Venetian Macau said to draw 114,000 visitors in first 24 hours

The Venetian Macau drew 114,000 people over the first 24 hours of operations late last month, said the casino's operator, Las Vegas Sands Corp.

Chief Executive Officer Sheldon Adelson called the throngs of visitors, which continued to arrive through the first week of operations, "gratifying."

"It unequivocally validates our vision and the rationale behind the development of our multiproperty Cotai Strip," he said in a statement.

Daily visitation figures have varied from 66,000 to 86,000, and more than 500,000 have gone through the casino resort since the Aug. 28 opening in the Chinese gambling enclave, the company said.

JPMorgan analyst Harry Curtis earlier said his earnings estimates for the quarter were based on 30,000 visitors per day.

Las Vegas Sands shares fell 69 cents, or 0.67 percent, Wednesday to close at $101.63 on the New York Stock Exchange.

The $2.4 billion Venetian Macau is the largest single-structure hotel in Asia and the second largest building in the world, the company said.

Las Vegas Sands, which also runs the Sands Macau on the Macau peninsula, plans to invest up to $12 billion and build 20,000 hotel rooms on what it calls the Cotai Strip in Macau by 2010.

The company operates The Venetian and is building the Palazzo in Las Vegas.