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Posts Tagged ‘China’

Macau Continues to Break Records

Tuesday, December 14th, 2010

Anyone who has been following the growth rate of Macau knows how well the area is performing in terms of gambling. It wasn’t that long ago when the city was a small sector of the People’s Republic of China. It is comprised of the Macau Peninsula and then two other islands of Coloane and Taipa. The area started off as a separate island, but geography changed that due to a sandbar and time. Now it is a peninsula where gambling is one of the primary markets. The other advantage Macau has is its climate. Normally the seasons are warm—with July as the warmest month at 84° average and the coldest season being January when temperatures are down to 59° on average. This not only makes it a great place for gambling, but for vacation spots with a warm climate. It can’t be beat for its weather, gambling and exotic locale. This is being proven due to the numbers it is bringing in. Right now the peninsula is considered the top locale in the world for gambling—leaving places like Las Vegas and Atlantic City in its wake. These two cities of course have suffered great losses since the recent recession and are showing slow signs of revival.

Much of its market is based on tourism and a good portion of that is because of its gambling. Visitors can enjoy the many casinos and entertainment night life that is there. a good indication of what the small area can do was seen this past November. The city noted an impressive profit margin throughout that time. It has revenue of about $2.2 billion, which is an increase of over 40% from what it was last year. This is a huge number and is showing no signs of slowing down. So far this past November was the most lucrative month it has had, with the previous month being the only competition in terms of numbers. Right now marketing analysts in Las Vegas and Atlantic City are watching Macau closely. They are getting direct competition – and losing—to the small cities involved. Macau is obviously doing something right in terms of building a business and a successful gambling market.

Superstitions and the Chinese Go Hand in Hand

Wednesday, October 13th, 2010

It is no secret that the Chinese are highly superstitious people. There are long lists of things they will and won’t do. For example, recently one Chinese player won £4,444,444 on a slot game. To anyone else this would have been considered to be great news…to the player, it wasn’t. You see the number 4 in Chinese folklore is bad luck and brings death. This was a horrible sign for the player and he refused the payout. Though that translates as a huge amount of a win, he would have rather walked away from it than risk death being upon him and his family for decades to come. The casino quickly decided to work with the man and give him his payout in varying increments, but this is one example of how superstitious the Chinese can be. Now another more positive, superstition is coming to light.

So far in the past few years there have been eight UFO sightings in the skies over the Asian country. People have been excited to see the out-of-this-world visitors and are calling them good luck for anyone who is blessed to see them in the nighttime sky. This is playing a part in the gambling world because when they see a UFO the gambling numbers are inevitably going up. It is one of those things that casinos in the country are becoming more and more aware of. If they want the high rollers to come out, they can expect them to visit when a UFO sighting happens. This may seem odd, but considering how superstitious the residents of China are, this isn’t that difficult to understand. They know that there are certain rules and they want to follow them to improve their luck. When a UFO is in the sky, it means that good luck is abounding for all so why not take a chance at a local casino? It means that they are going to have a great time playing and hopefully have a better shot at winning big. Plus casinos in the area are huge and offer lots of chances for any gamer to win big as it is. If UFOs bring added luck, why shouldn’t they test their luck? It could just pay off!

Macau Market Continues to Flourish

Sunday, September 26th, 2010

It was back at the end of 2007 when MGM originally expanded to the Macau market. Macau of course since that time has become a gambling hub that is giving Las Vegas and Atlantic City a run for their money. The MGM was the first to open in the small Chinese city and it was a project that tapped more than $1.25 billion to construct. In the end, it was able to overcome the total revenue brought in by Las Vegas. In the past three years the casino has been able to continue growing exponentially in the market—not just the Chinese market, but the worldwide market of gambling as a whole.

