Macau is the newest gambling capital of the world, but it is a heavily divided city. First there is Stanley Ho, the billionaire baron of Macau's former state gaming monopoly and then there is the gambling development crowd surging in from the West. And they are both fighting for the gamblers. The reason? These are tough times for casino companies on the Chinese territory. Macau's casino revenue, according to unofficial sources, fell by about 6 per cent in March from a year earlier and profits at SJM, Mr Ho's company, collapsed by 48.1 per cent in 2008. His 588-place plunge last year down Forbes magazine's billionaire's list was even more spectacular. Sheldon Adelson, the Las Vegas-based tycoon, whose arrival in Macau five years ago triggered the city's explosive growth phase is in the opposite corner. The source of his woes are draconian new visa laws, recently introduced, that limit people from mainland China to only four visits a year. Insiders at the biggest casinos in Macau described chaos in the boardrooms as Beijing's crackdown on visas annihilated earnings and crushed the VIP high-rollers' trade that comprises 80 per cent of Macau's gaming revenue. Las Vegas Sands, Mr. Adelson's company, was recently forced to stop construction on a huge site. Mr. Adelson told a recent conference that China had “over-reached and over-achieved” in its efforts to curb visitor numbers from the mainland. Around the tables, too, the atmosphere has shifted from only a year or so ago, when gaming growth was surging at an annual pace of more than 30 per cent. Economic hardship is visible. One middle-aged baccarat player, who gave his name as Lau and described himself as a “fallen company president”, put it bluntly: “I used to come with my profits and lose them. Now I come with my savings and lose them.” China's discomfort with Macau is evident. At last week's G20 meeting, the suggestion that Macau could be added to a “blacklist” of tax havens almost threatened to derail the final communiqué. Transparency, one Macau barrister said, is not always a popular word in this city. Posted on: May 4, 2009
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