It's official. Macao is now the gambling capital of the world,
after overtaking the glitzy Las Vegas Strip in takings last
year.
The tiny southern Chinese city's 22 casinos generated 16.7
billion patacas in the final quarter, taking the year's total gross
gaming revenues to 56.2 billion patacas (US$7.2 billion), the local
government said yesterday.
By comparison, the 40-odd casinos on Las Vegas' famous main
strip - including the plush Venetian and MGM resorts - generated
US$6.6 billion.
Analysts tipped in October that the special administrative
region had overtaken Las Vegas, based on earnings projections.
But yesterday's GDP figures are the first time that city
officials have confirmed the historic development.
Gambling earnings have boomed in Macao since 2001 when the
government ended tycoon Stanley Ho's 40-year monopoly on casinos in
the city and allowed foreign operators to move in.
"This once again showcases that Macao continues to have an
upward trajectory of tourism activity being led by the casino
gaming industry," said analyst Jonathon Galaviz, a partner of Las
Vegas-based Globalysis, which tracks world gaming and travel
trends.
(China Daily April 4, 2007)