I've been to Macau twice now. It's a Special Administrative Region of China (like Hong Kong) but was colonized by the Portuguese. It's basically a city-state that China sort of controls. It is relatively small- you can get to one side of the country to another within half an hour. Interesting to note: Macau has the world's second highest life expectancy in the world.
The growth of it's economy is highly dependent on it's tourism from Mainland China (just a short ferry ride away) and the constantly developing casinos. In fact, Macau brings in more revenue from gambling than Las Vegas.
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A view of some of the casinos. Macau is much more open than the Vegas strip. |
Some of the same casinos from Vegas can be found in Macau. The casinos are primarily owned between two groups. Stanley Ho and his family and Steven Wynn.
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Casino Lisboa |
Casino Lisboa (behind us) is one of the first casinos established by Stanley Ho. Prostitution is not legal in Macau, however, there's a hallway in this casino where beautiful Mainland Chinese girls literally parade back and forth for 8 hour shifts, trying to get the attention of the men watching. The hotel gets a cut of what the girls make in the hotel rooms upstairs.
Macau has been a great place to visit for the day. It's only an hour ferry ride away and it's a great retreat from the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong. It's a pretty place to stretch out your arms and legs and lose a little money.
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My teammates enjoying the fresh air. |
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