In the high-stakes game of real estate on the Las Vegas Strip, powerful developers place their bets on creating ultimate hotel casinos. In this episode of MegaStructures find out how billionaire developer Sheldon Adelson designed and is building The Venetian Hotel Resort Casino - a tribute to Venice. It cost him over $3 billion to construct the complex and it will rise from the Nevada desert in immense proportions, breaking new ground in the world of design and construction. Follow the design team and construction crews on their journey to reconstruct in exacting detail the ancient city of Venice, complete with Grand Canal and gondolas, and to construct what will ultimately become one of the largest buildings in the world.

World's Largest Casino follows the construction of the world's biggest casino and its second biggest building. It's being sited in Macao, in Southern China, which is being groomed to be Asia's capital of gambling. The Venetian is to be built by the Sands Corporation of Las Vegas, and is to feature a giant hotel with 3000 suites, a 15,000 seat arena, a theatre, event halls, 350 shops along indoor canals hundreds of metres long, an outdoor lagoon for gondola rides, and above all, a huge casino floor the size of eight football pitches. We follow the reclamation of land between two islands for this project, and watch it fly up in record time due to special working methods being devised - from on-site factories, to having prefabricated parts trucked in from China. We see how the ambitious designs are brought to reality, despite the pressures and an environment that's very different from America, both in terms of climate and culture. We go in-depth into the amazing concern for detail in the outfitting and decoration which will turn a giant concrete conglomeration of structures into a place designed to entice people to stay as long as possible. And we meet the people responsible for putting the project together, and see how they co-operate to get the resort open on time. But will the public come to visit this US$2.4bn megastructure? There's no guarantee...

Macau is the only part of China where gambling is legal, and last year it overtook Las Vegas as the world's most profitable casino city. The key to this success has been the opening up of the territory to foreign investment, and Dr Stanley Ho, longtime holder of a gambling monopoly has been pitched against an American, Sheldon Adelson, owner of the Venetian casino resort in Las Vegas in a battle for the biggest gaming market in the world. This is the story of the struggle to win the hearts and minds of the 20 million-plus tourists who will visit Macau this year. It's also a look at the habits of the Chinese high-rollers who spend millions in a single hand, as well as the hardened addicts hoping to gamble their way out of debt. Where casinos rule, crime can never be far away, and this episode shines a light on the continuing role of the Triads, ancient societies of organised crime that bankroll, and collect the debts of the millions of Chinese eager for a chance to sit at Macau's baccarat tables. While Macau is fast becoming an ultra-modern city, the Chinese belief in destiny and luck still fuels the local fascination with gambling. Against this backdrop, the film ends with a preview of Adelson's next move- the biggest tourist development in the world, the 15 billion dollar Cotai Strip, with the biggest casino ever built at its heart: The Venetian Macau, due to open this Summer.

Macao, China just overtook Las Vegas as the gambling capital of the world, and its about to get even bigger. American billionaire Vegas veteran Sheldon Adelsons is building the worlds biggest casino resort: The Venetian Macao. But bringing Vegas production values  and a facsimile of Venice- to China is no easy task, as east meets West head-on. Meanwhile, Adelson´s biggest gamble has yet to pay off, as the countdown to the Grand Opening continues, and an army of expats and Chinese struggle to make his dream a reality.

Macau is a boom-town on the edge of the fastest growing economy in the world. Cheap Chinese labour and billions of Chinese dollars have helped this tiny state overtake Las Vegas as the most profitable gambling centre on earth. The booming casinos must fight tooth and nail to keep every employee, a steady stream of expats arrive every week in search of opportunity, and the only thing that talks is money, as this small Chinese city risks its whole future to gamble for casino gold. As the developers physically claw more of Macau from the sea, a new kind of Gold Rush has gripped the city. Until 1999 it was an obscure colony of Portugal. And it's still officially independent. It has its own border, its own official language, and it's own unique business: Games of chance.. Since the Chinese government invited Las vegas operators in 1999, it also has American money and casino know-how. The boom has given Macau's youngsters an economic freedom their parents' generation could only have dreamed of. The growing army of young Baccarat dealers like Tricie and Mai Lin are making money while they can, but abandoning university places in the process, leading to an over-reliance on the casino business: It's Macau's biggest gamble.
Ex-marine Walt Power used to fly helicopter rescue missions in Iraq. Now he is the head of the biggest casino in the world : the Sands Macau. In charge of thousands of Chinese staff, Walt must deal with the biggest labour shortage in the state's history, and prepare for the opening of another vast casino. Meanwhile, expats like South African costume designer Robert Duplessi jostle for crumbs from the table of the newest addition to the Macau skyline, the Venetian Macau, the biggest casino the world has ever seen. Based on the Italian city, the casino's trademark canals are almost open for business. But there's a problem. Where do you find gondoliers when you're 10,000 miles away from Venice?

Macao  the gambling capital of the world has become a magnet for investment from the biggest names in gambling. Sheldon Adelson the 6th richest man in the world is staking 12 billion dollars on the Cotai Strip -- a land reclamation and casino development project in Macao.  His vision, to make the Cotai Strip Asias Las Vegas. The jewel in the crown of the Cotai Strip is the 2.4 billion dollar Venetian - a huge Italian themed resort - a replica of Venice. The Venetian will dwarf any casino in Macao and when finished will be the 2nd biggest building in the world. This programme follows the final stages of the Venetians construction. With only six weeks to go before the Grand opening the pressure is on Adelsons company to make his vision a reality. How does a Western company adapt to working in China? The Venetian has 15,000 Chinese workers toiling day and night to finish the building and keep it running. How do the different cultures communicate and work together?  Will the pressures of an impossible schedule make the two cultures clash or come together?  Will the Venetian succeed, will it help secure a comfortable future for the people Macao, an enclave whos economy is relying on entertainment and gambling to support its population?