Sands Cotai Central second phase set; UFC Macau card rumors; Melco Crown upgraded

sands cotai centralSands China has confirmed the second phase of their latest resort will open on September 20. Sands Cotai Central first opened its doors in April and the second part will include the first of two hotel towers that make up the Sheraton Macau Hotel. Once the second tower opens in early 2013 it will become the largest hotel in Macau with 3,896 guestrooms. Las Vegas Sands and Sands China chairman Sheldon Adelson reiterated his belief that Macau is very much where there future lies.

“I’m very happy to see Sheraton join our growing family of integrated resorts on the Cotai Strip. Sands China remains committed to establishing Macau as a world centre of tourism and leisure, and Asia’s number one business and leisure destination. The addition of Sheraton Macau Hotel, Cotai Central and its impressive array of luxury accommodation is an important development towards reaching that goal,” he said.

UFC Macau will have a distinctly Asian feel after the brand’s newest signing was confirmed for the November event. Brazilian site sportv reports that Korean welterweight Hyun Gyu Lim will make his debut in UFC when he fights Brazilian Marcelo Guimaraes at the Venetian Macau’s Cotai Arena on November 10. Other fights rumoured to be on the card include Paulo Thiago vs Dong Hyun Kim, Alex Caceres vs Kyung Ho Kang and the main event Rich Franklin v Cung Le.

Melco Crown Entertainment has seen its shares upgraded by one set of analysts as the feel-good atmosphere continues to penetrate the Macau market. A Jags Report article states that UBS lifted the company’s shares from a ‘neutral’ to ‘buy’ rating in a research report sent out to investors earlier this week. The projected share price has gone up from the previous target of $14.00 to the new one of $15.00. The company’s shares, trading on the NASDAQ, closed at $12.00 on Tuesday after reaching a high of $12.26 earlier on in the day.