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(Macao, July 29, 2008) November 20, 2008 will see a historic, groundbreaking day for tennis entertainment at the Cotai Strip^® CotaiArena™ at The Venetian^â Macao-Resort-Hotel.

At a glittering Press Conference today, The Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel and IMG proudly announced "The Venetian^® Macao Tennis Showdown 2008," which will showcase four great Champions from two talent filled eras.

The concept of the 2008 Showdown was inspired by the Wimbledon Final last year, where Swedish legend Bjorn Borg made his long awaited return to the All England Club and witnessed Roger Federer equal his record of five consecutive Wimbledon Singles crowns.  In addition there was a rare sighting at the same Championships where Borg, John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors were captured together on Centre Court giving a Live BBC television interview.

Was it possible to recreate a showdown featuring the greatest Champions of the 1980 era and the finest Champions from the current ATP Tour? The stars from the two greatest Wimbledon finals ever? 

Enter tennis heroes, Roger Federer, John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg and one other to be confirmed. Borg vs. McEnroe 1980 was considered the best ever Wimbledon final, until this year, July 6th 2008. Acknowledged by John McEnroe himself, the Federer vs. Nadal Wimbledon final succeeded it as the best (and longest) ever Wimbledon Final. The fourth player at The Venetian Macao Tennis Showdown 2008 will feature the immense talent of Rafael Nadal, or the distinguished American James Blake.  Both players have confirmed their availability, and which one of the two plays depends on the result of the Davis Cup Semi-Final match (whomever loses in Davis Cup will play in Macao) between Spain and the USA in September.

Organisers also announced that The Venetian Macao Tennis Showdown 2008 has been recognised by the BlackRock ATP Tour of Champions as an official "Promotional Event" of the Tour.  BlackRock is the global title sponsor of the ATP Tour of Champions.  The BlackRock Tour of Champions is a year long Tour that makes its way across Europe and the world and pits past tennis Champions against each other in order to earn ranking points.  In order to play in a BlackRock Tour of Champions event, the player must no longer be active on the ATP Tour and have either been ranked number one in the world, a singles finalist in a Grand Slam Championship or a singles player on a winning Davis Cup team.

Mark Brown, President of Sands Macao and The Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel & President of Paiza Asia announced, “We are both proud and very excited to be bringing The Venetian^â Macao Tennis Showdown 2008 to Macao.  In the footsteps of the first Showdown, so many top players in one place at one time, the music, lights and entertainment combined with the charity element.  It's a unique privilege for us and it will definitely be a thrill for anyone lucky enough to get a ticket.  This line-up underlines our ongoing commitment of developing The Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel as the finest entertainment destination in Asia.”

Nick Freyer, Senior Vice President Head of Tennis - IMG Asia, commented, “We wanted to build on the overwhelming success of the first Venetian Macao Tennis Showdown.  Many people hadn't experienced such breathtaking entertainment at a tennis event. The opening of last year's match gave most present “goosebumps” and those lucky enough to have obtained the hottest ticket in Asia in 2008, left feeling they had witnessed something historical and deeply special. Our goal with The Venetian Macao Tennis Showdown 2008 is to top that with more tennis, more stars, more entertainment and more fun!”

Katherine Cheung, Managing Director and Head of Regional Marketing for Asia, BlackRock said "The BlackRock Tour of Champions gives tennis fans another opportunity to see some of the world's greatest tennis legends in action.  With tournaments taking place across so many countries in which BlackRock operates, we are delighted at the ongoing global expansion of the Tour of Champions and look forward to welcoming the players in Macao in November."

Organisers announced that the Event Format will feature:

Live Musical Entertainment

Followed by

Bjorn Borg v John McEnroe - 1 Set

Followed by

Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal Or James Blake - Best-of-Three Sets

Followed by

Roger Federer and Bjorn Borg vs John McEnroe and Rafael Nadal Or James Blake. -  A Ten Point Doubles Tie Breaker

Mark Brown further explained how the Showdown is a perfect vehicle to help those less fortunate and to raise money for charity. "Last year, we staged an on-line auction with tennis rackets from the stars, items of their clothing and their memorabilia, together with the right to meet the players at the on-court coin toss.  Such was the response that we raised an amazing US$200,000. This year we hope to do better and the beneficiaries will include Make a Wish HK/Macao and each of the players’ designated international charities to include the Roger Federer Foundation.

Mr Brown also announced that "Tickets will go on sale at 10am on September 1^st, the official website will be launched in early August. We had an amazing response last year and believe that the public will be as excited as we are to be a part of The Venetian Macao Tennis Showdown 2008.  Ticket prices have been set at MOP $980, MOP $780, MOP $480 and MOP $280.”

