February 23, 2002
Vegas moguls promise Macau a billion-dollar makeover
Macau, February 22: Top Las Vegas gambling moguls promised well over a billion dollars this week to makeover Macau's seedy casino scene, including an indoor version of Venice's Grand Canal complete with singing gondoliers. The pledges came during back-to-back whirlwind tours made by tycoon Mr Steve Wynn and an aide of Mr Sheldon Adelson, whose companies won two of three lucrative casino concessions earlier this month as part of Macau's strategy to break a 40-year-old monopoly. The visits were, however, overshadowed by a car bomb early on Thursday which rekindled memories of gangland violence in the run-up to the former Portuguese enclave's return to Chinese rule in December 1999. One man was slightly injured in the blast which wrecked the forward section of a Mercedes limousine. Macau police believe the incident was part of a gangland squabble. At stake for Mr Wynn and Mr Adelson are billions of dollars in revenues a year and easier access to Asia's legendary high rollers. Macau borders China and is a short boat ride from Hong Kong. Neither allow casinos. The economy of the tiny territory ground to a virtual standstill in the late 1990s and many of its 440,000 residents hope a revival of the key casino and tourism industries will give it a much-needed boost. - Reuters
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