Cotai West station linking directly to the Cotai Expo entrance A. A free shuttle fleet runs eight routes, among them the Barrier Gate border crossing, the Hengqin checkpoint, the Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal, Macau International Airport and the Taipa Ferry Terminal. The casino's two spiral escalators, the only ones in Macau, connect its levels.

The casino floor holds two spiral escalators, the only pair in Macau. The resort also keeps a private bus fleet running eight routes, linking the property with the Barrier Gate, the HZMB port, the airport, the Taipa ferry terminal and Hengqin. The arena opened with the resort on 28 August 2007, when Diana Ross, A-Mei and David Tao performed.