The city of Macau since that time has continued to grow. More and more casinos have been built in the city and they have quickly garnered a huge market. the casinos are premiere in the industry and offer an island full of decadence and gambling fun. If you ever wanted to visit an exotic location for gaming, then Macau could be the perfect place. Not only does it offer great gaming, but it is building itself up into a great get-a-way locale. More and more casinos there are building packages for visitors who want an outstanding far-away vacation. Their tourism numbers are only gaining positively and showing no signs of slowing down. Casino operators know how popular a location they have and they are also building promotions that offer great deals. If you have a few weeks of vacation, you will find that a Macau vacation is going to offer you a wide range of activities. It’s a lot like Las Vegas, only bigger and more full of gaming fun. The casinos there are all full service and take their huge revenue streams to fuel right back into their facilities. The country is now taking over as a leader in the world of gambling, pushing Las Vegas and Atlantic City aside. In a lot of ways, Macau is becoming the biggest gambling center in the world and most likely there will be no viable contenders to take that title away any time soon.

Gambling Has Been Around for Ages

Friday, August 13th, 2010

So just how long has gambling been along? If you look at the world today you are going to be struck at how pervasive it is in the world. A few short decades ago it was unheard of to have a place online where you could gamble. Of course, back then having a website where you could do a lot of things was impossible. The rise of technology and the internet have opened the door to a vast array of options in terms of online activities. You now can do anything online from paying bills to ordering movies and shopping for groceries to playing poker. The internet as a whole has come far and people are benefitting from it all over the world. It is estimated that throughout the world 1.9 billion people have internet access and a huge selection of those people are gambling online.

Gambling started off in various places throughout history. It is rumored that the Great Wall of China was partially funded by a lottery. The money was directly channeled into the endeavor. Various other plans around the world have been funded by some type of lottery or another. The bible even talks about “drawing lots”, a form of gambling that gave users directions on what decisions to be made. Supposedly the casting of lots was a man’s way of reading what God wanted him or her to do in certain situations. There is no real date when gambling began, but all signs show that it has been around for centuries. History is riddled with people who used various forms of gambling to make decisions and make deals. If you are wondering whether you should get into the games, consider this. There are thousands of games available today and many come with enough options to customize them to your specific gambling style. You also can find games that fit into your budget and bankroll. And, you can even find free-play games today in the market. There are some that won’t cost you anything, but still pay out if you get lucky. Test out some games at land-based or online casinos and you will see how much fun the games can be.

China Still Debating Gambling

Wednesday, August 11th, 2010

China makes up one of the biggest populations. The country has a population of 1.3 billion people as of 2009 and that is a huge number of potential gamblers—a fact that has not been missed by online gambling companies. Companies know where the highest levels of potential customers are and are focusing on those demographics. It makes sense to move towards the most populated areas because it increases the sales potential. In the world of business sales potential and leads are premiere in importance.

Because of the huge numbers within the country, online gaming companies have always had their eyes on China. Unfortunately the country does not allow gambling. Though it is illegal, that doesn’t stop the fact that China’s government has focused on possibly revamping rules for future, but that doesn’t mean it is looking to legalize gambling. On the contrary, the country is moving through a wide range of controversial methods of blocking certain websites from the more-than 400 million people with internet access in the country. It may be a good cue for the government to watch what happened with the US market when it tried to ban certain gambling activities. The US tried implementing the UIGEA, Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, back in 2006 and now four years later that law is showing how ineffective it really was. Though US gamblers were not allowed to wager, they merely found offshore companies to wager at and the result was billions of dollars being channeled out of the country. China, if it isn’t careful, could find itself in the midst of the same problem. In particular with its huge population, that could tip the scales at billions of dollars being lost and fueled out of the country’s budget.

It could take time, but the Chinese government has to look at viable options for managing gambling. it isn’t going to due to just ban the activities because as US players proved, if players want to gamble, they will. If the country doesn’t allow it, they will look to other countries for their needs. In the world of gambling there is always another company to handle business.

China and Australia Debate Online Gaming

Friday, August 6th, 2010

Internet gambling is in the midst of serious debate. Now Australia and China have joined in on the arguments and are hearing various sides of the issue. Critics are accusing the Australian government of using internet gambling as an excuse for policing and censoring of internet activities. Namely, Blogetery.com is a website that features over 75,000 bloggers who write on various issues. The Australian government shut down the website and blocked its usage. Now the New York Times is investigating the issue. The problem revolves around the controversial issue of internet censorship. Does a government have the right to step in and blog websites that involve topics they don’t want promoted or discussed?

