When you’re invited by the sixth richest person in the world for a grand opening event, you gotta be expecting something extra-ordinary.
Sheldon Adelson did not disappoint.
Quite simply, the grand opening ceremony of the Venetian Macao Resort Hotel was hands down the grandest and most amazing event I have ever attended.
Like I said before, it really is good to be a blogger.
The who’s who of Hong Kong and Macau were all in attendance for this monumental event.
It was clear that I was grossly of under-dressed of the lot.
Everyone was looking fine in either their tuxedo or evening gown.
If they’re not in their tux or gowns, they are in their national costumes.
These are journalists from Japan. As cute as they are, they aren’t actually the most eye-catching international journalists we had.
The Taiwanese journalists are definitely the hottest among the international media contigent. They are so hot, I didn’t even take any pictures of them.
I tried, but my camera melted before I could hit the shutter.
The opening concert was held at the Venetian Arena – an indoor stadium located within the same resort complex.
I’m still amazed by how they managed to fit everything so close to each other.
The Venetian Arena is just across the corridor from my lift lobby. Total walking time to get from my room to the arena: 2 minutes.
Any closer and they might have to do the opening ceremony in my hotel bedroom.
When I got to the arena, an act was already underway, featuring a troupe of China girls beating on drums.
Somehow these dragon ladies made girls-beating-on-drums less lesbian than it looks. In fact, their performance was so great I thought that was already main event of the opening ceremony.
But no, that was only a pre-show appetizer.
The show began, and out comes the emcee Astrid Chan.
Astrid is a TVB actress quite popular in some of the Hong Kong soap operas shown here. Coincidentally, I bumped into Astrid Chan during my trip to Hong Kong last year.
Damn TVB actress keeps stalking me.
The theme to Venetian Macao is “Renaissance Venice”, and we were treated to a parade of dancers coming out looking very “Renaissance Venitian-like”.
Gotta love their elaborate outfits.
Gotta love their models too.
The performance line-up to the Venetian Macao’s grand opening event was so secret none of us knew who to expect. Before the show, all I heard was that Cirque du Soliel will be performing and that Andy Lau turned down an offer to sing 6 songs for HK$6 million due to a conflict with his concert schedule.
THAT’S A RM500,000-PER-SONG DEAL ANDY LAU TURNED DOWN.
I had to pay other people that much money to hear me sing.
As the curtains were raised, we were treated to a surprise in the form of Taiwanese superstar diva Zhang Hui Mei!
A-Mei sang two songs, “Gei Wo Gan Jue” (which translated to English as “Give Me A Feeling”) and the perennial karaoke favourite “Lei Hai” (Ummm… “Ocean That Cries”? Chinese song names are weird that way).
All I gotta say is that A-Mei’s performance is a lot better than some of the torture I had to endure in karaoke joints *cough*nicole*cough*.
I’m not sure how much of her performance the international audience understood. But I was still reeling in awe over having watched one of Asia’s top artists sing live when they announced the second performance of the evening.
DAVID TAO!
Here’s one guy whose music I actually listen to. At the height of his career, David Tao’s popularity could rival that of Jay Chou.
David Tao sang two songs as well, “Zhao Zi Ji” (“Finding Myself”) and another perennial karaoke favourite “Ai Hen Jien Dan” (“Love Is Easy”).
He also spoke in fluent English in front of an international audience about how it was his first time in Macau and how he felt under-dressed in front of all the tuxes and frocks.
The show took a break from all the singing to showcase a performance by world renown acrobatic act Cirque du Soliel.
I’ve heard a lot of about this circus troupe but I have never seen them performed live.
Actually, to call the Cirque du Soliel a circus act is an insult. They may have performers dressed as clowns, but the feeling they gave me was a lot more surreal. Their acts do not just involved death-defying acrobatics, but it was a combination of that and theatre and opera.
The Cirque du Soliel will take up residence at the Venetian Macao beginning next year.
After two HUGE acts by A-Mei and David Tao, and an exhilirating performance by the Cirque du Soliel, the audience at the Arena was left wondering what else the Venetian Macao could do to top that.
Is Gwen Stefani gonna come on stage and sing “Wind It Up”?
Will Justin Timberlake bring his Sexy Back to Macao?
Or will Andy Lau squash those rumours and make a surprise apperance?
We all await with bated breath as the emcee announced the next performance by none other than…
GRASSHOPPERS.
Oh. My. Goodness.
