People that have attended SJM’s recent job fair told Macau News Agency that they received indications of a possible Grand Lisboa Palace opening for December 20.
The gaming operator has been carrying employing rounds for its first property in Cotai, with more than 2,000 people attending its first major recruitment event.
The same sources also received indication their employment positions are set to start in October.
MNA inquired the group on the indicated opening date, with SJM replying the property’s opening is ‘expected to open by the end of 2020, subject to obtaining necessary operating permits’ but without confirming the specific proposed date, which coincides with the Macau SAR handover anniversary.
The US$5 billion development ended its construction in late 2019, with SJM maintaining its opening date schedule for 2020, although gaming analysts have suggested the Covid-19 pandemic could lead to an opening delay for 2021.
The property will have 90 per cent of its total area dedicated to non-gaming elements, including 1,900 hotel rooms from the Grand Lisboa Palace hotel and two other hotel brands, in partnership with luxury fashion houses Palazzo Versace and Karl Lagerfeld.
Meanwhile, the nearby HK$5 billion (US$650-million) Lisboeta Macau – developed by Macau Theme Park and Resort Ltd, linked to Angela Leong On Kei, the fourth wife of the late Stanley Ho and executive director of SJM Holdings – is also slated to open this year.
Both properties are expected to be connected to each other, with Lisboeta already granted a four-star hotel license by the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO), in August.