The issue is a difficult one and is going to rise more and more as things in the world of gambling changes. Online internet gambling has millions of dollars at stake but also is being debated by the pros and cons sides of the issue. Yes there are millions of dollars at stake, but that doesn’t make it an open and shut case. Opponents still believe that though there are millions of dollars at stake, the price is too big to take on. They believe that the inevitable rise in crime and corruption will offset any gaming revenue that comes in. they also believe that the proper laws are not in place to protect gamers, gaming companies and governments. Their stance is that a growth in addiction to gambling alone is going to stress budgets that are already pushed to their limits.

It will take time for the world to accept gambling and time for laws to be written that are adequate to handle them. Australia is the most notable country in debates over the issue, but that by no means makes it a singular one. All over the world changes are being made and expect them to continue over the coming months. There are millions of dollars at stake, along with other repercussions of legalizing and regulating online gambling. Without some clear cut debates and weighting out of all options, it is going to be difficult to implement viable gaming law.

Macau Still Holds its own in the Gambling Market

Thursday, March 25th, 2010

Gambling is growing exponentially. No matter what state you go into, legislators are some how working on legalizing and regulating gambling. The market is very competitive and companies all over are vying for their own market shares in the mix. There are millions of dollars to be had with gambling and finding a market share can be the biggest advatnage of any company. One country that has seen a huge growth in gambling companies is Macau. Macau is the only place in China where gambling is legal, and they continue to crush the competition. Las Vegas was once known as the gambling capital of the world, but it’s rapidly becoming the gambling capital of North America. Macau has seen a rapid growth in revenue over 2009 with the top Las Vegas casinos opening up in Asia. Las Vegas experienced a loss of revenue due to the US financial crisis and the competition within the online casino industry.

The figures that were published recently have shown that Macau had a 69.4% increase in revenue in 2009. In February of 2010, Macau casino operators generated over $1.68 billion dollars. The Chinese government has been cracking down on online gambling within China and that may be driving online gamblers to travel over to Macau to play their favorite casino games. Recently, the Chinese government cut down on the paperwork needed to enter Macau and made it a lot easier for mainland residents to visit and play at the most popular casinos within Asia. That means that the Chinese government is eager to continue bringing in more and more customers and more and more money to the country. It is interesting to see how much the small country of Macau has done so far in the world of gambling. It has been a few short years, but the country has learned quickly how to best promote the market of gambling and how to best use it to its advantage. People are flocking to the country and it is quickly taking over from formerly established locations like Las Vegas and Atlantic City as a hub for great gambling. The future seems to be even brighter as the country continues to flourish with its gambling industry.

 

The History of Roulette

Sunday, February 21st, 2010

‘Roulette’ is a French word meaning small wheel which leads us to believe that the game originated in France despite that its popularity initially grew in China.  Due to this Roulettes exact history is unknown but is often accredited to creation by Blaise Pascal a French mathematician of the 17th century.  Pascal was experimenting with concepts of perpetual motion.  Roulette has been played in its current form with a wheel and a ball since 1796.  In 1842 the ‘0’ was added to the wheel by Louise Blanc to give the house and additional edge.  Blanc also introduced Roulette to the casinos of Monte Carlo where it was dubbed the ‘king of casino games’.  An interesting fact is that the sum of all numbers on the wheel is 666, the number of the beast.  Legend goes Blanc made a deal with the devil when he recreated Roulette, supporting the strange coincidence.

