2002年当地政府于打破赌场专营业务后，曾为葡萄牙殖民地的澳门（540 0000人口）博获数十亿美元的投资，新的酒店赌场雨后春笋般涌出，中国富豪也投注百家乐和21点游戏。但这样的好景在2008年底开始的突然结束信贷紧缩的全球金融市场陷入瘫痪。博彩收益沉没和赌场人员下岗。但好景不长，在2008年底嘎然而止，全球金融市场信贷紧缩陷入瘫痪，博彩收益沉没和赌场人员下岗。拉斯维加斯金沙公司主席谢尔登阿德尔森由于融资困难不得不停止120万美元的投资计划，欲在延伸的填海土地路凼建立亚洲的拉斯维加斯。繁华的赌城不景气了。
但是亚洲经济开始回升的时候，澳门却是另一副画面。八月份博彩业收入与去年同期相比剧增了17%，月度记录显示达到了14亿美元。香港里昂证券分析师Aaron Fischer预计澳门形势将继续好转。他说9月的收入可能会大幅增长25％或更多，并且他认为至少从2010年到2012年年增长率会保持在百分之十几左右。
市场看涨源自即将到来的两家澳门博彩业巨头在香港首次公开上市。拉斯维加斯赌场巨头史蒂夫永利于2006年在澳门开设豪华酒店和赌场，公司计划分拆澳门25%的业务在香港联合交易所上市。这次的首次公开发行将会筹集高达16亿元的股份，股票预计在10月9日开始交易。永利补充说：“有了这个上市，我们是一家拥有中国所有权的中国公司，此举将更加有助于融入中国。”
还准备通过分拆澳门经营业务上市的是埃德森的拉斯维加斯金沙集团股份有限公司，该公司尚未透露任何具体细节。阿德尔森是第一个于2004年在澳门开设赌场的拉斯维加斯大亨。目前业务范围主要是位于路凼金光大道的有着3000间套房的威尼斯人度假村。金沙集团的新闻发言人罗恩里斯说，公司希望尽快重新启动陷入僵局的金光大道上的香格里拉和喜来登酒店的建设。
受澳门经济复苏的影响，其他运营商也正在推动新项目。9月21日，澳门赌王何鸿燊的澳博控股开了一家法国主题式的，170张赌桌的赌场。这是澳门博彩股份有限公司在该城市开的的第17家赌场，该公司计划年底再开一家。何的儿子何猷龙，是新濠博亚娱乐有限公司的联席主席及行政总裁，公司已在纳斯达克上市。2009年6月新濠天地赌城酒店开业，有520张赌桌。进阶则本月底有着800间客房的金茂君悦大酒店在旅游胜地开幕。永利也完成了其在澳门6500万美元的扩张。永利澳门的Encore预计于2010年4月开幕，包括400间豪华套房，一个大型的赌场和多间餐馆。
可能会有更多的中国赌徒活跃在澳门这些新赌场，澳门在过去一年的不景气部分原因是政府的政策。目的是给过分火爆的赌博业降温，去年政府官员实行限制签证政策，在他们的严密控制下一些中国人只有每三个月才有一次访问澳门的机会。分析师认为，现在这些限制也开始有所缓解，将会允许大批中国人进澳门进行赌博。
这将有助于推动博彩公司的发展。在繁荣时期，澳门赌场以惊人的速度在积累财；但在过去的一年中，经济衰退对公司的损失带到了谷底。例如，新濠皇冠2009年上半年亏损1.79亿美元，而去年同期则盈利3750万美元。2009年上半年永利澳门业务净利润降35％，里昂证券的菲舍尔则认为该行业局势将好转。，他说，在衰退期间实施的削减成本措施，将有助于赌场在恢复期间实现更大的利润。 “一旦你看到收入有所恢复，您会看到收益将进一步反弹，”菲舍尔说。
译文：
After the local government opened the gaming business to new casino operators in 2002, the former Portuguese colony （population 540,0000） boomed as billions of dollars of investment poured into new hotels and casinos and newly wealthy Chinese crowded baccarat and blackjack tables. But the good times came to a sudden end in late 2008 as the credit crunch paralyzed global financial markets. Gaming revenues sank and casinos laid off staff. Sheldon Adelson, chairman of casino operator Las Vegas Sands, was forced to halt his $12 billion plan to build an Asian version of the Las Vegas Strip on a stretch of reclaimed land called Cotai due to financing woes. The boomtown went bust.
