Macau vs. Las Vegas: The Battle to be the ‘Capital of Excess’
Travel Blog • Michael Yessis • 08.29.07 | 11:36 AM ET
The gargantuan Venetian Macao Resort (pictured) opened yesterday with celebrations and excessive media coverage about the excesses of the new venture. It’s the largest casino in the world and it cost $2.4 billion to build. It’s the second-largest building in the world, after the Boeing manufacturing plant in Washington, according to the AP. If the Venetian Macao succeeds, Reuters reports, the annual gambling income of Macau—or Macao, if you’re so inclined—will rise to approximately $13.7 billion by 2010. That’s a staggering figure for a place that, as we posted earlier this year, surpassed Las Vegas in annual gambling revenue in 2006, $6.95 billion to $6.5 billion.
“But what is most surprising about the 3,000-suite project is that it is merely the first of 14 interconnected hotels being built here by the Las Vegas Sands Corporation,” writes Keith Bradsher of the New York Times.
Bradsher continues:
When completed, the complex will include a St. Regis, a Shangri-la, a Raffles, a Conrad, an Intercontinental and a Sheraton, with their own casinos, bars and restaurants. And the project, which will cost $10 billion to $12 billion, is just the largest of a series of giant gambling complexes being constructed here in Macao, on the southwestern lip of the mouth of the Pearl River.
The estimates are impressive, but they’re still estimates. Reuters reports that “construction delays, funding problems, infrastructure bottlenecks and the risk of an oversupply of both hotel rooms and baccarat tables could threaten such rosy forecasts.” Macau also still relies on day-trippers from mainland China for most of its revenue. Visitors currently only spend an average of 1.26 days in Macau, according to the Times.
Las Vegas, on the other hand, hosts its average visitor for 3.4 days, signaling a stronger all-around economy that doesn’t only rely on gambling revenue. Still, at least one Las Vegas entity seems to be hedging its bets. As mentioned above, the name of the company that built the Venetian Macao is the Las Vegas Sands Corporation, which also owns the Venetian and the Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas. That’s right. It’s a Nevada-based corporation. If Macau rises, so may the bottom line of Las Vegas money men.
For a look at the opening of the Venetian Macao, check out the BBC’s slideshow.
Related on World Hum:
* Macau Surpasses Las Vegas as Gambling Mecca
Photo via Venetian Macao.
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Michael Yessis is the cofounder and coeditor-in-chief of World Hum.
Danny 08.29.07 | 2:57 PM ET
This makes me sad. It’s fine for Las Vegas to build up these artificial casinos because it has no cultural value anyway. Someone who would go to Macao and spend time in that kind of institution would be doing themselves a huge disservice, and frankly doesn’t deserve the right to travel.
Emily 01.06.08 | 6:31 PM ET
As a Macao resident, trust me, there is little culture in Macao that the Chinese day-trippers were interested in anyway (per the first comment). The Venetian has proved in three months to be the biggest draw in town by far, a giant adult Disneyland, where gamblers walk around with their jaws dropping when they’re not hard at work at the gaming tables. But the problem of over-development remains: Macao has no independent water supply. And when all the toilets in those hotel rooms get flushed at the same time,.... just think.
David Murphey 02.12.08 | 12:22 AM ET
The building has to win some kind of civil engineering award. It is a work of art. I can’t belive how huge it is. Makes you wonder how much money there is in pure brick and mortar at Las Vegas.
trade show displays 02.22.08 | 3:55 PM ET
I love Vegas way more eventhough i came from HK. In macau, most people are only looking to Gamble but in Vegas, you can do much more. I went to Vegas but I haven’t have time to go Gambling since there are too many things to do.
canada 04.01.08 | 8:43 AM ET
I agree with Danny, the building is quite the spectacle, unfortunately of course its for gambling.
Roselin 05.21.08 | 10:45 AM ET
Lasvegas - its well widely known and much off than Macau.. hmm but in terms of $$ ??