Rome native Jenna is an Italian gondola Pilot in Macao she drives her golndola under a fake blue sky at The Venetian casino’s indoor shopping mall. “They only have one woman gondolier in Venice, but here I can do what I love. Macau is a great place.’’ this gambling Disneyland emerges in Macao China, and you cant ignore the similarity to another gambling and entertainment giant in the west, Las Vegas. In the last years Macao big money coming from china that pushes the standards of entertainment in the far east to higher level, more flashy and posh casinos are emerging.
Millions of visitors from main land China would seem to agree. Macau last year surpassed its gaudy mentor, Las Vegas, in terms of casino revenues by bringing in almost $7 billion, a 22 per cent hike from 2005.
There are an estimated 4,000 gaming tables in this former Portuguese colony. Some expect that number to jump to 9,000 in the next three years as casinos spread like wildfire, especially on the landfill that links the former islands of Taipa and Coloane south of the main section of Macau.
This trend seems to be with unprecedented proportions, a Dubai /Disney fantasy ride that has turned an area that was something of a Hong Kong backyard 10 years ago into a certifiable gambling mecca.
“To be honest it’s open for debate,’’ says Humayoon Shaikhzadeh, general manager of the posh casino Westin Resort Macau in Coloane. “The Hong Kong government has said ‘no’ to gambling, but I know the convention centre people in Hong Kong are concerned and business leaders are concerned.’’
Shaikhzadeh ticks off an impressive list of construction projects here — not just the numerous casinos but new sports arenas and other facilities.
Macau also hosts a Grand Prix car race yearly , and there was a 2007 NBA preseason game at the arena that’s inside the massive shell of the $2.8-billion Venetian Hotel.
The hotel, which opened in August 2007, has 3,000 habitations in addition to a 15,000-seat arena and the live gondoliers who row through a shopping arcade filled with Guess, Tommy Hilfiger and other international brands in a complex that’s makes everyshopping center in vegas pale.
The Venetian’s convention centre, at almost 110,000 square metres, is almost twice as big as Hong Kong’s major centre.
Some Macanese complain about inflation and that the poorer people aren’t getting any benefits from the casinos. Labour disputes outside the posh casinos aren’t uncommon these days as feuds erupt over who gets what slice of the golden gambling pie.
Others worry about everything from drinking water to garbage disposal.
“When you look at the Cotai strip, the one word that’s on everybody’s lips is ‘sustainability,’ ’’ says Shaikhzadeh.
But a young worker at one of three Lord Stow’s bakery shops in tiny Coloane village disagrees.
“I think it will boost salaries and jobs,’’ he says of Macau’s growth. “Maybe more people will come here.’’
Gareth Abel of St. Albans, England, recently found himself checking out the fake Venice street scene at The Venetian.
“This is Vegas with an Asian twist,’’ Abel says. “They’re taking the bar set by Las Vegas and raising it, by the look of things. There are no roller-coasters inside the hotels yet, but give them time.’’
Merrill Lynch has suggested gaming companies could spend $71 billion in Asia in the next four years. Some of that will be dropped in Macau, but Vietnam, Singapore, the Philippines and others also are cashing in.
The government of China once listed gambling as one of “six evils’’ that Chinese people should avoid. That hasn’t stopped Beijing from standing back and letting the likes of Sheldon Adelson of Las Vegas build hotels all over Macau. China gained control of Macau in 1999. It had been a Portuguse possession for four centuries.
Adelson, the Las Vegas casino operator who runs The Sands in Macau, says Macau will do in six years what took Vegas six decades.
“This is going to be a giant of entertainment, unprecedented anywhere in the world,’’ he says.
Indeed, one recent report suggested that Macau has joined Vegas and the Caribbean as destination spots for what is sometimes called “debauchery tourism.’’
Although Hong Kong bans casinos, it’s far from immune from the gambling bug. Hong Kong’s horse-racing industry, which garners multiple pages in the morning papers every day, is said to be worth billions. There also are sports books and lotteries.
The idea of bringing in casinos to stave off competition from Macau appeals to some. But others believe Hong Kong has more than enough attractions of its own to withstand the onslaught.
Some Hong Kong residents also don’t like the idea of pandering to the masses of mainland Chinese tourists who flood into The Venetian and other hotels on a daily basis.
“We don’t want those type of people here,’’ sniffed one business person. “Let them stay in Macau.’’
Hong Kong chief executive Donald Tsang recently told the Sydney Morning Herald there would be no casinos on his watch.
“I don’t believe we should engender stiff … competition between the two,’’ he said.
Whatever Hong Kong folks think of their would-be rival, it’s clear that Macau’s in-your-face style is here to stay.
“Mr. Adelson put his money on the table,’’ says Shaikhzadeh. “I wouldn’t bet against him.’’
Canadian Press