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I was just there a couple of months ago. The hotels there are nice, but nowhere near the scale of Vegas. The one knock I have on Macau is that it doesn't have the same feel of Vegas because you have a lot of mainlanders coming to gamble their life savings away in a chance to make it big. So the atmosphere isn't as fun as you'd think it would be, since much of the crowd is very serious and somber.

But at the same time, there is a lot of development coming up and I hear that they're actually building a strip (like Vegas) which should help induce more tourism and make it more fun. Right now the casinos are not in any discernible row, even though they are all pretty close together.

 
Best Response

Macau is great. Very convenient to cover both Macau and Hong Kong simultaneously. Portuguese influence is obvious in architecture and certain city planning (ie: large squares/piazzas with Mediterranean buildings surrounding - specifically, see Senado Square). Cool sites to see, esp. the old forts and only the front facade of the destroyed cathedral (I forget the name). Plenty of other good cultural sites around the city, from temples and shrines to forts to casinos and the needle. Very fun place, regardless. The Sands casino is great, as it's more modern and has a less sketchy clientele than the Lisboa (however the Lisboa is a landmark and still run by the God of Macau, Stanley Ho). Plenty of Triads around there.

Sprinkling of Westerners in comparison to HK.

The ferry between HK and Macau is packed with ultra-serious (to Macau) and depressed (from Macau) Chinese gamblers. Watch for mainlanders, as a general rule. Everyone takes HK$ on a 1:1 with the Macanese Pataca (which is useless outside of Macau), so just be sure to not get too much change.

I wouldn't just do a trip solely to Macau - be sure to factor in Hong Kong as well, as it is a great place.

 

Macau is the "Vegas of China" because casinos are illegal on the mainland. Like Hong Kong, the island is part of China but ruled under "One Country, Two Systems". So it's basically self-governing except for diplomatic relations and defense.

Partly because luck plays such a big part Chinese in culture, the place brings in more gambling revenue than Vegas. However it is smaller and doesn't have the side shows that Vegas does.

I definitely wouldn't put the Macau on the agenda for a vacation to China, but you might make a day trip if in Hong Kong as No Tears suggests. Seeing the old Portugese buildings and fort is pretty cool.

 

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