Macau poised to become top entertainment capital of Asia

After Portugal returned Macau to China, however, the new government brought Stanley Ho's 40-year-old gambling monopoly to an end in 2002 and opened bids for new gambling licenses to some of Las Vegas's biggest names.

On the one hand, local authorities raced to build transportation infrastructures and reclaimed more land from the sea. In return, foreign and local entrepreneurs invested billions of U.S. dollars in new five-star hotels, casinos, shopping malls, theme parks and convention centers.

Results were soon produced. In 2006, the 24 casinos overtook the Las Vegas Strip as the world's top gambling center and drew US$6.95 billion in gambling revenue. Last year, Macau's casinos raked in more than US$10.3 billion in gambling revenue.

Without stepping outside, a guest of top-notch five-star-hotel-casinos such as the Crown and Wynn can access stylish restaurants, cozy spa centers, elegant casinos, or top brand shopping malls.

"The trend on traveling is more on individual space," said Kay Chan, marketing services manager at the Grand Lisboa.

She noted that bathrooms rather than room size is the ultimate criterion that defines "personal space"—especially when standard rooms come with high-end equipment such as a Mirror TV (a TV inside a mirror), a Turkish bath, a shower with mist and high water pressure, and a Jacuzzi.

Crystal wine glasses from Royal Brierley, silverware from Christofle and fine china plates from Bernardaud are other "minor" details that have successfully lured wealthy costumers, who increasingly want the same kind of privileged service provided in the world-renowned hotels of Paris, London or New York.

"We want our customers to eat well and feel at home," said Chow Chung, culinary consultant at MGM Grand Macau and a former chef at Taipei's Hyatt Hotel.

"We combine Western and Chinese ingredients ... into a fusion, which differs from traditional cooking in Hong Kong or China," he continued.

"Don't rush eating!" he stressed, while noting how fast everything is changing in Macau.

According to official figures, Macau's economy grew by an average 29.4 percent during the first nine months of 2007, while investors have been turning to mega-sized convention centers to fill rooms during the week, before gamblers invade on the weekend.

The Venetian Macau, for instance, already offers 1.2 million-square feet of meeting, convention and exhibition space, or twice the amount of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center.

"Over the weekend, occupancy rates in the hotel industry reach 99 percent," said Alorino Noruega, a public relations executive of the Macau Tourist Office, noting that new luxurious resorts are under construction across Macau to satisfy the soaring influx of clientele from China and Hong Kong.

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