SJM CEO Ambrose So Shu Fai said Thursday that Grand Lisboa Palace in Cotai would open in the second half of next year, which would add vitality to the tourism offerings in the Greater Bay Area (GBA).
So made the announcement as he gave a speech at the company’s cocktail reception for its staff at Macau Tower to mark the 69th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
According to previous reports, the HK$36 billion project was supposed to be topped off in 2016, with about 2,000 hotel rooms, a casino, Michelin-starred restaurants, a shopping mall and a number of food and beverage outlets.
Asked by reporters on the sidelines of the reception yesterday about the non-gaming offerings at the resort, So said they would be revealed in due course.
In response to installing smoking lounges as the law to ban smoking in casinos from January 1 next year, So urged the government to simplify the procedures as the installation and inspection of the lounges requires approval from several entities, and also to extend the deadline for the application of upgraded smoking lounges.
The Health Bureau (SSM) said in a statement yesterday in apparent response to So’s remarks that “the bureau still accepts applications to install smoking lounges in casinos and will follow the procedures to handle [the matter] strictly.”
According to the statement, as of September 28, among the city’s 47 casinos, the bureau has received applications from 27 to set up a total 404 smoking lounges. Among the applications, three casinos have applied to set up 12 smoking lounges to meet the new standards, which have been approved.
The statement also said that smoking lounges that have not been approved would be classified as non-smoking areas from January 1 next year, and if smoking lounges then do not meet the new standards, they would be ordered to shut down and the operator of the venue would be fined up to 200,000 patacas.
