Milestone after milestone, Macau grows to become the world’s casino Mecca. One year ago, Macau became bigger than the Las Vegas Strip. Half way round 2008, Macau’s 27 casinos easily overtook the combined revenue of the Strip and Downtown Las Vegas.
The next milestone in this transpacific competition may happen before the end of the year, by which time Macau’s gaming revenue is supposed to overtake all of Clark County, which comprises casinos operating not only on the Strip and Downtown, but also is places such as North Las Vegas, Laughlin, Boulder Highway and Mesquite.
Sources estimate that Macau’s casinos – 28 in operation by year-end – may register gross revenues of between 83 billion and 85 billion patacas, roughly 10.3 billion USD to 10.6 billion USD.
Actual figures show that the threshold is just around the corner. Between January and September 2008, all of Clark County’s casinos registered almost 8.1 billion USD in gross revenue, an increase of 3.2%. In the same period Macau had a 7.3 billion USD. But in the small Chinese city casinos are growing at a staggering rate of 54.4%.
Total Clark County gaming revenue for 2006 was 10.6 billion USD. The Center for Business and Economic Research from the University of Nevada estimates this year’s growth to be 4.1%, bringing the total revenue to 11 billion. But in the first three quarters, actual growth was only 3.2% which makes it almost impossible to achieve the 11 billion mark.
George Knapp, and investigative reporter from Las Vegas Broadcaster KLAS8, told Macau Business that over the last few years “gaming income from Downtown casinos has been stagnant, showing little if any growth”. Knapp justifies this by saying that those casinos are having a tough time competing against “the bigger, flashier hotels on the Strip, but also against neighborhood casinos in other parts of the Las Vegas Valley.”
There are now several highly profitable casinos on the Boulder Highway, on the eastern side of Las Vegas, a place preferred by local residents since they can “gamble and dine closer to home”. Another area of higher growth is North Las Vegas, which has seen an explosion in its own gaming revenue from large, all-purpose casinos that also include restaurants, movie theaters, and other kinds of businesses which exist independently from the casinos.
“The idea is that neighborhood casinos have become all things to all people. They provide many different reasons for people to visit. One effect is that overall gambling revenue is now scattered in several different locations around the Las Vegas Valley,” explains George Knapp.
Las Vegas is now “one destination from the viewpoint of a visitor, but it is several different locations when one breaks down the source of gaming revenue based on location”.
Two other important gaming destinations within Clark County are now the towns of Mesquite, in northeastern Clark County, and Laughlin, in extreme southern Clark County.
Knapp also reminds us that a lot of revenue is generated in slot machine operations from thousands of small licensees such as grocery stores, convenience stores and bars.
The Nevada gaming industry took steps ten years ago to evolve into something other than a gambling destination. The industry has invested billions of dollars in the development of attractions unrelated to gambling. Las Vegas is now one of the premier destinations in the world for gourmet dining, and it has become a world-class shopping Mecca, populated by the biggest and most prestigious names in the shopping world. 
“No place in the world has more high class spas or more trendy nightclubs,” reminds investigative journalist Knapp. Each of these businesses generates vast profits, but the numbers are separate from gaming income.
“I know that the gaming industry wants to transform Macau into a market that offers much more than gambling, but it will take quite a few years before Macau will be able to rival Las Vegas in this regard,” Knapp concludes.

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