Versace to build Macau casino resort hotel with SJM

MILAN, Italy - Italian fashion house Versace has signed a deal to build a luxury hotel at a casino resort in Macau, Asia's gambling capital, it said on Tuesday.

In a joint statement with local casinos operator SJM Holdings Ltd, Versace said the five-star Palazzo Versace hotel will be part of a resort SJM is building in the former Portuguese colony's Las Vegas-style Cotai strip.

The statement did not give any financial details.

SJM, controlled by the family of gambling tycoon Stanley Ho, was given initial approval in May to build its first resort in Cotai, where it has been facing competition from rivals like Las Vegas Sands Corp and Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd .

The property, which is not expected to open before 2015, will have 700 gaming tables and 2000 hotel rooms.

The Macau hotel is Versace's first hotel in Asia and the third in the world after one in Australia and another that will open next year in Dubai.

Macau, located an hour away form Hong Kong by ferry, is China's only legal casino hub. Gambling revenues totalled $3.7 billion in the month of July alone, up 20 percent on a year earlier, thanks to rising numbers of mainland Chinese visitors.