Caesars Arrives

Coinciding with its Sept. 23 groundbreaking, Las Vegas-based Caesars Entertainment Corporation announced it is building a 1,000-room, non-gambling luxury resort on the Chinese island of Hainan.

Caesars Palace Longmu Bay is the company’s “debut property” in the quickly growing Asia-Pacific market.

Caesars CEO Gary Loveman said the new resort represents the “first development” of the Caesars brand in China and India. He pointed out that Hainan has the only west-facing shoreline in all of China, making it the country’s only “sunset beach.” He acknowledged that Caesars, which is synonymous with gambling, has to go to places where gambling may not be allowed “but where the brand is held in high regard.”

The new $470 million resort marks another first for the company, being the premier venture for Caesars Global Life, the non-casino division created in May to license, franchise and manage hotels outside the U.S.

The goal is to develop 25 resorts and hotels in China over the next five years.

The resort on Hainan was designed by PTW Architects of Australia, and is a partnership between Caesars and Guoxin Longmu Bay Investment Holding Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of the Chinese investment and development concern Jingsu Guoxin Investment Group.

The resort, which will open in 2014, includes two entertainment venues, a 36-hole golf course, marina, spa, shopping facilities and restaurants. MGM Resorts International plans to open a resort on the island later this year.