Portal:Macau
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The Macau Special Administrative Region (Portuguese:Região Administrativa Especial de Macau) , commonly known as Macau or Macao, was established on December 20, 1999, as one of the two special administrative regions (SARs) of the People's Republic of China (PRC), the other being Hong Kong. For 442 years it was ruled by Portugal, making it the oldest European colony in the history of East Asia. Portuguese traders first settled in Macau in the 16th century. After the Opium War in 1841, most of the foreign merchants in Macau left for Hong Kong, and as a result business and economic activities in Macau declined. Administered by Portugal until the handover in 1999, it was the oldest European colony in China. Since then Macau has developed industries such as textiles, electronics and toys, as well as a notable tourist industry, which boasts a wide range of hotels, resorts, stadiums, restaurants and casinos. What remains unchanged through Macau's history is Macau's strong economic links with Hong Kong, one of the East Asian Tigers and the Pearl River Delta region in mainland China. With a good foundation and infrastructure, Macau provides good financial and banking services, staff training, transport and communications support. In 2002, the Macau government ended the monopoly system and six casino operating concessions (and subconcessions) are granted to Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macau, Wynn Resorts, Las Vegas Sands, Galaxy Entertainment Group, the partnership of MGM Mirage and Pansy Ho Chiu-king, and the partnership of Melco and PBL. Today, there are 16 casinos operated by the STDM, and they are still crucial in the casino industry in Macau, but in 2004, the opening of the Sands Macau ushered in the new era.  
 2008-02-26 (Tuesday) In January Macau received over 2.3 million visitors, a rise of 16.3 percent as compared with January 2007, reported by the Statistics and Census Bureau in Macau. [1] 2008-02-25 (Monday) Macau-based LCC Viva Macau plans to double its Sydney - Macau frequency by the end of the year and may add Melbourne or Brisbane as a second destination. [2] 2008-02-22 (Friday) Britain have picked Macau for their 2008 Olympic training camp. Up to 250 British athletes, coaches and support staff will be based in the Chinese city ahead of the Beijing Games. [3] 2008-01-31 (Thursday) Ao Man Long, Macau's highest-level official ever convicted of corruption, was sentenced to 27 years in prison Wednesday for taking contract kickbacks in the construction boom. About US$31.13 million of his assets were ordered seized, and some of his properties confiscated. Ao was tried in the territory's highest court, the Court of Final Appeal, because of his seniority. It was not clear which court would be allowed to hear any appeal in the case.[4]
Stanley Ho, GBS (born November 25, 1921), also known as Ho Hung-sun, Stanley Ho Hung-sun (traditional Chinese: 何鴻燊; pinyin: Hé Hóngshēn), is an entrepreneur in Hong Kong and Macau. Ho is sometimes nicknamed "The King of Gambling", reflecting the government-granted monopoly he held of the Macau gambling industry for over 35 years. Ho is the wealthiest person in Macau, and one of the wealthiest in Asia. According to Forbes, he tied for 104th rank among the world's richest people in 2007, with an estimated net worth of $7.0 Billion USD. He owns many properties in both Hong Kong and Macau and has taken part in many kinds of business including entertainment, tourism, shipping, real estate, banking, and air transport. As for his businesses, their income constitutes about one-third of the gross domestic product of Macau; in 2003, taxes on them accounted for about 30% of the Macau government's revenue; and they are collectively the largest corporate employer in Macau, with more than ten thousand employees. Apart from Hong Kong and Macau, he has also invested in mainland China, Portugal, North Korea, Vietnam and the Philippines. Ho is also a famous industrialist and entrepreneur in Asia, and he held a number of important positions in many firms in Hong Kong and Macau. His opinions and statements on Hong Kong's estate and commercial development have considerable sway on the market. Read more...  A Gondola ride in the Venetian, Macao
Image credit: Michael180 
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The Venetian Macao is a casino resort in Macau, China owned by the Las Vegas Sands hotel-casino chain. The Venetian is a 40-storey, $1.8 billion anchor for the 7 resort hotels which are under construction on the Cotai Strip in Macau. The 10,500,000-square-foot (980,000 m²) Venetian Macao is modeled on its sister casino resort – the The Venetian in Las Vegas – and is the largest single structure hotel building in Asia and the second-largest building in the world. The main hotel tower was finished in July 2007 and the resort officially opened on August 28, 2007. The resort has 3000 suites, 1,200,000 square feet (111,000 m²) of convention space, 1,600,000 square feet (149,000 m²) of retail, 550,000 square feet (51,000 m²) of casino space – largest in the world – with 3400 slot machines and 800 gambling tables and a 15,000 seat arena for entertainment/sports events. Read more... 
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