Edmund Ho's Tuesday blockbuster that new entrants weren't going to be allowed into the Macao market and that existing casinos would be frozen at their current size is part of a wider range of policy nostrums. Their obvious intent is to address the social discontents that had arisen during the enclave's casino boom.

Components of the new policy include: A) no additional casinos beyond those currently in progress or in negotiation; B) an eventual maximum number of slots and table games; C) a cap on the commissions paid to junket operators; D) cash payments to all Macanese residents; E) subsidies for public housing; F) an eventual minimum wage and a ban on imported construction labor, and G) a curtailment of freestanding slot arcades away from residential areas. The need for some of these measures is being blamed on the casino sector having grown much faster than anticipated.

Mind you, certain items are more in the nature of wishes than firm promises. As Jefferies & Co.'s Larry Klatzkin put it, Ho's remarks were "broad comments and need to be fleshed out." The Keeping A Straight Face prize, meanwhile, went to Harrah's Entertainment, which said it hadn't wavered in its ambition "to run a world-class golf course in Macau."

Edmund Ho's Peking overlords may have felt they had little choice: With casino tax revenues accounting for 78% of the Macanese budget, the gaming industry has a strong hand to play. Hence the call for economic diversification. The comment that "casino operators will no longer be permitted to take part in running public utilities businesses," looks like a shot across the bow of über-tycoon Stanley Ho, long perceived as the uncrowned king of Macao.

Ditto the rebuff to Mrs. Ho, when she proposed giving casino owners a governmental policy-making role. Stanley Ho's SJM put a good face on the whole matter -- a cap on casino licenses shields SJM from new rivals and old Stanley (who's lost 70% of his former market share) has the most to lose from increased competition.

However, given the amount of new casino product in the pipeline, it could be years before the impact of Edmund Ho's proposed legislation is felt. With the market still growing and new capacity still being absorbed, Macao should continue to be a reliable money spigot, especially for those companies who are seeing the Vegas market start to wilt, as the prices of food and fuel take a bigger and bigger bite out of customers' bank accounts.