Macao – Gambling in America
The fate of the gambling operations in Macao passed into the hands of the officials of the People’s Republic of China when the sovereignty of the Portuguese enclave in the South China Sea was transferred to the Chinese in 1999. Macao is a small peninsula and two tiny islands totaling only six square miles of land lying forty miles from Hong Kong by water.
As an enclave beyond the reach of the Chinese government, Macao became the site of many so-called sin activities. Gambling was illegal but operated openly until 1934, when the Tai King Company was given a concession to develop casinos and hotels. The company was led by Fu Tak Yam until his death in 1962. After that, operations were taken over by Stanley Ho, a Macao native. Ironically, Ho went on to purchase the largest casino in Portugal at Estorial.
There are now five large casino-hotel operations, as well as a floating casino docked in Macao. Additionally there are two machine-only casinos. A greyhound racetrack has one of these casinos. The casinos offer Western games such as roulette, baccarat, and blackjack, as well as slot machines of every variety. They also offer a wide assortment of Asian games such as fan tan, pacapio, tai-sai, pai gow, and mah jongg. Macao has been called both “the Monte Carlo of the Orient” and “the Las Vegas of the Orient”. The Portuguese authorities over the enclave were glad to offer the sins of Macao to the Hong Kong community. Now that both entities are under the sovereignty of China, it remains to be seen how long the enclave will remain the regional “sin city”.
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