New Ground

Visitors to Macau in years past remember the then-enclave's southern islands as hilly outcrops connected by bridge. But in the mid-90s, massive dredging operations began that essentially merged the two islands, creating an area known as "Cotai."

"Cotai is a land reclamation area between Taipa and Coloane Islands that measures 4.7 square kilometers, while the entire MSAR measures 27.5 sq km," said publisher Harald Bruning, of The Macau Post Daily. "The Venetian casino-hotel-convention center is planned to open in phases between late 2006 and late 2007."

"Galaxy will also open a casino-hotel-resort complex in Cotai, probably around 2008," said Bruning, who added that Galaxy is a Hong Kong-owned company owned by the Lui family and known for its investments in hotels in Hong Kong, North America and mainland China.