MACAU (AFX) - American billionaire Stephen Wynn will make one of his biggest gambles this week when he opens a sleek $1 billion hotel-casino in Macau -- the booming Chinese territory that could soon bump off Las Vegas as the world's gaming capital.
Wynn is betting that his lavish rooms and trendsetting casino, which opens Wednesday, will attract the Chinese gambling masses eager to wager the money they've been raking in from the country's sizzling economy.
But his critics doubt that the crescent-shaped Wynn Macau complex -- a smaller replica of his Las Vegas resort -- has enough attractions to be successful in this former Portuguese enclave on China's southeastern coast.
Macau, which returned to Chinese rule in 1999, is the only place in China that allows casino gambling. For 40 years, the industry was controlled by local tycoon Stanley Ho. But Ho's monopoly ended in 2002 when the government began shaking up the market and inviting new competition from Las Vegas.
Only two Las Vegas companies were allowed into Macau: Wynn Resorts Ltd. and Las Vegas Sands Corp. -- run by Wynn's arch nemesis, Sheldon Adelson. Sands -- the world's largest gaming company -- got established first in Macau, opening in 2004 the gleaming Sands Macau, which has been wildly successful.
Last year, Macau's income was about even with the $5.3 billion earned on Las Vegas strip, according to figures from both places. Many analysts expect Macau to surpass the Las Vegas strip if the new casinos prove to be a good bet.
To be successful, the newcomers must transform Macau into an Asian Las Vegas: a multi-day destination for people who want to shop, see shows, eat in fancy restaurants and attend conventions -- as well as gamble.
Macau has never been like this. It has been a seedy day-trip destination with old smoky casinos, prostitution and organized crime. It mostly pulls in high rollers from mainland China or Hong Kong -- just an hour east by high-speed ferry -- whose favorite game is baccarat played in private VIP rooms.
Chinese gamblers are notorious for being solely focused on gambling. They spend most their time at the tables and only take breaks for cheap meals or a quick trip to a sauna-massage parlor.
Wynn and the Sands' Adelson are both credited for being visionaries who transformed Las Vegas into a popular place for a business convention -- and even a family vacation. They intend to do the same in Macau. Adelson plans to attract a bigger crowd by adding convention space, and Wynn wants to lure them with luxurious resorts.
Wynn's company repeatedly declined requests by The Associated Press to discuss its latest strategy for Macau. The 65-year-old gaming mogul -- the son of a bingo parlor operator -- plans to meet the media on Tuesday.
The Wynn Macau's Web site promises to offer 'unparalleled luxury' and set 'new standards of hospitality and entertainment' with six gourmet restaurants, a shopping esplanade, Las Vegas-style entertainment, health club, pool and spa. The complex also has 9,300 square meters of gaming space, with 200 tables and 380 slot machines.
JP Morgan sounded bullish about Macau in a recent report. 'High quality new supply can create new demand,' the investment bank said. 'We believe new projects will attract new visitors, resulting in significant growth for the overall market.'
But in another recent report, Morgan Stanley was skeptical about the new casinos success in changing gambling and spending habits in Macau.
'Simply adding facilities will not be enough as there are already good restaurants and hotels in Macau and Chinese gamblers choose not to spend money on eating and staying at those establishments,' the report said.
Macau is not only shaping up as a rivalry between some of the biggest figures in the casino world. It's also a competition between different parts of the territory of 28 square kilometers (173 square miles) -- less than one-sixth the size of Washington, D.C. Macau is made of a peninsula of China's mainland and two islands: Coloane and Taipa.
Wynn Macau is on the peninsula, but Adelson of the Sands believes most of the business will eventually move to the Cotai Strip -- an area of reclaimed land that connects Coloane and Taipa. Adelson is developing a massive project on the Cotai Strip that will include casinos, a huge convention center and hotels with many of the biggest names in the industry: Hilton, Sheraton, Shangri-la and Four Seasons.
'When the entire Cotai Strip is open, the competitive battle will be finished,' said Adelson, 73, the son of a cab driver who never earned a college degree but ranked No. 14 on Forbes' list of the world's 100 richest people this year.
Adelson's 3,000-suite mega resort, the Venetian Macao, is slated to open in the second quarter of 2007.
He scoffed at Wynn's claims that the Wynn Macau was a full, or 'integrated,' resort.
'There's no resort around it. There's no 50-meter swimming pool. There's no wave pool. There's no exhibition center,' he said in an interview with the AP.
Adelson also predicted that Wynn would have to close some of the six restaurants at the new casino because only one out of six Chinese gamblers eat in Macau. Adelson said he built four at the Sands and had to close two.
'He really thinks that the curved building and the slanted roof is the greatest thing since sliced bread and therefore the whole world should beat a path to his door,' he said.
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