Opened in 2004, Sands Macao has been instrumental in the development of the gaming industry in Macau. On the occasion of its 20th anniversary, Prof. Glenn McCartney, Associate Dean (Curriculum and Teaching) of the Faculty of Business Administration and Associate Professor in the Department of Integrated Resort and Tourism Management at the University of Macau, and a group of industry experts were interviewed by Jornal Tribuna de Macau. In the interview, he described the arrival of Sands Macao as a transformative factor that catalyzed the development of integrated resorts in the region.

Prof. Glenn McCartney emphasized that Sands Macao brought a wealth of experience and expertise from Las Vegas, including integrated resort development, entertainment, MICE, and retail. The entry of a private operator broke the monopoly of the market at the time and accelerated the pace of development in Macau, creating a new movement in integrated resort development.

Reflecting on the opening of Sands Macao, Prof. Glenn McCartney, a scholar who lived through the “liberalization of gaming in Macao”, spoke of the huge impact it had on the local community. The grandeur of Sands Macao’s architecture and the attention to detail in its finishes exceeded expectations, resulting in a “wow effect” that people experienced.

Prof. Glenn McCartney also pointed out that over the past two decades, Macau has experienced dramatic changes in terms of both its cityscape construction and its understanding of integrated resorts. Operators, including Sands, have continued to improve the property, for example by investing in capital projects and expanding the number of hotels. The six gaming operators are also adapting to changing customer profiles, particularly catering to the needs of the Mainland Chinese market, which makes up a significant proportion of their customer base. Although Sands Macao may not be able to match the size of Venetian Macau, it has played a key role in laying the groundwork for subsequent growth.

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