Grand Lisboa Palace looks set to open by September

SJM Holdings has announced that it will host an art exhibition at Grand Lisboa Palace from September 1.

Macau.- Grand Lisboa Palace could finally get its long-awaited opening as SJM Holdings has announced the venue will host an art exhibition from September 1 to October 31.

However, the company is still waiting for approval from the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) and for the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) Occupancy Permit (OP), which could take between four and eight weeks.

The company plans to open just one of its three hotels initially, with limited retail options. It will open with 260 mass tables while the remaining 44 VIP tables will be launched in 2022, after the opening of the venue’s Versace-branded hotel. 

Grand Lisboa Palace involved an investment of HKD39bn (US$5bn). When complete, it will have around 2,000 hotel rooms split between three venues: The Lisboa Palace Hotel, Palazzo Versace Macau, and Karl Lagerfeld Hotel luxury boutique hotel.

It includes 27,000 square metres of gaming floor space (290,000 sq ft) for up to 700 gaming tables and 1,200 electronic gaming machines.

The Cotai integrated resort was originally due to open in 2017 but has faced multiple delays. If Grand Lisboa Palace finally opens by September, it will be the only integrated resort to have opened in Macau during the Covid-19 pandemic.

SJM wants to operate casino at new Cotai property

SJM Holdings wants to operate a casino at the Lisboeta, located next to the Macau East Asian Games Dome.

The Lisboeta is part of a bigger project, the Macau Theme Park and Resort, or Lisboeta Macau Park. The project is being led by Arnaldo Ho Yau Heng, son of SJM Holdings’ executive director Angela Leong On Kei.

The Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) awarded Lisboeta Hotel with a 4-star licence last August.