Why Sheldon why!
If the year was 1992 and I was still studying in my primary school, MAYBE I’d still get excited over hits such as “Bao Bei, Dui Bu Qi” (“Sorry baby”) and “An Lian De Dai Jia” (“Cost of A Crush”).
But these guys disappeared from the Cantopop circles for the longest time, and then suddenly decided to make a comeback. Problem is, they weren’t even that big to begin with! To have Grasshoppers come and perform is like the equivalent of having VANILLA ICE come on stage and sing “Ice Ice Baby”.
Sorry guys, you came fifteen years too late.
A lot of the ang moh audience members actually left during Grasshopper’s performance.
Thankfully the torture didn’t have to last long. From above the ceilings, a contraption descended onto stage and out comes Alan Tam to save the day.
Alan Tam only sang one song on his own.
He spoke in VERY broken English, saying that the Venetian Macao is a place where dreams come true. And tonight, a dream of his own has come true.
He then introduced the biggest surprise of the evening.
DIANA ROSS!
Specially flown in all the way from the USA!
Alan Tam and Diana Ross sang “Endless Love”, yet again ANOTHER karaoke favourite.
Diana Ross was wonderful. Her flawless voice gave me the goosebumps throughout her performance.
“Endless Love” is a timeless love song that has been performed many times by many different people. None of them does it better than the original singer Diana Ross herself.
As a fitting end to the grand opening concert, Diana Ross performed her number one hit classic from the 70s, “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”.
I actually forgot how this song sounded like after watching American Idol contestants butchered it so many times.
You gotta give credit to Diana Ross. The woman is 63 years old and she still grabbed the attention of the entire arena full of audience like she was still 20.
A woman may age but her voice clearly doesn’t.
Click to check out the video I took throughout the evening.
Of course, the point of this whole concert was to celebrate the grand opening of the Venetian Macao.
At the Feng-Shui-master-recommended auspicious time of 7:18pm on the 28/08/2007, Sheldon Adelson and his team declared the Venetian Macao Resort Hotel officially open.
Las Vegas has well and truly landed in Asia.
For me though, the night has only just begun. 😉
[to be continued…]
<sarcasm>
I am so proud of our Malaysian minister who was interviewed on BBC last night. There is no problem in our country one ok? Where got problems with non-Malays feeling discriminated against? We are all very happy one.
Damn that stupid ang moh journalist who doesn’t know any better.
</sarcasm>
wa seh…..lucky u…
walau … syok la u
damn it kenny … I can’t resist …. just bought tickets to Macau to see this grand casino ….. the previous trips i made to phuket, HK, & S’pore it’s bcoz of u too. u r making me “po kai”
wow… you are so lucky! must plan to go macau first this year end …. woot!
tats awesome!!!!! I’ve always dreamed abt watching diana ross in concert!!!lucky you!! i’v watched cirq de soleil b4 though, nth tooo fantastic! but it seems like u had an absolutely fantastic night!!
kenny looks damn hamsap.
wah the japanese girl in the right look so cute XD do u have her number huh kenny???if u have,can yea pls share with me XD
cute japanese girls yummy…
hahahah…your height’s just their breast level….any closer to them dancers, you’d be drowned in between 4 mounds of pleasure…hehee
my family are heading there next week. And wat’s the reason for going there I ask them, to try out the 3k room per nite. Cha dou, if only i’m not studying i would have gone ahead with them. Shit, bloody curtin.
thats so cool
Omgggg….. u r so lucky~~!! especially the last pic… haha~! Wa… i really hope i can go to Macao…
those boobs are larger than your head!
my jaw dropped when i scrolled down and saw grasshopper.
din really like macau. too small a place and nothing much to see excepts for e casinos.
btw, lei hai is not an ocean that cries. it’s an ocean of tears. figure of speech… lolz…
the song name is not leihai ,should be ting hai
listen to the sea
leihai is song of xu ru yun
Eh! I am two years younger than you but I still like Grasshoppers!! They came to singapore for a concert in May and it was fantabulous man! You should have went or read the reviews.. amazing!
good one
u think only non-malays feel undiscriminated? malays too feel discriminated by the non-malay in the private sector… so think before u write… people just love to be the one discriminated against don’t they.. and they don’t realise it takes two to tango.
u think only non-malays feel discriminated? malays too feel discriminated by the non-malay in the private sector… so think before u write… people just love to be the one discriminated against don’t they.. and they don’t realise it takes two to tango.
wicked
it’s not lei hai.. it’s ting hai kenny. my fav song to sing in karaokes.lol
oh fuck. i wasnt fazed by the fact that u went to macau for free, but it’s the fact tht u saw david tao live!! *waves fist and hating kenny*
oh fuck. i wasnt fazed by the fact that u went to macau for free, but it’s the fact tht u saw david tao live!! *waves fist and hating kenny*
Kenny, they are called “Cirque du Soleil” 🙂
Nicely done!