The Venetian Macao Tennis Showdown has the full support of the Macao Sport Development Board, the Macao Tennis Association, television networks TDM, CCTV and will be produced and promoted in conjunction with IMG.  Rolex will once again be the Official Timekeeper of the Event.

ABOUT THE PLAYERS

Roger Federer- Undeniably one of the greatest tennis players in the illustrious history of the sport, he is winner of 12 Grand Slam titles and holder of the ATP World No.1 position for a record 234 consecutive weeks.  The Swiss Star is the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to reach every Grand Slam final in a calendar year, a feat he achieved in both 2006 and 2007.  In 2008, he was named Laureus World Sportsman of the Year for a record fourth consecutive time

John McEnroe- Former World No.1, McEnroe won 7 Grand Slam singles titles, 9 Grand Slam doubles titles and 1 Grand Slam mixed doubles title during his career.  In addition he won 77 singles titles throughout his career and ranked Year-end No. 1 four consecutive times.  Famed for his on-court shot-making artistry, competitive fire and his rivalries with Borg, Connors and Lendl, he was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1999.

Bjorn Borg- Considered one of tennis’ all time greats and a Former World No. 1, Borg won 11 Grand Slam Titles, including 6 French Open titles (the all time record) and 5 consecutive Wimbledon titles.  He is the only man in the open era to win both the French Open and Wimbledon more than once in the same year (achieved 3 times consecutively from 1978-80). He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1987.

Rafael Nadal- Fast being considered one of the best players of all time, after winning four consecutive French Open titles and holding the longest winning streak on any surface in the open era, compiling 81 successive wins on clay from April 2005- May 2007.  In 2008 he increased his Grand Slam haul to 5 titles after defeating Federer in an epic 5 set Wimbledon final, becoming the first man since Bjorn Borg in 1980 to achieve the French Open- Wimbledon double.  Currently ranked World No. 2, a position he has held for a record 156 consecutive weeks.

James Blake- One of the greatest comeback stories in the history of sport, Blake overcame a broken neck and shingles, which paralysed half his face, to reach the final of the Tennis Masters Cup in 2006 (losing only to Federer).  A former World No. 4 and currently ranked No. 8, Blake has captured 10 ATP singles titles and 5 doubles titles in his career and was part of the winning US Davis Cup team in 2007.  

ABOUT LAS VEGAS SANDS CORP.

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) is the leading international developer of multi-use integrated resorts.

The Las Vegas, Nevada-based company owns and operates The Venetian^® Resort-Hotel-Casino, The Palazzo^® Resort-Hotel-Casino, and the Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas and The Venetian^® Macao Resort-Hotel and the Sands Macao in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) Special Administrative Region of Macao.  The company is currently constructing two additional integrated resorts: Sands Bethworks™ in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, the United States, and The Marina Bay Sands™ in Singapore.

LVS is also creating the Cotai Strip^®, a master-planned development of resort-casino properties in Macao. Additionally, the company is working with the Zhuhai Municipal People’s Government of the PRC to master-plan the development of a leisure resort and convention complex on Hengqin Island in the PRC.   

ABOUT IMG

IMG is the world's premier sports, entertainment and media enterprise.  Operating in 30 countries, IMG’s diverse businesses include: consulting services; event ownership and management; fashion events and models representation; licensing; golf course design; and client representation in golf, tennis, broadcasting, speakers, European football, rugby, cricket, motor sports, coaching, Olympic sports and action sports.  IMG Academies are the world's largest and most advanced multi-sport training and educational facilities, delivering world-class sports training experiences to more than 12,000 junior, collegiate, adult, and professional athletes each year. More information about IMG is available at www.imgworld.com.   

ABOUT MAKE-A-WISH-FOUNDATION

Make- A-Wish Foundation is the largest wish-granting charity in the world. It began in the US in 1980 and since then they have granted magical wishes to children with life-threatening illnesses to enrich their lives with hope, strength, and joy after the fulfillment of the first wish.

Whether a wish is to be a princess or a policeman for a day, own the latest computer equipment, meet a favourite celebrity or just enjoy some special time away from home with the family, a wish come true brings so much to a child’s life and provides memories for the families that last a life time.

The Venetian Macao Tennis Showdown 2007 raised US$200,000 for the Make- A-Wish Foundation. Amongst the wishes granted were new computers, a trip to Tokyo Disneyland and a new Yamaha piano. The sort of illnesses these children suffer from include brain cancer, leukemia, bone and liver cancer and other serious conditions.

For more information, please contact the following: