Gambling in Macau or Las Vegas
What’s the difference between these two casino hot spots?
Dec 11, 2007
SPORT OR WAR
Many North Americans see gambling as entertainment. Some Chinese see it as an animal fighting an animal. To them, "either it dies or I die." So stated by a player from the mainland. But such differences do not affect the game. The wheel spins the same for all players.
SO WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE
In Las Vegas, the hotels and casinos are combined. Walk through one door and choose to either head for a table or head for the elevator and a room. Vegas has slot machines everywhere. Gas stations, convenience stories, the airports - one almost trips over them. Not so in Macau. Only in the casinos are the one arm bandits to be found.
Macau, on the other hand, is very structured with its rules and regulations governing gambling. The government compartmentalizes all businesses. Casinos, shops and hotels are separated from each other. Unlike Las Vegas, where one entrance can lead to all facilities, in Macau, there are separate entrances even separate buildings for each type of activity. One can not walk from the lobby of a hotel onto the floor of a casino.
Macau players are mostly Asian. Vegas has more international clientele. More shopping is done in Vegas. Gamblers drop bundles in restaurants and posh shops. Under the hotels, casinos and streets of Las Vegas, a maze of tunnels wind underground into caverns of shops, plazas, galleries, museums - it's an endless promenade. Not so in Macau. People there are more interested in combat than confection.
Some clients in Macau put down half of the casinos income in one day. Locals must be 21 years of age to play. Foreigners can gamble if they are 18 or older. Government workers in Macau are not allowed to enter casinos. They may, however, enter restaurants and hotels as they are a separate place of business. Recently Macau has built Vegas style casino-hotel-shopping plaza complexes. Government workers are not allowed in these resorts since all doors lead to casinos.
MORE THAN LOSING MONEY
Both cities are famous for their night life. Clubs, discos, restaurants, shops, shows and promenades make for lively venues. However, one thing absent in Vegas that is popular in Macau is the karaoke room. Asia is the karaoke capital of the world and the rooms are packed.
The architecture in Vegas is much more of an extravaganza than in Macau. But Macau touts its Asian flair which has attracted Westerners for centuries.
CAUTION
All visitors should be wary of personal privacy invasion. Bluetooth users may be relinquishing their shopping, dining and gambling habits. Their gender, age and financial status may be part of a profile, constructed as they send text or voice messages. This is a concern anywhere today. But, why lose more than one's shirt.
THE DISTANCE BETWEEN TWO POINTS
Whether playing in a Macau casino or a casino in Las Vegas, some gamblers have the means to travel back and forth in no time. For everyone else, at least they're half way to one of them.
Las Vegas gamblers can drop their luggage in their suite and run downstairs for a quick game of blackjack before a shower and dinner. In Macau, the gamblers have to run next door.
There's not much harangue on the differences between the two cities. A 7 or 11 can come up in either one.
