不难看出，为什么对于各大赌场来说，澳门是一块如此受重视的珍贵宝石。在澳门，博彩业收入在总收入中所占的比例远远高于拉斯维加斯，而且博彩业的利润率远胜于餐饮服务业及诸如娱乐和酒店客房等其他旅游相关业务。这已不是秘密。
2011年第一季度，拉斯维加斯金沙集团在澳门获得的收入有90％以上来自其博彩业务。相比之下，同期该集团在拉斯维加斯的赌场只有25％的收入来自博彩业务——其中大部分来威尼斯人酒店。
瑞银集团（UBS）分析师罗宾·法利（Robin Farley）给予拉斯维加斯金沙集团股票12个月的目标价格为51美元，他推荐买入该股，其理由是金沙集团在澳门市场占据领先地位，以及预计该公司计划进一步在亚洲进行扩张。 2010年，金沙集团在新加坡开设了滨海湾金沙赌场（Marina Bay Sands），而新加坡的博彩收入今年有望超过拉斯维加斯，悄然成为博彩收入仅次于澳门的城市。
随着澳门博彩业的继续发展，一些分析师预计，今后几年中，澳门有可能出现从博彩业向其他行业转移的趋势。拉斯维加斯的发展趋势就是如此。
根据市场研究公司Applied Analysis的统计数据显示，在1990年，在拉斯维加斯花费的所有旅游开支中，有58％用于赌博。到2010年，博彩开支份额下降到38％，但旅游总收入继续攀升。
Applied Analysis的杰里米·阿圭罗（Jeremy Aguero）说：“在不断增长的全球博彩业收入中，拉斯维加斯的份额逐渐缩小。”
拉斯维加斯金沙集团目前正在努力吸引更多中国新富阶层中的豪赌者，其凭借的手段是通过着重推行客户忠诚计划来吸引这个能带来丰厚利润的人群进入它的赌场。
法利说：“提高市场中贵宾赌客（VIP）到场人数的关键是加强与赌场中介（junket）的关系，金沙集团正在采取措施，通过增加其他赌场中介人（junket representative，当地称叠码仔），提高服务水平及修复各方关系，并按照中介经营者的详述来装修房间，以确保中介能带来涉及范围尽可能广泛的客源。”
阿圭罗也认同这一观点：对这些博彩业公司来说，澳门市场是一只能下金蛋的鹅（或称摇钱树）。
随着世界上更多的地区推行博彩合法化，澳门及其他新兴博彩市场在未来几年将成为国际博彩公司收入的主要来源。
阿圭罗这样说道：“这些（赌场）目前拥有一个非常成功的产品，并把这个产品带到更多的人面前。”
译文：
It’s not hard to see why Macau is such a rich jewel for the big casinos. Gaming revenue as a percentage of total revenue is much higher in Macau than it is in Las Vegas and its no secret that profit margins on gambling are much better than they are for food service and other tourist-related businesses like entertainment and hotel rooms.
In the fist quarter of 2011, more than 90% of Las Vegas Sands’ revenue in Macau came from gaming. That compares to just 25% of revenue in the first quarter of 2011 for gaming at its Vegas properties, mostly from the Venetian.
UBS analyst Robin Farley, who has a 12-month price target of $51 on Las Vegas Sands shares, recommends buying the stock due to Sands’ leadership position in the Macau market and expected plans to expand further into Asia. In 2010, LVS brought the Marina Bay Sands to Singapore, a destination that is on pace to bring in more gaming revenue than Las Vegas this year and slip into second place behind Macau in terms of money spent on gambling.
As Macau continues to develop as a gaming region, some analysts expect a possible shift away from the gaming in later years. This was the trend with Las Vegas.
Based on statistics from research firm Applied Analysis, in 1990, 58% of all tourism dollars spent in Las Vegas went to gambling. By 2010, gaming’s share had fallen to 38% but total receipts continued to climb.
“Las Vegas is getting a smaller share of an ever growing pie,” says Jeremy Aguero at Applied Analysis.
Las Vegas Sands is making efforts to bring in more of China’s newly-wealthy high-rollers with a new emphasis on loyalty programs to attract this lucrative demographic to its casinos.
“The key to improving VIP presence in the market is strengthening relationships with the junkets, LVS is taking steps to improve VIP share in Macau by adding other junket representatives, improving service levels and repairing relationships and fitting out rooms to the specification of junket operators to make sure they are sourcing as broadly as they can,” says Farley.
Aguero does agree that Macau market is the golden goose for these companies.
As more regions of the world legalize gaming, Macau and other emerging gaming markets will be the major source of revenue for years to come.
Aguero put it this way. “These （casinos） are taking a very successful product and taking it to greater populations of people.”