Guest fountainhall Posted March 6, 2012 Posted March 6, 2012 Gaming revenues for the Las Vegas Strip last year were up 5.1% from 2010 to hit US$6 billion. Compare that with Macau – until only 15 years or so ago, a pretty sleepy hollow on the other side of the Pearl River Delta from Hong Kong. There, gaming revenues increased by 41% to a total of US$33.5 billion in 2011! And Macau won’t stop there, for later this year yet another resort complex will open with 5,800 more rooms and 300,000 more square feet of gaming space! Macau used to be one of the loveliest spots in all of Asia - a step back in time to the 17th and 18th centuries. Such a pity it has been turned into a pretty hideous gambling theme park! Quote
Guest thaiworthy Posted March 6, 2012 Posted March 6, 2012 Such a pity it has been turned into a pretty hideous gambling theme park! Hideous and gambling-- isn't that redundant? Quote
Guest fountainhall Posted March 7, 2012 Posted March 7, 2012 I never knew Las Vegas before 1999 and have now been there four times. I actually quite enjoy it, but more for the extraordinary shows and fantastic food at wonderfully cheap prices. I have only gambled once. On my last visit 3 years ago, I had a plane delay and decided to put $20 in an airport slot machine. I hadn't much clue what I was doing, but it passed the time and after 20 minutes I cashed out with $15. Not bad, I thought! I used to visit Macau a lot between 1979 and 1990, and loved it. I'd go with friends for dinner. After getting off the hydrofoil/jetfoil, we'd get a taxi to the old Bela Vista Hotel where we'd sit on the terrace having an incredibly cheap cocktail. Then, off to Fernando's restaurant on Coloane, the southernmost of the three small islands. This was a low-key barn-like place that spilled over on to the beach and served wonderful Mediterranean food and excellent cheap Portuguese wines (everything then was just so cheap!). If it was not Fernando's, then a short trip to one of the small restaurants on the quaintly named Rua da Felicidade - The Street of Happiness. Not surprisingly, this was the pleasure centre of Macau for centuries, filled with opium dens and brothels. Now I mostly loathe Macau! Step out of the jetfoil terminal and you are in a truly grotesque theme park. If you get as far as the centre of town, there is still a degree of history. The Bela Vista is still there, but is now someone's home. The Rua da Felicidade, whilst the exterior is preserved, no longer has any life and soul. It is now filled with hotels and up-market restaurants. The whole place has sadly lost so much of its former charm. Quote
