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UK
Casino Times
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26 July 2005
Gambling Around The Globe (Part
2)
Macau: A Great place to
go gambling in when you're away from the internet
casinos
Macau might well be the
place for online
casinos fans who
fancy a change from playing online in the form of a flutter
in a truly exotic location.
Macau is known as the
Las
Vegas of Asia,
and, with the opening of new, themed resort-style casinos,
the comparison is becoming more apt with every year that
passes.
This former Portuguese
territory, now a special administrative region of China, is
the place where residents of neighbouring Hong Kong, where
most gambling is illegal, come for a taste of gaming
paradise.
Island
Boom
The region is tiny - just
a small peninsula and two islands. It has a certain amount
of old world colonial charm, but it's changing fast. A
development boom has come in the wake of investment by Las
Vegas operators MGM Mirage and Wynn Resorts Ltd, following
of the ending of a 40-year casino monopoly enjoyed by
billionaire Stanley Ho.
Gambling in Macau was
legalised in 1847 and now the economics of the region very
much depend on it, with the gambling industry generating
more than 40 per cent of Macau's GDP.
Along The
Strip
There are currently around
15 casinos in the region, all of them open 24 hours a day.
The best known is the Hotel
Lisboa and the
most picturesque the Floating Palace Casino, a romantic
building that can be found in the outer harbour. Gaming fans
can also enjoy horse and greyhound racing in
Macau.
Gaming in Macau doesn't
generally have the razzle dazzle that is attached to Las
Vegas gambling. However, several themed Las Vegas-style
casinos have recently opened, including the Sands Macau and
the Pharaoh's Palace. There are also plans to open a Mirage
and a $1.8billion replica of the Las
Vegas Venetian
casino, complete with canals, gondolas and shopping malls,
within the next few years.
A Great
Gambling Selection
What Macau's casinos are
well-known for is the range of games several of them offer -
possibly the widest in the world. These include western
games such as baccarat, blackjack, roulette, craps and boule
but also feature Asian games such as big and small, which is
played with dice, and fan-tan, which is played with
porcelain buttons. There is also a huge array of slot
machines, known as "hungry tigers" for gambling fans to
choose from.
If you want a change from
casinos, you can enjoy a day at the races at the Macau
Jockey Club on Taipa Island. This mainly takes place on
Tuesdays and Saturdays or Sundays. There's also greyhound
racing at the Canidrome Club. Six to eight greyhounds take
part in every race and food is available.
House
Rules
- Legal age for betting
in Macau is 18 for tourists and 21 for
residents.
- Although winners are
not obliged to leave tips, croupiers will often deduct 10
per cent of winnings.
- Dress codes in casinos
vary but are strictly applied. Shorts and sandals are not
allowed.
- Cameras are banned in
casinos.
Click
here to visit the Macau Government Tourist
Office
Click Here
To Read Read Part 1 Of This Series
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