China Rising! - Casino Gambling

[Karl]

Macau casinos hit jackpot with $45B in revenue

Jan 2nd 2014 8:22AM


US Casinos Macau

HONG KONG (AP) - The tiny Chinese city of Macau has again smashed its annual record for casino earnings as revenues last year hit a staggering $45 billion, further underlining its position as the world's biggest gambling market.

Macau's nearly three dozen casinos raked in 33.5 billion patacas ($4.2 billion) in December, according to data released Thursday by the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, the gambling regulator. That brought revenue for 2013 to 360.8 billion patacas ($45 billion), up 18.6 percent from 2012.

Analyst Grant Govertsen of Union Gaming Research estimated that Macau's take would be more than seven times the amount earned on the Las Vegas Strip.

The former Portuguese colony's once-lethargic casino market has thrived since the government ended a gambling monopoly a decade ago and let in foreign players such as Las Vegas Sands Corp. and Wynn Resorts Ltd.

The ensuing competition has transformed the tiny enclave into a gambling powerhouse, with glitzy new casino resorts centered on the Cotai Strip, marketed as Asia's version of the Las Vegas Strip.

All six casino operators in Macau, an hour by high-speed ferry from Hong Kong, are pouring billions of dollars into new megaprojects in the district in a fresh round of expansion.

Macau's casino revenues are the envy of other markets around Asia, which have been looking at ways to duplicate the southern Chinese city's success.

Increasing numbers of wealthy high-rolling visitors from mainland China have helped power Macau's rise as a casino hub.

Revenue has already overtaken the entire market in the U.S., where a year ago some 12,000 U.S. casinos raked in $37.3 billion, according to figures from the American Gaming Association. In the same period, Macau, which has 35 casinos and a population of about 560,000, earned $38 billion, according to the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau.

Though comparable U.S. figures for 2013 are not yet available, Macau's lead is certain to widen as growth in major markets like the Las Vegas Strip has largely hit a plateau.

http://www.aol.com/article/2014/01/0...enue/20798868/

[Jangle]

Jangle vbmenu_register("postmenu_211481", true);
Reggae Ambassador
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 9,989



The question is, "Have we missed the Casino Boat?" We have been arguing and debating this issue for decades, now in this global recession, we should ask ourselves who are we going to market casinos to?

[Jangle]

I have already stated my views and how I think legalising the three biggest SINS - GANJA, CASINO and PROSTITUTION, can benefit Jamaica, so I will not go over it. We (GOJ) sit around and bawl about how things hard and about fiscal this and that and about borrowing money from the IMF and World Bank when most of the answers are right there in front of our faces. Jamaica needs leaders with balls. The world already believe that Ganja is legal in Jamaica.

Long we a talk the tings

[Sir X]

The world already believe that Ganja is legal in Jamaica.

So true,when I hear some talk about international perception,i crack up..deluded ones ..lol

Ganja alone can bring down that debt.

[Jangle]

