Macau returned to China and then becomes the biggest gambling earner
in the World. Wow. Way to go China.
Olympic Torch P***** Through Chinese Casino City Macau
Saturday, May 03, 2008
May 3: Torch relay runner, Macau tycoon Stanley Ho, center, runs at
the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Torch relay in Macau,
China.
MACAU =97 Runners carried the Olympic torch past glitzy Las Vegas-
style casinos and pastel pink and green colonial buildings Saturday in
Macau =97 the world's most lucrative gambling center.
Spectators waved flags, cheered wildly and chanted "Go China!" as the
flame toured the former ****tuguese enclave that returned to Chinese
rule in 1999. The relay's early stages went smoothly as two columns of
police in blue shorts jogged on each side of the torch bearers.
Protests are relatively rare in the tiny city on China's southern
coast =97 the only place in the country where casino gambling is legal.
The torch arrived from Hong Kong, where on Friday it completed a relay
that was unhindered. Hong Kong's event was a big contrast from many of
the others during the torch's 20-nation overseas tour, which was
plagued with demonstrations.
As he waited for the torch, retiree Cheung Leung, 70, said he was
angry with the torch demonstrators. "I wanted to shove the protesters
aside," he said.
Macau's parade often seemed to be more about Chinese pride than the
Olympics. One group of students from mainland China wore white T-
****rts that said, "I love China." Others posed with the Chinese flag
in front of colonial-style buildings.
Another group held a banner that said, "Love the Chinese race. Build
up our country's reputation."
"Macau people feel proud," said Ip Chi-keong, 46, a civil servant.
"The Chinese have fulfilled a dream."
He said he was displeased with activists who tried to disrupt the
relay overseas.
"It's right to show concern for human rights problems, but I question
their tactics," he said.
The relay route included plenty of colonial-style buildings painted in
pastel pink, yellow and peach =97 structures built when Macau was a
****tuguese enclave.
Before Macau returned to Chinese rule in 1999, the territory was a
darker, more dangerous place where criminal gangs, or triads, waged
turf wars with drive-by shootings, kidnappings and car bombs that
scared away tourists.
But under Chinese rule, the violent crime rate has dropped and
tourists have been flooding into the city, less than one-sixth the
size of Wa****ngton, D.C. Macau is made of a peninsula on China's
mainland and two islands: Coloane and Taipa.
Like Hong Kong, Macau is governed under a "one country, two systems"
formula, designed to give the territory a wide degree of autonomy.
After returning to Chinese rule, Macau broke up a monopoly on the
gambling business. Casino tycoons from Las Vegas and other places were
allowed into the market, creating a big gaming boom. The magnates
include U.S. billionaires Steve Wynn of Wynn Resorts Ltd. and Sheldon
Adelson of Las Vegas Sands Corp.
In 2006, Macau overtook the Las Vegas Strip as the world's epicenter
of gambling. Its casinos rang up $6.95 billion in gambling revenue,
while the Strip made $6.69 billion, regulators in the cities said.
Last year, Macau's casinos raked in more than $10.3 billion in gaming
revenue, a jump of 46 percent over the previous year, the government
said.
But Macau's leader, Edmund Ho, recently announced the booming city
wouldn't issue any new casino licenses soon. He said it's time for the
government to review the industry's development before new projects
are approved.
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