| Cotai | |
| Other Name: | Cotai |
| Settlement Type: | Zone |
| Mapsize: | 250x250px |
| Subdivision Name: | Concelho das Ilhas |
| Subdivision Type: | Concelho |
| Subdivision Type2: | SAR |
| Subdivision Type3: | Sovereign state |
| Area Total Km2: | 5.8 |
| Population Total: | ~300 |
| Population As Of: | 2016 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Area Code: | 0 |
| Timezone: | Macau Standard |
| Utc Offset: | +8 |
| Cotai Landfill Zone | |
| S: | 路凼填海区 |
| T: | 路氹填海區 |
| Showflag: | j |
| P: | Lùdàng Tiánhǎi Qū |
| J: | lou6 tam5 tin4 hoi2 keoi1 |
| Y: | Louhtáhm Tìhnhói Kēui |
| C2: | 路氹城 |
| J2: | lou6 tam5 sing4 |
| P2: | Lùdàng Chéng |
| Por: | Zona do Aterro de Cotai |
Cotai (; Portuguese: Cotai) is a 5.2km2 piece of reclaimed land on the top of the Seac Pai Bay between Taipa and Coloane islands in Macau[1] that has connected two independent islands since 2005. The name, which is a portmanteau of Coloane and Taipa, can also refer to the island formed by the reclamation. In the second sense, the Special Administrative Region of Macau now consists of the Macau Peninsula, plus Cotai Island, about a mile to the south.[2]
Cotai was created to provide Macau with a new gambling and tourism area, since Macau is so densely populated and land is scarce. Many hotels and casinos can now be found on the island.[3] In 2006, a new hospital was founded in the Cotai area, the MUST Hospital, which is associated with the Macau University of Science and Technology Foundation.
In 1968, a causeway connecting Taipa and Coloane was inaugurated. Throughout the 1990s, a series of landfill works expanded this isthmus, and after the 1999 transfer of sovereignty over Macau from Portugal to China, further landfills began to expand this small isthmus further.
See also: Cotai Strip. The "Cotai Strip" is a name designating the entire hotel-casino area, where the term "Cotai Strip" has been trademarked by Las Vegas Sands Corporation, which coined the phrase (USPTO Registration Nos. 4396486 and 4396486 for gambling and hotel services), and only applies to its properties.
Galaxy Entertainment Group's Grand Waldo Hotel was the first casino to commence operations in Cotai, opening its doors in May 2006. The largest property on Cotai so far is Las Vegas Sands' The Venetian Macao, which opened its doors on August 28, 2007.[4] Melco PBL Holdings opened the City of Dreams directly across the street from the Venetian on June 1, 2009. The construction of additional casinos and hotel projects is currently underway.
See also: Transport in Macau.