While we were in Hong Kong we wanted to make a day trip to Macao but I had vertigo (from seeing too many high rise buildings???!!!) and the doctor advised us against making the 1-hour long boat ride to the former Portuguese colony*. We wanted to see for ourselves if Macao indeed had overtook Las Vegas as the world capital of gambling many headlines/articles suggested:
“It's official. Macao is now the gambling capital of the world, after overtaking the glitzy Las Vegas Strip in takings last year. The tiny southern Chinese city's 22 casinos generated 56.2 billion patacas (US$7.2 billion) total from gaming revenues. In comparison, the 40-odd casinos on Las Vegas' famous main strip generated US$6.6 billion. Gambling earnings have boomed in Macao since 2001 when the government ended tycoon Stanley Ho's 40-year monopoly on casinos in the city and allowed foreign operators to move in.” (China Daily)
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| "The Ruinas de Sao Paulo" If we had gone we could have seen it!! |
And because, I reminded you that Hong Kong was returned to China in 1997, here’s a little reminder about Macao!!!
* Colonized by the Portuguese in 1557, Macao was the oldest European outpost in China. In 1987, Portugal and China reached an agreement to return Macao to Chinese rule on Dec. 20, 1999. They agreed on provisions that ensured the autonomy of Macao, including its right to elect local leaders, the right of its residents to travel freely, and the right to maintain it s way of life for 50 years after the start of Chinese rule
