Macau bids for Vegas riches

Officials are hoping to bring a bit of Vegas glitz to Macau's gaming industry

MACAU, China -- The Chinese gambling haven of Macau has dealt out three new gaming licenses, breaking a 40-year monopoly and turning to a touch of Vegas-style glitz to revive its floundering economy.

The concessions on Friday went to Stanley Ho, Macau's casino king who held a monopoly for 40 years; Steve Wynn, the Las Vegas casino tycoon who developed the Mirage and Bellagio; and Galaxy Casino, linked to the U.S. Las Vegas Sands and local businessmen.

Macau hopes the Las Vegas showmen will give the city a makeover, casting off its dowdy image and adding world-class entertainment, sports and tourist attractions to an industry that has operated as a monopoly since the 1930s.

"The combination of these three companies will be beneficial to the development of Macau's gaming and tourism industry," Reuters quoted Francis Tam, secretary for economy and finance, as saying.

"We want gaming and tourism together to become the leading industry in Macau, boosting the economy as a whole," he added.

The lure for U.S. casinos is Asia's legendary high rollers, among the most coveted customers in Las Vegas.

Macau's casinos are the backbone of the economy, raking in some US$2.2 billion in 2000, or about 35 percent of the enclave's gross domestic product.

Macau's gaming tables draw some 10 million tourists a year to the former Portuguese enclave

Last year Ho's 11 casinos alone pulled in some $15.5 billion, most of which came from 10 million tourists, three-quarters of whom came to Macau purely to gamble.

Each operator was expected to spend about four billion patacas (US$500 million) in developing their casino concessions, Tam said.

'Down on luck'

Once a quiet and colorful Portuguese trading post known for its European flair, Macau has been down on its luck for years.

The 11 casinos run by billionaire Ho provide the lifeblood for the economy and its 450,000 inhabitants but Portugal ignored the distant outpost during the final decades of colonial rule and Macau drifted into decay and lawlessness.

Its once-quiet streets were the scene of turf wars among rival Chinese triad gangs and perhaps the most striking European trait was a legion of imported prostitutes slouching in doorways.

When Macau reverted to China in 1999, its new Beijing-backed leader, banker Edmund Ho, cracked down on crime and said gaming competition was the best bet for its future.

New blood

Stanley Ho's 11 casinos contribute more about $5 billion a year to government coffers

That may be where Wynn, 59, comes in.

The spare-no-cost casino master was a driving force in the 1990s behind the Las Vegas Mirage and Bellagio. He is working on another Las Vegas mega-casino, the 45-storey Le Reve.

The influx of new blood also includes the Galaxy Casino, grouping Hong Kong and Macau interests with the expertise of Las Vegas Sands Inc. The Sands owns the Venetian casino in Las Vegas, which boasts its own Grand Canal and gondolas.

The nine finalists revealed little about their Macau plans. Details will be hammered out in negotiations that are expected to go until March 31.

Macau named three alternates in case any of the winners drops out during the contract negotiations.

The alternates are: MGM Mirage, MP Entertainment Company Ltd - a joint venture between Park Place Entertainment Inc and Mandalay Resort Group, and Macau Star, linked to Malaysia's Genting BHD.