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0 pointslmm1y ago0 comments

No, but it's probably the most famous (at worst, second behind Monte Carlo).

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10 comments · 3 top-level

snakeyjake1y ago· 3 in thread

Las Vegas is an insignificant mote of dust compared to Macau when it comes to Casinos and gambling.

wow you're not kidding! looked this up and revenues are somewhere like 10x-20x of macau compared to vegas. That's pretty nuts, didn't realize there was that big of a gap

rsynnott1y ago

AIUI gambling is still pretty much entirely illegal in mainland China, so it pretty much has a captive market of 1.5bn people. Vegas has a much smaller _obligate_ market; gambling's far more (legally) available in the US than in China.

Like, if you like on the American east coast, and enjoy gambling, Vegas may be a place that you'd like to go, but you have other closer options.

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Neonlicht1y ago

I thought it was common knowledge that Asians love to gamble?

smcin1y ago· 2 in thread

No, Macau is. It's Western media bias that we talk about LV way more than Macau. (Also, LV still has the English-language entertainment acts, conventions, conferences.)

But for gambling revenue, Las Vegas was passed out by Macau back in 2007 already: https://www.reuters.com/article/macau-revenues/the-worlds-ca...

seanmcdirmid1y ago

Macau in 2007 was way more about money laundering than Las Vegas. Do you have more recent numbers? After Xi’s crackdown, I’d expect their gambling revenue to go down by a lot.

smcin1y ago

Article [0] and graph [1] FT citing Bloomberg, UNLV says Macau gambling revenues outstrip LV every year 2007-2020 except 2009 (recession); even with the huge Covid drop in 2020.

And [2] second graph says "Macau [Gross gaming revenue ($bn)] has regained lead from Las Vegas as world’s top gaming hub" in 2023; LV was briefly > Macau for the three years 2020-2022. (Also shows visitor arrivals from mainland China recovered since 1/2023).

Yes, even post-Chinese crackdowns (2012- ongoing, and also in 2021) on corruption.

[0]: https://www.ft.com/content/417f2513-37b2-4900-ac36-4729df36a...

[1]: graph 3 from that FT article https://www.ft.com/__origami/service/image/v2/images/raw/htt...

[]: FT 3/2024 "Macau roars back as gamblers return to ‘Las Vegas of the east’" https://www.ft.com/content/918d868a-e862-45e0-9072-e79461159...

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Reason0771y ago· 2 in thread

Monte Carlo isn't a city. It's a casino named after the Monaco neighbourhood where it's located:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monte_Carlo_Casino

lmmOP1y ago

It's the same kind of administrative division as Monaco City. It's where the Grand Prix is announced as being held. Las Vegas is also legally a subset of the metropolitan area that it's part of. Americans do call the thing that Las Vegas is a "city" and do not call the thing that Monte Carlo is a "city", but this seems more like a translation artifact than any real difference.

rsynnott1y ago

Monte Carlo has a population of 3,500 people and is entirely contiguous with the rest of Monaco-the-city. I'm not sure anyone would consider it a city in itself.

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10 comments · 3 top-level

snakeyjake1y ago· 3 in thread

Las Vegas is an insignificant mote of dust compared to Macau when it comes to Casinos and gambling.

snapcaster1y ago

wow you're not kidding! looked this up and revenues are somewhere like 10x-20x of macau compared to vegas. That's pretty nuts, didn't realize there was that big of a gap

rsynnott1y ago

Like, if you like on the American east coast, and enjoy gambling, Vegas may be a place that you'd like to go, but you have other closer options.

2 more replies

Neonlicht1y ago

I thought it was common knowledge that Asians love to gamble?

smcin1y ago· 2 in thread

No, Macau is. It's Western media bias that we talk about LV way more than Macau. (Also, LV still has the English-language entertainment acts, conventions, conferences.)

But for gambling revenue, Las Vegas was passed out by Macau back in 2007 already: https://www.reuters.com/article/macau-revenues/the-worlds-ca...

seanmcdirmid1y ago

Macau in 2007 was way more about money laundering than Las Vegas. Do you have more recent numbers? After Xi’s crackdown, I’d expect their gambling revenue to go down by a lot.

smcin1y ago

Article [0] and graph [1] FT citing Bloomberg, UNLV says Macau gambling revenues outstrip LV every year 2007-2020 except 2009 (recession); even with the huge Covid drop in 2020.

Yes, even post-Chinese crackdowns (2012- ongoing, and also in 2021) on corruption.

[0]: https://www.ft.com/content/417f2513-37b2-4900-ac36-4729df36a...

[1]: graph 3 from that FT article https://www.ft.com/__origami/service/image/v2/images/raw/htt...

[]: FT 3/2024 "Macau roars back as gamblers return to ‘Las Vegas of the east’" https://www.ft.com/content/918d868a-e862-45e0-9072-e79461159...

1 more reply

Reason0771y ago· 2 in thread

Monte Carlo isn't a city. It's a casino named after the Monaco neighbourhood where it's located:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monte_Carlo_Casino

lmmOP1y ago

rsynnott1y ago

Monte Carlo has a population of 3,500 people and is entirely contiguous with the rest of Monaco-the-city. I'm not sure anyone would consider it a city in itself.

1 more reply

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