Ho’s Grand Lisboa is easily accessible and less glitz focused Scott Eells/Bloomberg News


Macao - When this former Portuguese territory ended gambling kingpin Stanley Ho’s four-decade casino monopoly in 2002, many believed the big boys of Vegas would steal the chips right off his tables. The rough and tumble enclave 40 miles west of Hong Kong, long known for its smoky gambling dens and legalized prostitution, was to be transformed into a Las Vegas clone, with luxury hotels, wholesome entertainment, convention halls—and a few casinos to make sure visitors went home poorer than they arrived. Sure enough, foreign-owned rivals piled in. By 2006, casino revenues had doubled, to $7 billion, and Macao had overtaken the Las Vegas strip as the globe’s No. 1 gambling mecca.

Lately, though, the odds have shifted back in favor of the 87-year-old Ho. After losing ground to newcomers, his company, Sociedade de Jogos de Macau, or SJM, is rallying. In the first quarter, SJM held 30% of the Macao gambling market, up from 26% for 2008. With two casinos opening this year, SJM will likely keep gaining.

The Americans certainly jumped in with both feet. In 2004, Las Vegas Sands (LVS) boss Sheldon Adelson opened the $265 million Sands Macau. Rival Steve Wynn made a splash with the $1.2 billion Wynn Macao (WYNN) in 2006. Adelson unveiled his $2.4 billion, 3,000-suite Venetian Macao in September 2007, then broke ground on an adjacent 6,400-room resort complex that was to feature Shangri-La and St. Regis hotels. Three months later, MGM Mirage (MGM) and Ho’s daughter Pansy Ho teamed up on the $1.3 billion MGM Grand Macau (MGM) next door to Wynn. Read more...