Macau Developer Signs Deal for Versace Hotel

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Casino company SJM Holdings will include a Versace-brand hotel in its new casino-resort planned for Macau's Cotai gambling center, the company announced today.

SJM, the company controlled by the family of Stanley Ho, has approval for 2,000 rooms and 700 gaming tables in the resort. The project is SJM's biggest development yet in Macau.

The Versace partnership will "undoubtedly alleviate" some investor concerns about SJM's ability to build a Las Vegas-style casino-resort, Aaron Fischer, an analyst with CLSA in Hong Kong, told the Wall Street Journal. It will also help promote the Versace brand in Asia.

"I can think of nowhere that has a higher concentration of rich mainland Chinese consumers than Macau," Mr. Fischer told the paper.

No details were announced for the hotel or the construction timetable.
 
The hotel will be the first Palazzo Versace in Asia. The company currently has projects in Australia and Dubai.

Macau generated more than $38 billion in gambling revenue last year, more than six times that of the Las Vegas Strip.