Macao has 34 casinos, of wildly varying sizes. Most of them operate out of hotels that lease the gambling room(s) to one the semi-autonomous city’s six licensed casino operators, usually Stanley Ho’s Sociedade de Jogos de Macau (SJM). For instance, SJM runs a small casino concession out of the lobby and basement of Hotel Fortuna, with another 10 VIP tables on the sixth floor.
Such ubiquity by SJM is possible because Stanley Ho held a monopoly on Macao’s casino business from the early 1960s until late 2001. (Since the first non-SJM casino didn’t open until May 2004, Ho enjoyed a de facto monopoly for three and half more years.) The entry of rival operators meant the introduction of Vegas-style, casino-centric resorts, a phenomenon with which Ho’s company has experienced difficulty keeping pace. However, thanks to its focus on mass-market play, its well-entrenched brand and its omnipresence, SJM continues to vacuum up a full third of Macao’s considerable gaming revenue – more than every operator on the Las Vegas Strip, combined.
One big difference between Macao and Vegas (and a difference that American casino companies are reportedly having difficulty grasping) is the relative unpopularity of slot machines. Players don’t trust them and the older casinos had a bad habit of shoving them into the corner. Table games – especially baccarat – are king, with the most intense play happening in smoky, crowded, private "VIP rooms," which are leased to outside operators and prowled by loan sharks. Since some of these subcontractors are tied in with local Triads, they’re regarded by Westerners with suspicion. Gambling debts are not enforceable in Mainland China but junketeers and loan sharks are believed to use fairly ruthless methods of retrieving their money.
The city’s oldest casino is the birdcage-like Casino Lisboa, built in 1970 and famous for its indoor promenade of prostitutes through the shopping arcade, so perhaps we should start our tour there …
Sociedade de Jogos de Macau • Casino Lisboa: 190,000 sq. feet; 146 tables, 107 slots • Grand Lisboa (SJM also owns hotel): N/A, 240-plus tables, 801 slots, plus eight VIP rooms with 50 tables • L’Arc Macau: N/A; 161 tables; 310 slots • Oceanus @ Jai Alai: 345,000 sq. ft., 276 tables, 605 slots • Ponte 16 (SJM also owns hotel): 270,000 square feet, 109 tables, 320 slots, plus 2 VIP rooms with 22 tables • Casino Babylon: N/A, 55 tables, 120 slots • Casa Real: 23,000 sq. ft., 53 tables, 123 slots, plus six VIP rooms with 18 tables • Diamond Holiday Inn: 6,900 sq. ft., 50 tables, 32 slots, plus a VIP room • Emperor Palace: N/A, 64 tables, 365 slots, plus six VIP rooms • Casino Fortuna: N/A, 35 tables, 0 slots • Golden Dragon: 72,600 sq. ft., 70 tables, 137 slots, plus six VIP rooms with 15 tables • Greek Mythology: 160,000 sq. ft., 228 tables, 100 slots • Kam Pek Arabian’s Night Casino: 34,320 sq. ft., 24 tables, 71 slots, plus four VIP rooms • Kam Pek Casino de Louvre: N/A, 39 tables, 71 slots • Mandarin Oriental Grand Lapa Hotel/Casino Jimei: 12,140 sq. ft., 20 tables, 59 slots • New Century: N/A, 34 tables, 105 slots • Pharaohs Palace: 59,000 sq. ft.; 109 tables, 0 slots • Club VIP Legend: N/A, 10 tables, 108 slots • Grandview Hotel: 15,000 sq. ft., 51 tables, 42 slots, plus four VIP rooms with 14 tables • Hotel Lan Kwai Fong (former Kingsway Hotel): 11,755 sq. ft., 8 tables, 20 slots, plus eight VIP rooms
SJM also runs slot lounges at the Jockey Club, the Tiger Slot Lounge (200 machines), the Treasure Hunt Slot Lounge and the slot parlor at the Yat Yuen Canidrome.
Las Vegas Sands* • Sands Macao: 165,000 sq. ft., 740 tables, 1,254 slots • Venetian Macao: 550,000 sq. ft., 800 tables, 6,000 slots • Four Seasons: N/A, described on VegasTripping.com as "pint-sized" * -- CLSA Asia Gaming lists Sands as having only 1,098 tables last year, adding one in 2011.
Wynn Resorts Wynn & Encore Macau: 205,000 sq. ft., 466 tables, 375 slots
MGM Resorts International/Pansy Ho MGM Grand Macau: 222,000 sq. ft., 429 tables, 1,035 slots
Melco Crown Entertainment • Altira Macau: 183,000 sq. ft., 220-plus tables, 550 slots, plus unspecified number of VIP rooms • City of Dreams: 159,000 sq. ft., 378 tables, 1,122 slots • Hard Rock Hotel: 35,700 sq. ft., 35 tables, 193 slots • Casino Taipa Square: 31 tables (The table count is projected to increase to 775 this year.)
Melco also operates slot parlos around the city under its Mocha subsidiary. These include Hotel Royal, Hotel Sintra (120 machines) and Marina Plaza (2,000 sq. ft. and 260 machines), for a grand total of 1,300 one-armed bandits citywide.
Galaxy Entertainment • Grand Waldo Hotel: 120,000 sq. ft., 168 tables, 375 slots • Galaxy Waldo Hotel & Casino: N/A, 63 tables, 100 slots, plus eight VIP rooms • Galaxy Rio Casino: N/A, 80 tables, 150 slots, plus four VIP rooms • Galaxy Starworld: 140,000 sq. ft., 249 tables, 280-plus slots, plus unspecified number of VIP rooms • President Casino: N/A, 47 tables, 0 slots