Malaysian please do your bit,..for the future generation to come.
Wow Kenny! I wanna feel it’s really good being a blogger too!
DAVID TAO! DAVID TAO !!! OH MY EFFING GOODNESS!!! DAVID TAO DAVID TAO!!!*faints*
cool cirque du soleil!! Circus of the sun!! Which show did they perform? did they do ninkou latora? Atmaja? Incantation? Man you’re one lucky dude.. btw those two dancers are way tall…
LoL Kenny, its actually spelt Cirque du Soleil. And no, its not a circus but a theatre act. The reason they have circue outfits is because Cirque du Soleil is French for “Circus of the Sun/Sun Circus”. Still, I’m really envious that you got to watch it for free! I had to pay AUD$100 to watch it last year 🙁
Had no idea A-mei still had a singing career left. Very impressive that they managed to get such a renowned artist from the States to perform. Not surprising DT spoke in fluent english since he was raised in the states 😉
I accept the offer to hear you sing! 50k is enough.
Wow. Those models you posed with in that last pic are TALL.
Hi Kenny, hope you don’t mind if I link your DT’s photos in my URL. Thanks! 🙂
Awesome video! Thanks for sharing 🙂
I want the Japanese journalist (the one on the right) contact pls….
oh, goodness, kenny.. u r so lucky!!! XD
you look so itchy. Did u turn left or right after the photo session with the 2 angmor girls? I know u purposely did..
woo hoo…. nice man…not just by luck..
I think u deserve this..
the photo taken are nice.
and those japanese chicks are really cute…
good coverage man.
Hope there’s more to come.
actually the second song of ah mei was ting hai (listen to sea) å¬æµ·
not lei hai.
Just wonder on how much they spent on this opening ceremony.
I wonder, will the Singapore IR opening in 2009 to be similar to this?
Maybe they can invite me then, haha… for chinese writing.
First of all: OMG…David Tao..!!!! *hawt hawt**pengsan pengsan**fanning herself*
Hehehe..So jealous of u laaa…=)
Wow!Great lineup for the performing celebrities!
I wondered whether they were able to invite the likes of Celine Dion,Mariah Carey,Beyonce…:p
That’d be fantastic!lol~
the experience you had is awesome. i truly enjoyed watching the edited videoclip. the alan tam part was hilarious!!!
OMFG
tat 2 giant ladeez
you could have just stuck your face and suffocate between their … uhmm.. boobs… ROCK HARD boobs
grasshoppers are old school
WAY too old school for the 21st century
OMG
Amei and David Tao, the finest artists in asia, I dare say. So jealous of you!
I thought the minister was very fast to twist and turn the facts around to make it sound like everything is ok…
an update yay!
clap clap clap.
update more kenny. ur website is getting boring…. the PRESSURE is on
AHhhhhhhhhhhhhh! The models! I want to be you though I’m not a guy! More MORE MORE updates!
Maybe they should also sponsor your apparels? It’s too…. err…
I totally love your writing!
except for the last picture.
I wanna vomit.
😛
So hilarious watching the interview. Stupid minister contradicting against his words and conscience.
oi! cough your head! and it’s ‘ting hai’ not ‘lei hai’… you anti-karaoke, hmph!
the minister is damn stupid. as Mei said, he is contradicting his words and conscience. he is not making any sense at all.
Gah!!! Lucky you!!! Cannot, I wanna touch you and maybe rub on some of your luck!!!
Diana Ross is incomparable.
Dude, how tall are you?
u think only non-malays feel undiscriminated? malays too feel discriminated by the non-malay in the private sector… so think before u write… people just love to be the one discriminated against don’t they.. and they don’t realise it takes two to tango.
Posted by: as if at 15 September 2007 4:36 PM | Link to comment
Private sector? LOL.. coz that’s the only place non-malay can survive, bcoz of who? DUH.. think before YOU write noob!