Roulette found its way to Northern America in the early 1800’s where a secondary green pocket ‘00’ was added to the wheel to again give the house an additional edge.  The ‘00’, some times replaced by and American eagle as a patriotic touch, is what defines our current day American Roulette. To most it appears that the numbered pockets on the wheel are randomly placed, but if you look closely you will find that they are carefully ordered in pairs totaling 37 or 39, and that they alternate between two odds and two evens around the wheel. In past days bias could be created on the wheel if they are not weighted evenly so that the ball ends up on one side of the wheel more often than the other.  With the technology of today gaming equipment has significantly improved and state and country regulations check casinos more frequently. Internet Roulette has been available since the 1990’s offering both European and American versions.  Since Roulette is simple and quick to play online with minimal wait times it is one of the more popular online favorites. For anyone wanting to test their luck with a game that is solely about “where the chips fall”, test out some roulette play. It’s a great way to enjoy gambling and test Lady Luck at her best!

Macau Ushering in Gambling Law Changes

Tuesday, December 29th, 2009

A few years ago Macau would have been an unlikely location for gambling. It is a small island with rolling beaches and beautiful countrysides to enjoy. The gambling industry came into the market, however and quickly took over. Now, Macau is considered to be one of the biggest gambling centers in the world. The country has a wide variety of casinos and every type of game can be found. It has a billion-dollar gambling industry that is fueling the country into new heights of GDP wealth.

The Chinese mainland is critical to the gambling industry in Macau. Chinese President Hu Jintao has a lot of power within the state due to his country’s contribution to the growth of Macau. The dense population of China is a main contributor to the huge number of patrons Macau hosts every year. Because of this President Jintao is now putting in his own desires for how the small peninsula’s gambling industry needs to change in the future. He wants gambling reform and diversification. Part of jintao’s issue is that Macau has largely built its economy on gambling. He believes, however, that if the country does not diversify its industry will end up in the same position as Las vegas.

In the recession Las Vegas suffered greatly. Due to Macau’s focus on the market of gambling, Jintao believes it is setting itself up for a collapse if the gambling industry changes in any way. Las Vegas is one of the most depressed areas after the recession. It’s estimated that a whopping 60% of homes are in foreclosure or in default since the recession. Now, the once-florishing city has a lot of recovery to manage. Jintao is hoping that Macau takes its cues from Las Vegas and how difficult the recession was on its economy. He is hoping that laws in Macau change to protect it from the same economic dangers of building its market on one industry.  Only time will tell if the country is going to make changes, but due to the involvement of China in the Macau market, most likely officials will listen to Jintao and take his cautions seriously.

Chinese Government Presses Macau to Expand

Thursday, December 24th, 2009

Macau has become a gambling Mecca in the world today. Though it’s a small island whose main industry is gambling, other chief economic activities are export-geared textiles and garment manufacturing, banking and other financial services. Much of the industry is based on the Chinese mainland for sustenance. Chinese President Hu Jintao send a message to Macau over the weekend that he wants gambling reform, and diversity. Jintao is afraid that too much of the peninsula’s economy is based on gambling and it could pose problems for the area in the future. He is citing Las Vegas and its decline due to reliance on gambling as its main industry as a detrimental move. The President would like to see other areas of focus come into the area and fund major portions of the government – not just gambling.

Using Las Vegas as a case study, Jintao is noting how Macau is quickly becoming reliant on the casino gambling industry to sustain itself. He noted how the economic meltdown crippled the industry of Las Vegas, and in turn, has put Nevada in a serious hole when it comes to their budget. Although signs are pointing to the Macau gambling industry not complying with Jintao’s ideas, he could hamper future gambling. Residents of mainland China need visas to visit Macau. So far in past years China has had the authority to place restrictions on the visas handed out to citizens and was able to limit the number of times residents visited the peninsula of Macau. Revenue dropped notably when the Chinese government decided to limit visa travel.

Fortunately the Chinese government eased their restrictions that brought Macau’s revenues down and they moved upward again. If Macau, however does not make the necessary changes, the government may make moves to impose the strict visa laws again. Among the issues that Jintao wants addressed is higher living standards and an improved education system. Jintao wants to ensure that the children of Macau do not grow up knowing only the gambling industry. Part of his focus is to bring about a well-rounded community of residents who are fully aware of all that the small island has to offer and not just gambling.