MACAU, March 26, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Melco Crown Entertainment Limited ("Melco Crown Entertainment" or "the Company") (SEHK:6883) (Nasdaq:MPEL), a developer and owner of casino gaming and entertainment resort facilities in Asia, has today unveiled the project details and architectural design of the fifth hotel tower at City of Dreams, the Company's flagship property in Cotai targeting the premium segment. The Company is proud to announce its partnership with the award-winning, internationally renowned and highly praised "Queen of the Curve" in architecture, Dame Zaha Hadid on the design of the new hotel tower, which will add a truly iconic landmark to the Cotai skyline and the culturally rich city of Macau.

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Zaha Hadid, founder of Zaha Hadid Architects, was a winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize (considered to be the Nobel Prize of architecture) in 2004, and has been included in Time magazine's "100 Most Influential People in the World" list, ranking top of the Thinkers' category. Zaha Hadid Architects' work of the past 30 years was the subject of critically-acclaimed exhibitions. In 2010 and 2011, her designs were awarded the Stirling Prize, one of architecture's highest accolades, by the Royal Institute of British Architects. In 2012, Zaha Hadid was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II.

Mr. Lawrence Ho, Co-Chairman and CEO of Melco Crown Entertainment, commented, "This year marks the fifth anniversary of our flagship resort City of Dreams. Today's unveiling ceremony of the new hotel tower represents another key milestone for our World-class integrated resort.

"Melco Crown Entertainment has always been in the forefront of innovation. We are delighted to introduce the world-class architecture brand, Zaha Hadid Architects, into Macau and to showcase her creative work in City of Dreams. Dame Zaha Hadid's distinctive design is closely aligned with our vision to provide unique entertainment experiences for our customers. We are confident that the new property will become an iconic landmark in Cotai and Macau and contribute meaningfully to tourism development through the enhancement of the cultural landscape.

"City of Dreams has been leading the way at the premium end of the market in Macau. The new hotel tower perfectly complements its already World-class gaming and non-gaming attractions and further broadens City of Dreams' appeal to the increasingly sophisticated visitor to Macau.

"We deeply appreciate the ongoing support from both the PRC national and Macau governments, enabling our Company to contribute substantially to the industry's sustainable development. We will strive to bring more first-class gaming and non-gaming offerings to Macau to support the diversified economic growth of the city and satisfy the growing demand for high quality leisure and entertainment from visitors from mainland China and beyond."

The Company has commenced the development of the new hotel tower at City of Dreams in 2013. The project is expected to open in early 2017. With 40 floors and a gross floor area of 150,000 square meters, the tower houses approximately 780 guestrooms, suites and villas exceeding 5 star standards. The hotel also includes a variety of meeting and event facilities and distinctive features, including a 30m high lobby atrium, selection of restaurants, spa, ultra lounge and sky pool.

Dame Zaha Hadid's work is celebrated for its invention and dynamism as her practice applies advanced design, construction and material technologies to create unique spatial experiences. The design of the new tower combines dramatic public spaces and generous guest rooms with innovative engineering and formal cohesion. A series of voids carve through the centre of the tower, blending traditional architectural elements of roof, wall and ceiling to create an intriguing sculptural form that defines the exciting internal spaces within.

The tower's external structure reinforces the dynamism of the unique design. Inventive, expressive and powerful, this remarkable structure envelops the building, further defining its formal composition and establishing new relationships with its context within Macau, as well as optimizing the interior layouts for the greatest comfort of guests.

Dame Zaha Hadid, founder of Zaha Hadid Architects, said, "We are delighted to be building the new flagship hotel for City of Dreams in Macau. I have always believed in the fantastic and the tower will serve as a source of inspiration; an intriguing combination of formal dynamism and structural integrity. The design resolves the many complex requirements for the hotel within a single cohesive envelop.

"It has been a pleasure to collaborate with Mr. Lawrence Ho," continues Hadid. "He encourages us all to think beyond existing boundaries to improve our built environment. We greatly appreciate his understanding of our work, enabling us to build our first entertainment resort at City of Dreams."

Melco Crown Entertainment is also developing Studio City, a new cinematically-themed integrated resort in Cotai to be opened in mid-2015, which is positioned to satisfy a broad range of customer tastes and preferences. Studio City represents a perfect complement to City of Dreams which targets the premium end of the market and Altira Macau which caters to exclusive VIP guests. This strategic diversification means Melco Crown Entertainment is well-positioned to deliver its exciting brand of unique and World-class entertainment and amenities to a wide array of customer segments, bringing the Company closer to realizing its vision of becoming a leader in leisure and entertainment in Asia.

