From Boom to Gloom in China's Gambling Mecca

Construction cranes now stand idle over half-finished mega hotels and malls on a reclaimed piece of land known as the Cotai Strip, including an expansion of Adelson's Venetian Macao project. Luxury stores have posted signs advertising prices as much as 70 percent off. Even the gondola operators on the ersatz Grand Canal in the Venetian have far less to do.

Legislators are weighing whether to lower the salaries of casino employees in an effort to guarantee their jobs. More than 10,000 construction workers are out of work, including 4,000 from Hong Kong, 4,000 from the mainland and 2000 from Macau.

In the meantime, though, gamblers continue to find ways to maximize their casino time despite the new restrictions, which began in November 2007. The policy is inconvenient, some said, but ultimately useless in deterring mainland visitors who are determined to gamble.

Luo Meiyun, 45, a clothing trader from Hangzhou, in Zhejiang province, said she used to be able to come four times a month and stay up to 28 days. She would bring $1,500 to $3,000 each time. Now she can visit only once a month, for seven days, and she sees scores of empty tables.

"The policy is totally unnecessary. People who want to gamble will still take all kinds of measures, such as using a business pass or flying to another country first and then flying back," Luo said as she crossed into Macau at Zhuhai, where lines were unusually short. "People will just spend more money and time trying to get to Macau. It's really a big headache. But the policy cannot cool people's enthusiasm, because gambling is banned on the mainland."

That may change soon. Officials are experimenting with a form of gambling in Wuhan, Hubei province, in which bettors who guess the winner of a horse race will receive a lottery ticket that has a 60 percent chance of winning anything from 45 cents to nearly $600.

At the Venetian this month, Liao Heyin positioned himself at a baccarat table where minimum bets were $75. His first trip here from the mainland was in March. But now he is the proud owner of a Venetian membership card entitling him to free accommodations and meals if he gambles for several hours a day.

Each time he comes, Liao brings more than $7,000 in Chinese and Hong Kong currency, plus his bank card. But he said he never feels rich.

"When I play, I always hear the gamblers next to me talk to someone over their cellphones. People at the other end tell them how to bet and the stakes are always very big," he said. "I guess the people on the other side of the phone are high officials who cannot so conveniently come to Macau."

Liao, who wore Louis Vuitton shoes and carried a Louis Vuitton bag, declined to give his occupation. "At home in Guizhou province, we also gamble, but the police often catch us," he said. "Not only will our winnings be confiscated, but we also have to pay fines to the police."

Researcher Zhang Jie contributed to this report.