Macau will be six times quicker at reaching the same stage as Las Vegas in terms of non-gambling industry activities according to one interested observer. Cirque du Soleil company manager David Anthony, whose company has put on shows in both resorts, believes that Macau’s potential will see it achieve in 10 years what it took Sin City 60 years to attain. He commented, “The best description is it’s a region going through puberty. It’s not what is used to be; it’s not yet what it’s going to be. It kind of knows what is wants to be but it’s still trying to figure itself out.” That’s obviously without the gratuitous amounts of masturbation and outbreaks of hair everywhere.
Officials in Macau have been advising firms to diversify for some time now and recent multi-million dollar hotel partnerships signaled that casino firms are taking heed. This is something that Anthony recognizes, adding, “Part of that is diversification from being strictly a gaming enclave to introducing more entertainment, more restaurants, more options.”
Worries over casino business on the enclave surfaced this weekend after shares plunged amid a global downturn in the world’s stock markets as the world leader in the casino industry showed it’s not immune to everything.
Macau’s happiness at being bedfellows with the gaming industry is not wavering just yet and the increase in gaming tax tells much of the story. In the first seven months to July, the enclave’s total public revenue rose by 45.3% compared with the same period the previous year. The Financial Services Bureau reported that the amount they took directly from the gaming industry rose by a 46.2% thanks to increases in gross gaming revenue. How very dare you guys say that Macau isn’t immune!
