Est.: Aug. 28, 2007
Updated: Dec. 12, 2009

City of Dreams Casino — Wizard of Macau

Last update: August 15, 2009

Quick Facts

Address: City of Dreams, Estrada do Istmo, Cotai, Macau
Phone: (853) 8868-6688
URL: www.cityofdreams.com.mo
Wikipedia article

There can be little debate that the City of Dreams is one of the nicest properties in Macau. It is actually a combination of a casino, stores, restaurant, entertainment, three hotels (Hard Rock, Hyatt, and Crown), and a luxury apartment building (source). I visited the City of Dreams in August, 2009. While there I played at the casino for about three hours, watched the "bubble" show, and ate twice.

The casino is two stories, the first floor being about twice as large as the second. The first floor features a free live music on a large stage and lounge, as well as a buffet. The second floor is done in a Hard Rock design, with plenty of framed rock memorabilia. Otherwise, it looks the same as the first floor. I've heard people refer to the second floor as the Hard Rock casino. However, they use the same interchangeable chips as on the first floor, which say "City of Dreams." Personally, I consider both floors to be the same City of Dreams casino.

I found the casino to be clean, un-crowded, and festive. The customer base is on the young side. They offer the usual casino games seen in Macau, namely baccarat, blackjack, sic bo, craps, roulette, fan tan, Casino War, Commission Free Baccarat, and Three Card Baccarat. The rules and pay tables are standard for Macau.

Outside on the casino on the first floor are two free attractions. The first is an enormous video screen showing lots of fish and mermaids. It looks like water pours over the screen, to give it an aquatic look. The mermaids are actually quite erotic, with the top half in just body paint. I think real women were used, as it seemed extremely realistic. As my sophomore-year college roommate would have said, some of the mermaids clearly had their high beams on. Lots of kids were watching too, something that would never fly in the prudish USA.

The second attraction is the Bubble Show, which starts every half hour. Free tickets are required to enter. The ticket booth is just to the left of the queue. The show is like the old American the Beautiful at Disneyland, where the audience stands under dome. The opening act is a water show, where spouts arranged in a circle on the ceiling squirt out water in various designs. It is very nicely done, and something I've never seen before. The main attraction is an antimated show, projected on the ceiling, about the underwater world below the City of Dreams. There live four dragons who play around with the Bubble, although it looked more like the green orb from the Heavy Metal movie to me. Artistically, it was an impressive production, but if there was a plot to the story, it escaped me. This is something children would probably enjoy, although those aged about five or younger may find it too loud and scary. The total show lasts about 20 minutes.

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