I just got back from a short vacation in the Bahamas. I had on my "Jamaican" eyes while I was there. What that means is that I was constantly comparing things to Jamaica. What I can say as objectively as possible is that the tourist product in Jamaica is by far way better. I stayed on Paradise Island which is literally a stone's throw from Nassau. I spent 5 days at an "all-inclusive" (and I use that term very loosely) hotel and was bored stiff by the second day. The hotel itself would probably be condemned if it was in Jamaica, and I have stayed at many hotels in Jamaica throughout my years. The food was poor and constant. They served the exact meal for breakfast everyday!!! Dinner was the remix of lunch.
The Atlantis hotel and Casino, however, is fabulous and is one of their main attraction. I would go as far as to say, it is the only thing they have to offer that Jamaica doesn't have.....a top class casino, albeit, small in comparision to those in Atlantic City and Las Vegas. However, Bahamas continues to outstrip us in terms of visitors with their extremely limited attractions. Yes they have gorgeous beaches (not as many as Jamaica) which comes with the usual water sports. I also did the boat ride to one of their many islands...nothing to write home about....just more sand and sea. I also did the Fish-Fry thingy, which is really a nicer Port Royal. I lost about US$200 of unbudgetted vacation funds at the casino. There is also the Dolphin Cove thing, but I did that last year ...in Jamaica. That's basically all they have to offer. So why do they do better than us in number of visitors?
Try to glean the answer as I go back to the heading of my post. First thing that hits you is that their dollar is equal to the US$ - Bah$1 = US$1. I think that plays a big part in why no one is haggling you when you step outside of the airport. The people are in every sense of the word "laid-back". I went to the craft market and no one was dragging me to their stall to try to "scalp" me (this happened to me in Ochi last year). Backtracking a bit. The taxi rates are standard wherever you go or whomever you ask. The people are genuinely nice. They remind me of how we (Jamaicans) used to be when I was growing up. An example: one day my wife and I went to listen to one of those time share presentations. Of course we went there to collect the $120 which was being offered and the free taxi ride into the town (yeah we cheap). After the presentation we went outside to walk around the town but we wanted my daughter and her grandmother to meet us there. One of the many streetside "salesperson" offered us the use of his cell phone. After many unsuccessful tries to contact them, he offered to drive us to the hotel and back. After accepting his offer and telling him thanks for the thousandth time, he made a comment that resounded in my head. He said, "you are a tourist here in my island. If I don't take care of you, then I can't eat or feed my kids. We depend totally on you". What a concept!!!
Anyway, at the fish fry, I was talking to a female police officer. I struck up a conversation with her because I noticed that she was the only officer I saw wear a gun. I asked her about that, but I did not get an answer that I remember. However, what I gathered was that she belong to a special unit, but generally, the police carried no visible guns. I expressed to her how safe we felt walking on the roads late at nights, so I asked her specifically about the gun crimes there. She said that the murder rate was up this year to a whopping 35!!! This she attributed to the influx of Haitians which she said was about 2 to 1 Bahamian. She said that they are targetted by the natives and as a result they retaliate. While I was there, there was a robbery (I could be wrong, but I think it was a bank) but the theif was caught. DUH!!! Nassau is about the size of Kingston...if that big.
All in all, my thoughts of the Bahamas are that they have nothing on Jamaica in terms of a tourism product outside of the casino. I actually told a few of the hotel guests that I met about the many attractions and nicer hotels that Jamaica had to offer. Those of us who live outside of Jamaica can attest to the fact of just how facinated the rest of the world is with Jamaica. We need to improve on what we have and diversify our tourism product. Last year I was very impressed with the physical improvements of the Shades in Ochi compared to what I remember back in the days. I was however disappointed with the level of vulgarity that strip clubs in jamaica have sunk to. Having live sex on stage is a big turnoff. Nothing is left to the imagination any more.

Another read.

[Jangle]

Lazie picture this:

Rich tourist (preferably American) sitting around a blackjack/poker table in a fancy casino (in Jamaica) smoking a nicely professionally rolled Jamaican-made ganja cigar, with high-paid, voluptuous, nicely but tightlydressedLady of the Night by his side. He is living out his fantasy and he's on vacation. He easily drops US$5000 for his night of entertainment, not to mention how much he spends for his plane fare on Air Jamaica and his stay at BoJangle Casino. I am being serious.

I have smoked weed before in my youth, but I am not a weed smoker. However, I have nothing against it as I think it's no worse than anything else. Smoking in general is bad for your health. What we (Jamaicans) need to do is to tighten our points of entry and exits (our borders). It should remain illegal to export ganja, but legal to grow distibute and smoke/use it within our shores.

Prostitution in like cockroaches and will always be around, so why not legalise it and improve the working conditions for the workers. There should be a Red Light District in say St. Thomas (our poorest parish). The spinoffs from the influx of patrons will be tremendous to the localeconomy.

Casino gambling ......that's a no-brainer. The only thing they should be contemplating is where to put them. I think they should probably look to the south coast. They should separate casino-specific hotels from those geared towards a sun, sand and sea vacations.

Profound....