Some of Las Vegas' biggest casinos are extending the front-line of gaming market competition to the Macao Special Administrative Region, which is the only place in China where casinos are legal.

The Macao Gaming Co. Ltd (SJM) lavished a job advertisement on all major newspapers in Macao this week offering 1,000 job vacancies. Insiders see it as a recruitment contest targeted at its two rivals, the Las Vegas-based Wynn Resort and Galaxy Casino, both of which are poised for appealing casino workers in the second half of this year.

The competition for enticing specialized casino workers has become fierce after the two overseas rivals entered Macao's gaming market through a casino license bidding held by the Macao Special Administrative Region government in March last year. Over 30,000 job seekers turned up at Galaxy's job interview fair earlier this month competing for 3,500 positions, which ranged from administration, game host and dealing to catering and entertainment services.

It is just the opportunity Macao has been expecting to upgrade the gaming industry. Not only the University of Macao will open new subjects concerning gaming business in the coming semester, but also some higher education institutes will get involved in providing training to casino employees by the end of this year.

Under the company's schedule, Galaxy Casino will open a Venetian-style hotel casino, estimated to cost 550 million US dollars in the first phase. The complex will be located in the Cotai land reclamation area between Taipa and Coloane Islands in Macao. Before the completion of the infrastructure construction in two years, Galaxy will run a small casino around the end of this year offering over 300 varieties of gaming items and 500 slot machines.

The Wynn Resort will soon start construction of its amusement complex this month, which is the first-phase project scheduled to take seven to nine months with an investment of 4 billion patacas (US$58 million).

Facing the challenge, SJM, which is the largest enterprise in Macao owned by tycoon Stanley Ho, has earmarked 4.7 billion patacas (US$587 million) to revamp its casinos and build new attractions.

Its latest piece is the dazzling "Crystal Palace," which came into stream in May. With a decoration cost of 25 million patacas (US$3 million), the main hall of the casino is laid with shining Italian gold foil mosaic to reflect the dazzling radiance of the huge crystal droplights hang from the ceiling.

SJM is now busy preparing for an expansion of its flagship Hotel Lisboa, which houses the largest casino in Macao. The expanded entertainment area to face the old building across the street will borrow an air of Las Vegas. The high-rise complex with30-plus floors is designed to connect with the old building through an underground pass way, said Liu Kuok Ieng, a spokesman of the company.

The building of the new wing, estimated to cost over 1 billion patacas (US$125 million), is slated for the end of the year and will be completed in the year 2005. Meanwhile, SJM will carry out a step-by-step refurbishment of the old hotel building.

SJM's objective for the next five years is to take a strong hold of 60 percent of the gaming market in Macao, said General Manager Ambrose So.

As the former Portuguese enclave, Macao has a history of more than 150 years in gambling. It remained to be the Asia's unrivaled casino center after its return to the motherland in December 1999. However, a competition is emerging with a growing number of casinos opened up throughout Asia.

"Given its own long experience in the gambling industry, and its unique cultural characteristics of East and West, Macao will continue to survive as a favorite place," said Stanley Ho, who had monopolized Macao's gaming industry for 40 years.

Besides the culture appeal, the huge investment brought by the casino gambling will certainly add material charms to the Oriental Mont Carlo.

(Xinhua News Agency July 14, 2003)