Macau taking on Las Vegas!

Author: Simon Dexter

If you’re one of the millions of people that consider Las Vegas to be the undoubted gambling capital of the world, you might be in for a surprise.

The small Chinese island of Macau can now lay claim to being the world’s number one gambling destination and the indications are that the city’s casino industry is set to grow even further.

Macau’s gaming economy is thought to be worth around .8bn (£3.6bn), that’s around 0m more than the casino turnover for Las Vegas, despite having much less gaming space and not licensing online gambling.

The region itself has seen a massive boom in tourism and attracts high-rollers from all across China (10.5m visitors alone), across Asia and further afield.

Macau enjoyed a casino boom in 2001 when the territory ended Portuguese rule and was handed back to China. That prompted a huge number of foreign casino operators to flock to the area and start building the tourist and gaming metropolis that it is today.
MGM Grand and Wynn have both moved there, and Macau even has its very own answer to the Venetian, the largest of 28 casinos currently operating in the country.

Not only that, but plans are gathering pace to expand the area further. Galaxy are opening two venues within the region whilst the bn ‘City of Dreams’ complex, planned to open in 2009, will be the first ever underwater casino.

All in all, if the current plans and proposals do come to fruition, Macau could boast more than 2.3m sq-ft of casino space and as many as 11,000 slot machines – more than twice the amount currently found in Las Vegas.

But Macau might not have the Asian casino market all to itself in years to come. Singapore has already dropped its 40-year ban on gambling and agreed to the building of two huge casino resorts whilst Thailand, Vietnam, Japan and Taiwan are all considering changes which will see a relaxed approach to gambling.

Vegas however, isn’t going to let its main industry get upstaged by some young upstart. An estimated m is set to be invested over the next five years in both casino and non-gaming facilities to ensure that ‘The Strip’ stays one step ahead of the game.

But remember, you don’t have to fly half way across the globe to enjoy a great casino experience - you can play online casino games right here, right now! For a casino online experience that UK players won’t forget, make sure you check out Littlewoods Casino.

Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.