New Vegas Takes Root in Macao

But are there enough gamblers to keep it going?

By Sam Gale Rosen

Posted Aug 28, 2007 10:31 AM CDT

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New Vegas Takes Root in Macao — An employee prepares at a gambling table inside the casino during the opening ceremony of the Venetian Macao Resort Hotel in Macau Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2007. American billionaire Sheldon Adelson opened what he claims is the world's largest casino floor housed in Asia's largest building Tuesday, adding... (Associated Press)

Casino developers are sinking staggering amounts of money into making Macao the new Las Vegas. Economic unrest be damned—the immense $2.4 billion Venetian hotel and casino complex that opened today is only the first of dozens to come. But some worry that there aren't enough Chinese high rollers to sustain the boom, the Times reports.

The casinos are making money hand over fist, but many question whether that can keep up as the number of tables and hotel rooms skyrockets. Visitors to Macao, many of them day-trippers, spend less time and money there then visitors to Vegas. “If you look at Macao, there are no or virtually no nongaming revenues,” says a Vegas casino exec. (More Macao stories.)

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