MACAU - Once a backwater for hardcore gamblers, the former Portuguese colony of Macau is rising fast as Asia's entertainment and casino capital.
Some now call Macau the "Las Vegas of the East," and Macau's gaming revenues are on par with those of the Las Vegas Strip.
Macau, however, is growing even faster than Las Vegas. It's on the threshold of a gaming boom, with more than a dozen casinos and resorts on the drawing boards or under construction, the result of a 2001 decision to open its doors to foreign casino operators. Two years later, mainland authorities agreed to let visitors cross the border more freely.
Macau's first U.S.-operated casino, the Sands Macau, opened in 2004. This autumn, a second U.S. casino and 600-room hotel, Wynn Resorts Macau, will debut. The $1 billion MGM Grand Macau will follow in 2007. The U.S. operators are bringing panache and entertainment, and they hope to turn Macau into a hot convention destination.
Macau drew 18.7 million tourists last year, more than Germany, and plans to lure 35 million a year by the end of the decade, about what Las Vegas gets now.
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Adding to the optimism: Plans are moving ahead for a 17.5-mile bridge between Hong Kong and Macau by 2010, ending reliance on ferries. The opening of
Hong Kong Disneyland last fall is adding to the region's momentum.