Safe Harbor Statement

This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its periodic reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), in its annual report to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about the Company's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, and a number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. These factors include, but are not limited to, (i) growth of the gaming market and visitation in Macau and the Philippines, (ii) capital and credit market volatility, (iii) local and global economic conditions, (iv) our anticipated growth strategies, and (v) our future business development, results of operations and financial condition. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by words or phrases such as "may", "will", "expect", "anticipate", "target", "aim", "estimate", "intend", "plan", "believe", "potential", "continue", "is/are likely to" or other similar expressions. Further information regarding these and other risks, uncertainties or factors is included in the Company's filings with the SEC. All information provided in this announcement is as of the date of this release, and the Company undertakes no duty to update such information, except as required under applicable law.

About Melco Crown Entertainment Limited

Melco Crown Entertainment, with its shares listed on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (the "Hong Kong Stock Exchange") (SEHK:6883) and its American depositary shares listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market (Nasdaq:MPEL), is a developer and owner of casino gaming and entertainment casino resort facilities in Asia. Melco Crown Entertainment currently operates Altira Macau (www.altiramacau.com), a casino hotel located at Taipa, Macau and City of Dreams (www.cityofdreamsmacau.com), an integrated urban casino resort located in Cotai, Macau. Melco Crown Entertainment's business also includes the Mocha Clubs (www.mochaclubs.com), which comprise the largest non-casino based operations of electronic gaming machines in Macau. The Company is also developing the planned Studio City Project, a cinematically-themed integrated entertainment, retail and gaming resort in Cotai, Macau. In the Philippines, Melco Crown (Philippines) Resorts Corporation's subsidiary, MCE Leisure (Philippines) Corporation, has been cooperating with SM Group'sBelle Corporation to develop and operate City of Dreams Manila, a casino, hotel, retail and entertainment integrated resort in the Entertainment City complex in Manila. For more information about Melco Crown Entertainment, please visit www.melco-crown.com.

Melco Crown Entertainment has strong support from both of its major shareholders, Melco International Development Limited ("Melco") and Crown Resorts Limited ("Crown"). Melco is a listed company on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and is substantially owned and led by Mr. Lawrence Ho, who is Co-Chairman, an Executive Director and the CEO of Melco Crown Entertainment. Crown is a top-50 company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange and led by Executive Chairman Mr. James Packer, who is also Co-Chairman and a Non-executive Director of Melco Crown Entertainment.

About Dame Zaha Hadid

Zaha Hadid, founder of Zaha Hadid Architects, was awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize (considered to be the Nobel Prize of architecture) in 2004 and is internationally known for her built, theoretical and academic work. Each of her dynamic and pioneering projects builds on over thirty years of exploration and research in the interrelated fields of urbanism, architecture and design.

Working with senior office partner, Patrik Schumacher, Hadid's interest lies in the rigorous interface between architecture, landscape, and geology as her practice integrates natural topography and human-made systems, leading to innovation with new technologies.

The MAXXI: National Museum of 21st Century Arts in Rome, the London Aquatics Centre for the 2012 Olympic Games, and Heydar Aliyev Centre in Baku are built manifestos of Hadid's quest for complex, fluid space. Previous seminal buildings such as the Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art in Cincinnati and the Guangzhou Opera House in China have also been hailed as architecture that transforms our ideas of the future with new spatial concepts and dynamic, visionary forms.

Currently Zaha Hadid Architects is working on a multitude of projects worldwide including: the High-Speed Train Station in Naples; the CityLife masterplan and tower in Milan; the Grand Theatre in Rabat and the New National Stadium in Tokyo, as well as major master-planning projects in Beijing, Bilbao, Istanbul and Singapore. ZHA's portfolio also includes cultural, corporate, academic, sporting and infrastructure projects in across Asia, the Middle East, Europe and North and South America, in addition to national institutions such as the new Central Bank of Iraq Headquarters.

Hadid's outstanding contribution to the architectural profession continues to be acknowledged by the world's most respected institutions including the Forbes List of the World's Most Powerful Women and the Japan Art Association presenting her with the 'Praemium Imperiale'. In 2010 and 2011, her designs were awarded the Stirling Prize, one of architecture's highest accolades, by the Royal Institute of British Architects. Other recent awards include UNESCO naming Hadid as an 'Artist for Peace', the Republic of France honouring Hadid with the 'Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres', TIME magazine included her in their list of the '100 Most Influential People in the World' and in 2012, Zaha Hadid was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II.

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