Presenting to a conference of representatives from Wall Street including bankers, investors and analysts of the Bank Loan, High Yield, Corporate, Convertibles and Merchant Banking communities, Weidner, provided a financial overview and business update of the Las Vegas Boulevard resort which opened May 4.

“Since our soft opening in May, we expected business to pick-up at The Venetian, but what we didn’t expect was how quickly it would increase,” said Weidner. “While true that Las Vegas is historically slow during the summer months, especially for group business, The Venetian strategy is about to shift into high gear with the onset of August. That’s when the trade show season begins and our group sales kick into place.”

The Venetian, with its direct link to the Sands Expo and Convention Center and the opening of its 500,000 square-foot Venetian Congress Center, expects to sell more than half of its rooms to the group business market. Historically, July has been the slowest group business month of the calendar year. The Venetian managed to sell 24 percent of the available rooms to convention and group attendees at an average daily rate of approximately $130 per room night. During July, The Venetian’s overall hotel occupancy was 85 percent of available rooms at an average daily rate of $127. Through Aug. 8, with group rooms comprising 31 percent of the total with an average daily rate of $163, occupancy increased to 90 percent and the average daily room rate increased to $151. Free Independent Travelers (FIT) rates averaged $133 in July and increased to $167 in August month to date.

Venetian Hotel occupancy has shown marked improvement since the opening of the lavish resort on May 4, 1999. “The overall linear average of occupied rooms began in May at approximately 1,000 occupied rooms per night and increased to approximately 2,700 occupied rooms per night at the end of July,” said Weidner.

“Our mid-week occupied hotel rooms increased from an average of approximately 900 occupied rooms at opening, to 2,500 occupied rooms per night at the end of July. Weekend occupancy increased from an average 1,300 rooms per night to nearly 3,000 rooms per night for the same period,” Weidner added.

At this writing, 3,000 suites of the total 3,036 luxury suites at The Venetian are completely finished and open for business leaving only the 36th floor, or top floor, to be occupied. Testing will commence next week with an expected completion by the end of August. In addition, the resort’s pool deck which features five pools spread across a roof-top garden is open.

“All aspects of The Venetian’s business operation are gaining momentum with the opening of additional suites, the Canyon Ranch SpaClub, The Grand Canal Shoppes, and nine marquee restaurants including Star Canyon, Delmonico, Valentino and Canaletto,” said Weidner.

The Venetian features a unique “Restaurant Row” of owner-operated restaurants from world-renowned chefs and restaurateurs and totals 2,500 seats. Such fine-dining venues as Il Fornaio’s Canaletto, Canyon Ranch Cafe, Emeril Lagasse’s Delmonico Steakhouse, The Grand Lux Cafe by the creators of The Cheesecake Factory, Joachim Splichal’s Pinot Brasserie, Star Canyon by Stephan Pyles, Taqueria Canonita, Valentino and Piero’s Wine Bar Grill by Piero Selvaggio are open for business.

Chef Kevin Wu’s well-known restaurant Royal Star is scheduled to open to the public on Aug. 12 and Gian Paulo Belloni’s Zeffirino from Genoa, Italy is slated to open in mid-August. By October, the famed Lutece by Eberhard Muller and Postrio by Wolfgang Puck will open, making The Venetian a culinary capital.

Inside the resort’s Grand Canal Shoppes, a shopping venue mirrored after the streets of Renaissance Venice, Italy, more than 40 of the 65 retail stores and boutiques are open for business with nine more scheduled to open in mid-August. “The mall and all public spaces are complete except for minor facade details,” said Weidner.

“While minor construction of the retail annex exterior facade is still in progress, with only painting to be completed, the two businesses housed inside, Madame Tussaud’s Celebrity Encounter, the first in the United States, and Sephora, a cosmetic and perfume store, have been open to the public and are doing brisk business,” Weidner added.

Weidner also spoke of the improvement in casino revenue at The Venetian since the opening date by describing volumes of play, disclosing that the linear average of slot machine handle per day increased from an average of $3.1 million per day to an average of $3.9 million per day by the end of July. Table games drop increased from an average of $1.0 million per day at opening to an average $2.0 million per day at the end of July.

Weidner also pointed out that both mid-week and weekend table games drop has improved with the weekend table games volume increasing from an average of $1.5 million per day to an average, $3.0 million per day at the end of July.

The Venetian boasts the world’s largest hotel and convention complex which includes 3,036 hotel suites, the first all-suites hotel on Las Vegas Boulevard; approximately 120,000 square feet of gaming floor; approximately 500,000 square feet of retail space at The Grand Canal Shoppes; approximately 500,000 square feet of meeting space at The Venetian Congress Center; and a direct link to the approximately 1.2 million square-foot Sands Expo and Convention Center.

Certain matters discussed in this news release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Actual results and the timing of certain events could differ materially from those projected in or contemplated by the forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including general economic conditions, acts of God, and competition for construction, hotel, casino, food and beverage, and related labor and materials in the Las Vegas market. Reference is hereby made to the “Risk Factors” set forth in the company’s Form S-4 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.