Venetian Macao 10th birthday bash pops corks, breaks ribs

Las Vegas Sands’ original Macau casino celebrated its tenth anniversary without the company’s founder Sheldon Adelson, who was injured on his way to the party.

On Monday, Sands China threw a major birthday party for the Venetian Macao, the first Las Vegas Sands property to be built in Macau and the one that the company likes to claim originated the concept of the integrated resort, rather than just building a gaming floor with a hotel attached.

The celebration was originally scheduled to take place in late August, but that party was scrubbed when Typhoon Hato blew through town, leaving some casinos flooded with more water than the Venetian’s famous gondola canals.

Sands China president Wilfred Wong Ying-wai reeled off some impressive statistics, including the fact that 280m guests had crossed the Venetian Macao’s threshold in the last ten years. That represents nearly three-fifths of all Sands China guests over that span.