Cotai is the region of reclaimed land between the former islands of Coloane and Taipa in Macau, however the word (a combination of Coloane and Taipa) can also refer to the entire new island which was formed by the reclamation. In the second sense, Macau now consists of the Macau Peninsula plus Cotai Island, about a mile to the south.
The reclamation was performed in 2004, spearheaded by the vision of Sands China Chairman Sheldon Adelson, to provide more space in Macau for integrated resort development (the phrase "Cotai Strip" is a registered trademark of Sands). Cotai is adjacent to Hengqin Island (which is part of the city of Zhuhai in Guangdong Province, China), connected to Hengqin via the Lotus Bridge.
Approximately USD $50 billion has been invested in Cotai to create not only a luxurious district of integrated resorts like the Las Vegas Strip, but something more. Whereas the theme of Las Vegas is "Sin City," the theme of Cotai is opulence - "nothing but the best" - with the resort firms striving to create the most extravagant hotels with the finest architecture, restaurants, spas, entertainment, shopping and business meeting facilities, in addition to gaming.
That's about $2 billion per month in Cotai gaming revenue alone, with close to half coming from high-rollers who mostly play in the private "VIP" rooms at the various casinos and sometimes bet $100,000 or more per hand playing baccarat. Many professional analysts predict significantly higher revenues likely in the years and decades ahead.
This may be aided by the "Greater Bay Area" plan to integrate Macau with Hong Kong and the major cities in Guangdong Province, and it may also be aided by the advent of hypersonic flight after some years, which will bring visitors from the West in record-breaking time.
It should greatly be aided by the billions of dollars now being invested in Hengqin, to turn the island into the "Orlando of China" with multiple theme parks and other attractions. When Hengqin is fully developed, Cotai (which is also next to Macau International Airport) will be the geographical center of the major tourist attractions in the area. A revealing article was recently published at MacauBusiness.com:
There may also be additional resorts constructed in the Seac Pai Van area, just south of the current strip, where The 13 Hotel was recently built. That could potentially double the number of Cotai casinos over time. The government is trying to reclaim "at least seven lots" which are not being used:
Thus, it seems inevitable that Cotai will become a world-renowned tourist destination and may come to be widely considered the leisure, entertainment, gaming and MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) capital of the world.
Domain Name and Possible Website Development
At this time we are looking for a partner to help us build a great website here at Cotai.com, or to simply sell the domain. The website could feature:
* A legal, licensed online casino;
* A VIP club where high rollers can learn about the VIP rooms and connect with each other (the casinos should be interested in advertising with us as they are in fierce competition for the VIP business);
* Airline, hotel, restaurant, show and spa bookings;
* Online sales of luxury items;
* A guide to the attractions of Cotai, Macau, Hengqin and the Greater Bay Area, with coupons and reviews;
* News about upcoming developments in the area;
* Live and recorded video of high-stakes gambling and other entertainment events.
It should be noted that some Cotai VIPs may play exclusively in Cotai, preferring the new mega resorts to the older casinos on the Macau Peninsula, and some may be domain name investors as domain investing is somewhat popular in China, with short dotcom domains considered especially valuable.
Thus, a well-developed website at the one-and-only Cotai.com could attract a significant number of VIPs, not to mention other gamblers and vacationers worldwide who will be hearing more and more about Cotai as Macau increasingly promotes the region and the media increasingly reports on it. (Right now the infrastructure in Macau can barely handle the number of visitors they are receiving, with mass promotion awaiting completion of development.)
What better way to "dress for success" than be at Cotai.com? The name itself should attract Cotai enthusiasts - via 1) enhanced response to advertising, online links and word-of-mouth marketing, 2) direct navigation, from both new and repeat visitors, and 3) SEO friendliness - and immeasurably increase the prestige of the website and its ability to retain loyal customers. For more information on the value of "exact-match" domains see this Forbes article:
This domain name Cotai.com is potentially an extremely valuable marketing tool. If one of the Cotai resorts was to use the domain solely for an exclusive VIP club - without any online gambling - and consequently increased their share of the Cotai VIP gaming revenue alone by just one percent, that would mean additional revenue of about $100 million per year for the company, at current levels.
If the site - again, without online gambling - increased the company's share of all Cotai resort revenue by just one percent, the additional revenue would be somewhere in the neighborhood of $275 million per year - again, at current levels which could easily double in the next 10 years.
Add in the potential for legal, regulated, online gambling and the sky's the limit in our opinion.