But as Asia’s economy starts to pick up steam, Macau looks to be on another roll. Gambling revenues surged an estimated 17% in August from a year earlier to $1.4 billion, a record monthly total. Aaron Fischer, gaming analyst at brokerage CLSA in Hong Kong, expects the revival to continue. September’s revenues could surge 25% or more, he says, and he sees at least “low teens” growth rates annually from 2010 to 2012. “You can put me on record saying Macau is back,” Fischer says.
Reflecting this renewed optimism is the buzz surrounding upcoming initial public offerings by two Macau casino operators. Las Vegas casino titan Steve Wynn, who opened the Wynn Macau luxury hotel and casino in the city in 2006, plans to offer 25% of his Macau operations in an IPO on the Hong Kong stock exchange. The IPO could raise as much as $1.6 billion; the shares are expected to start trading on Oct. 9. “With this IPO, we’re a Chinese company with Chinese ownership,” Wynn said, adding that the move would help management “assimilate ourselves with China more efficiently.”
Also preparing to spin off Macau operations through an IPO is Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands （LVS）， although the company has yet to provide any specific details of the offering. Adelson in 2004 was the first Vegas mogul to open a Macau casino; his business today is anchored by the giant 3,000-room Venetian hotel on the Cotai strip. Ron Reese, an LVS spokesman, says that the company is hoping to restart stalled construction on Shangri-La and Sheraton hotels in Cotai as soon as possible. （See 10 things to do in Las Vegas.）
Bouyed by Macau’s nascent recovery, other operators are pushing ahead with new projects. On Sept. 21, SJM Holdings, controlled by long-time Macau gambling king Stanley Ho, opened the French-themed, 170-table Casino L’Arc. It is SJM’s 17th casino in the city, and the company plans to launch another, Casino Oceanus, by the end of the year. In June, Ho’s son Lawrence, CEO of NASDAQ-listed Melco Crown Entertainment, opened a mega-resort called City of Dreams, with a 520-table casino and a Hard Rock Hotel. An 800-room Grand Hyatt opens at the resort later this month. Wynn is also finishing a $650 million expansion of his Wynn Macau. Called the Encore, the addition, expected to open in April, 2010, includes 400 luxury suites, an expanded casino and more restaurants.
There could be many more Chinese gamblers around to fill up those new casinos. Part of the reason Macau has suffered over the past year is Chinese government policy. Aiming to cool down what was seen as an excessively heated gambling sector, government officials last year imposed visa restrictions that, at their tightest, limited some Chinese to only one Macau visit every three months. Now analysts believe those limitations are starting to ease, which would allow greater numbers of Chinese to enter the city to gamble. （See pictures of the world’s most expensive hotels on LIFE.com.）
That prospect would be a big boost to the casino companies. During the boom years, Macau casinos minted profits at an astonishing rate, but over the past year, the recession has taken its toll on bottom lines. Melco Crown, for example, swung to a loss of $179 million in the first six months of 2009, compared with a gain of $37.5 million in the same period a year earlier. Wynn’s Macau operations saw net profit sink 35% in the first half of 2009. CLSA’s Fischer, however, believes the industry is set for a turnaround. Cost-cutting measures implemented during the recession, he says, will help the casinos turn bigger profits amid the recovery. “Once you see revenue recover, you’ll see earnings rebound even further,” Fischer says.