One of my Casinos
============ My Story ============
The tiny territory of Macau, close to Hong Kong in Southern China,
has embarked on one of the biggest upheavals in its history, a
major transformation of its crucial gambling industry.
Macau's 440,000 inhabitants live off the income from its casinos;
the rattling of dice, the clacking of betting chips and the rustle
of money echoes 24 hours a day.
And for 40 years all the casinos on the island - which reverted
from being a Portuguese colony to Chinese control in 1999 - have
been controlled by just one company headed by the flamboyant tycoon
Stanley Ho.
His million-visitor-a-month business provides two thirds of Macau's
tax revenues, funds free education, healthcare and social security
- and has made him fabulously wealthy.
Shady dealings
But with it has come a seedy reputation, as casinos sit cheek by
jowl with massage parlours and saunas and foreign prostitutes walk
the streets. Not to mention the persistent allegations that Chinese
organised crime syndicates are intimately involved in Macau's
nightlife - as they are in Chinese communities across Asia.
This image has persuaded the island's chief executive, Edmund Ho,
to take away the monopoly once and for all.
In theory, the loss of the monopoly should not bother Stanley Ho
too much. Now an 80-year-old billionaire with 17 children by four
wives, legend has it he arrived in Macau with one dollar in his
pocket aged 19.
Now, in the latest symbol of his opulence, he is constructing the
tenth tallest building in the world in Macau, an enormous spike of
a tower for communications and tourists to enjoy the view.
From the 300m spike Stanley Ho's influence can be seen everywhere,
from office blocks to ports and the airline, as well as the world's
biggest fleet of high speed ferries bringing in cash-laden gamblers
from Hong Kong.
Interest from overseas
The new licences have attracted the attention of casino operators
from Las Vegas and Sun City in South Africa, to name but two.
Macau is the only place in China where casinos are allowed and they
are eyeing the increasingly wealthy Chinese market. Locals involved
in the industry - albeit on a lesser level than Stanley Ho's - hope
the new entrants will make Macau less like Dodge City and more like
Las Vegas or Monte Carlo.
