Raising the Stakes

Macau is well on its way to becoming the next Las Vegas. In three short years, the city hopes to have completed it’s ambitious Cotai Strip, a chunk of reclaimed land connecting Taipa and Coloane Islands that will provide 30,000 hotel rooms, 1,000 gaming tables, at least 30,480 square meters of convention space and 150,000 jobs.

The godfather of all Macau casinos, Stanley Ho’s Casino Lisboa, has ruled the roost in the Macau casino world since the late 1960s. It is often credited with having turned Macau into the “Monte Carlo of the Orient,“ and without rivals for over the first two decades of its existence, it raked in an obscene amount of money from legions of dedicated dice-throwers, transforming Macau and giving Stanley Ho his fortune. But when the government lifted the Lisboa’s monopoly two years ago, many companies were eager to step in. The Galaxy Waldo and the Sands Macau arrived soon after the law changed.

Both casinos were keen to make a huge splash on the scene, and so lured away Lisboa’s old regulars, their staff and even their investors with promises of a newer, bigger and better gambling experience. This was only the beginning of what may prove to be outright casino turf war, with over ten more casinos (ten!) set to open on the dice-throwing islet before 2009. Just two weeks ago, Wynn Casino threw open its doors with a massive celebration featuring spectacular fireworks and glittering showgirls. In contrast, the nearby Lisboa, with its dated design, looked like an aging rocker.

So what’s next? Here’s a tour of what’s there and what’s coming.

The Wynn

The Don: Steve Wynn is the daddy of the Vegas casino scene and is credited with leading the massive resurgence and expansion of the city in the 1990s.The son of a bingo parlor owner, Wynn first entered the gambling industry when his father died and left him the family business. In the late 1970s, he landed a deal granting him controlling interest in a dusty Las Vegas casino, The Golden Nugget. The Nugget became an overnight success when Wynn renovated and revamped it into a plush complex. He later set up the Mirage Casino on the Las Vegas Strip, followed by the Bellagio Resort. After selling Mirage resorts to MGM Grand, he then sunk the assets into the Wynn Las Vegas, which opened in 2005. Now the time has come for him to turn his attention to Macau and his signature Wynn Macau casino exploded onto the scene two weeks ago with a massive fireworks display.

The Deal: The Wynn is the biggest complex in Macau so far, with 600 rooms and suites, two heated pools and, of course, the obligatory playboy-style whirlpool and neighboring cabanas. There are six restaurants and three bars. As for the gaming, there’s a whole host of tables offering every game from traditional classics like blackjack and roulette to more niche games, like Caribbean stud, sia bo and fan tan. Of course, there is also a legion of slot machines where you can wager as little as five cents all the way up to $2,500/USD322. There’s also a spa and luxury shops such as Prada, Tiffany’s and David Tang’s luxury Cuban cigar shop, where you can happily splurge your hard-earned winnings. For art lovers, an original Matisse (“The Persian Robe”) and an original Renoir (“Among the Roses”) hang in two of the reception areas.