While Vegas moguls built pricey palaces for high rollers, the veteran casino kingpin stuck with “mass market” gamblers. Turns out, it was a good bet.
Macao – When this former Portuguese territory ended
gambling kingpin Stanley Ho’s four-decade casino monopoly in 2002, many
believed the big boys of Vegas would steal the chips right off his
tables. The rough and tumble enclave 40 miles west of Hong Kong, long
known for its smoky gambling dens and legalized prostitution, was to be
transformed into a Las Vegas clone, with luxury hotels, wholesome
entertainment, convention halls?and a few casinos to make sure visitors
went home poorer than they arrived. Sure enough, foreign-owned rivals
piled in. By 2006, casino revenues had doubled, to $7 billion, and
Macao had overtaken the Las Vegas strip as the globe’s No. 1 gambling
mecca.