Haha, the subtitles for Alan Tam’s speech is hilarious…funny la..hehe
I like the Japanese girls!! Get their e-mail please!!
grand ceremony.
grand hotel.
grand everything.
Grasshoppers? Sure you had a wtf feeling then.
Looks like a great concert!
And isn’t David tao American? Hence the fluency!
Cirque de Soleil was actually started to give Street Youths in QUEBEC,CANADA an Opportunity to make Something of themselves.
Wah! You really have a good time in Macau. You are probably the envy of most guys out there. Beautiful girls and you are the thorn among the roses. More pics please and next time use a telezoom lens.
What is wrong with Grasshoppers? So short footage of them? you are so biased towards them. At least they prove that after so many years in the entertainment circle, they can still sing and dance “live” together…far more superior than some singers deem as popular and hot in this era.
OMGWTFBBQDVD I HATE YOU SO MUCH HOW COULD YOU EAT DOG MEAT!!! THINK OF CHEDDIE!!!!666
*boycotts kennysia.com*
The only dog you could ever eat is HOT DOG. Period!
beautiful macau!!!!!! reli got that venice feel~ so nice one u, kept travelling ard..
the 2 guls are way too tall….
i think kenny is the 1 who is short … =D
Great post,.. keep up the good work,.. waiting for your next post,..
Hi Kenny, many thanks for this blog entry 🙂 have shared it with fellow DT fans at my yahoo group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/david_and_tension
haha, the Alan Tam’s part just tickle my bone..especially with the subtitle (accurate)
grasshopper? wah lao… seems so long ago 😛 already forgotten who they are…
Was David Tao having a stomach ache or did he needed to wee real bad with that pose of his?
You’re so lucky kenny…
Uhh… I really wish to go too!
And so ‘hang fuk’ le… holding 2 ladies at the same time.. kekekz..
have a nice day.
Nice… if I am not mistaken David Tao is an ABC who spent quite some time in the LAPD.. hence his English. ^_^
Saw that BBC interview with Syed Albar here in Ireland few days back, he is a TOTAL DISGRACE to us Malaysians. Responded like a typical Kampong boy
the translation for “ai hen jian dan” should be love is simple..it sounds more like it.
oh oh! Venetian! 2 of my friends work there 😀
Lei Hai’s direct translation should be “Sea of tears” isn’t it. lol at Ocean that cries.
Soooooo nice…..good coverage of the concert, Kenny!
Now you make me want to go to Macau more than ever. Seems like a very happening place, or is it not?
Should have saved your batik shirt for opening night – then you wouldn’t have felt as underdressed..
Should have worn your batik shirt on opening night – then you would not have felt so underdressed..
i like the photos, very well taken. May I know if you are using your Sony T10 or Nikon DSLR?
Wow!! very colourful.. being there is way cool than jus looking at the pictures.. 🙁
Man… Sure is a gigantic place to be in. And the building is amazing. You sure those chicks are really chicks mate? Looked kinda funny.
My dear, Geee… I was too enjoying reading this post, I almost forgot about leaving a comment. It’s beautiful! Anw, U look great in that blue batik and serious.. don’t take photos with those chicks next time, they look freakin ‘big’. 😛
re: Short Talk
Wah, will you be doing a Jeff Ooi soon, Kenny? Salute, YB (Yang Berkehormatan) Tuan Sia Tze Foo!
Great website! My friend told me to visit this blog and xia xue’s blog..I love both! Wow.. the venetian..bloody lucky of you!
Damn! What a wonderful trip you had!!
on the last photo, you look pretty much like hobbits…
How tall are those girls?
@@@@
Please follow the link below to sign the petition to the Agong of Malaysia.
http://malaysia-today.net/blog2006/Announcements.php?itemid=8281
Malaysia Today is going to send a Peoples’ Petition (Petisyen Rakyat) to His Majesty The Yang di-Pertuan Agong. I really do not need to go into the host of reasons for the dire need of this Peoples’ Petition. Amongst some of the issues which are of concern to the Malaysian people are:
1) The recent shooting of two people in Kuala Terengganu.
2) The reported gang clashes in Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Johore over the 50th Merdeka celebration holiday that resulted in a few deaths.
3) The Auditor-General’s report that revealed gross and blatant abuses and transgressions in the management of the peoples’ money involving billions of Ringgit.
4) The state of affairs in the Royal Malaysian Police where even the former IGP Tun Hanif Omar admitted that corruption is a serious problem.
5) The state of affairs in the judiciary where senior judges have been bypassed in many promotion exercises in favour of candidates with blemished records.
6) The breakdown of law and order and allegations by serving police officers, who have signed Statutory Declarations or Affidavits, that the organised crime syndicate is running the police force.
7) The dangerous and alarming racial and religious divide.
8) Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s implication in the Oil-for Food scandal.
9) The need for electoral reforms as proven by the incidences of gerrymandering and phantom voters in the many general elections before this and which will continue and prevail in the next general election.
10) The manner in how the Altantuya Shaaribuu murder trial is being conducted and the police investigation leading to the murder trial.
Our concern is not confined to just these ten issues above but suffice that these ten demonstrate the urgent need for this petition. The actual text of the petition will be properly worded to meet the protocol requirements of a letter that is addressed to The Agong but the spirit of the petition will encompass the above.
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Hey, i think the other song A-mei sang is Ting Hai(listen to the ocean? Haha!), rather than Lei Hai that you mentioned. 😉
wow cool show and such good close-up pics!
hey, is david tao really gay?
u think only non-malays feel undiscriminated? malays too feel discriminated by the non-malay in the private sector… so think before u write… people just love to be the one discriminated against don’t they.. and they don’t realise it takes two to tango.
Posted by: as if at 15 September 2007 4:36 PM | Link to comment
how many discrimination the government has done to non-malay? the answer is uncountable!!! try to think ur so-called hak istimewa before u comment on this topic!
come to Venetian in Las Vegas or Bally’s Jubilee..more showgirls and boobs for Kenny to photograph. haha!
Next stop Macau!
hey kenny!!! just wanna let u know that uve got a reader from Qatar!! =D
eh…. i dunno most part of the interview is toking bout leh… in conclusion, did the ang moh win or our minister win in tat interview, or more like debate?
Reply to:
http://www.kennysia.com/archives/2007/09/venetian_macao_1.php#c381378
Obviously you never heard of meritocracy?
PLCs tend to choose applicants based on qualification, not kulitfication. And it just so happen accepted applicants are usually non-Malays because they had to study and work harder under a discriminatory government. It has a lot to do with government favouring hand-outs to Malays, expect the end result of these measures is usually subpar.
I don’t think the subtitles were funny.
alan tam make a fool out of him self. lol
why do u think malaysia didn’t wanna air it then? listen to the speach carefully again then you know the reason why….
Is it true that during the last election in kuching, many banners of rockets are flying can be seen??
lmao,the 2 gurls make u look soo ketot leh xP Blame the 5-inch heels they’re probably wearing.
Kenny, even if Zhang Hui Mei’s song is indeed ‘Lei Hai’, Lei Hai means – tears that forms a sea (kind of like JT’s Cry me a river, but it up the quotient by crying a sea instead)
someone copy n paste ur blog http://www.whitecollartalk.com/venetian-macao-grand-opening-concert/
Wow, how cool is that. That would have been some night. You are so lucky you got to attend.
macau.. here i come this friday….
err.. the song ah mei sang is not ‘lei hai’, is actually ‘ting hai’ -> listen to sea! 🙂
nice.. it’s so grand! good to be a blogger,eh? those jap girls are cuteee!
you should have taken pics of the taiwanese.. hhaaha
***that’s what I call once in a lifetime experience***
sometimes when i read your blog, i ask myself why should I continue to blog when it’s not going to be anywhere near your blog’s quality
anyway, thanks for the link to the vid. I really wanna start cursing when watching it, if i were not in my office cubicle (ok i’m still stucked in uni). if the government were to help the poor – why not just help ANY malaysians who has low income??????? why are they trying to divide the race like this?????? imho, malaysia is NOT a racist country. Among us, we are friends with all Malaysians, be it any race. The only reason it has been seen as a racist country is all thanks to the government’s law.
I hope this comment will not bring any problem to you. if yes, just delete it.
Wow…what a night it must’ve been
GRASSHOPPER IS NOT PASSE!
Keep your hands off my boy, u sleazy dancers!!!!!
the showgirls are real showgirls from vegas and both happen to be in jubilee at bally’s.
WOWW, AMEI!!!
you were real lucky i must say!
Kenny you looked short ,no offense : 3 .I like the last pictures ,making me drool : 3
I was really enjoying the photos and my husband walked in just as I got to the last one. He likes your shirt 🙂
Ah he also told me to also say the girls look nice….he’s be sleeping in the spare room if I get anymore of that