Business Mirror Editorial
Some 60 kilometers southwest of Hong Kong is Macao, former colony of Portugal . With a total land area of 28.6 sq km, it is smaller than Mayor Alfredo Lim's City of Manila, which covers 38.55 sq km. Macao has a population of a little over half a million, less than a third of the Philippine capital city's official count of 1.5 million people.
If he were still alive, paramount leader Deng Xiaoping—who almost single-handedly modernized his country by adopting 'socialism with Chinese characteristics'—would probably be overjoyed that Macau has been living up to his dictum, 'To be rich is glorious.'
What made such impressive economic figures possible is gambling—or, its more polite variant, 'gaming.' Casinos are what have made this special administration region a Chinese cash cow since
To be sure,
The history of the gaming industry in Macau can be traced to 1962, when the Portuguese colonial authorities issued a monopoly license to the Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macao (STDM), headed by the legendary Stanley Ho. His classic Hotel Lisboa and its opulent extension across the street, the lotus-shaped Grand Lisboa, still dominate the skyline of
The
Stanley Ho's STDM continues to operate 16 casinos, which are still considered crucial to
At its opening the Sands
Success breeds success, and keeps on doing so. In 2007 the Venetian
Officially, Filipinos make up 2 percent of
That Filipinos make up a significant portion of Macao's casino work force—and, for that matter, in the US gaming centers of Atlantic City, Reno and Las Vegas—has its parallels in, say, our merchant marine. The
Some of our expatriate manpower and talent in the gaming establishments of
After making investors—along with thousands of job-hungry Filipinos—wait for what must have felt like an eternity, the state-owned Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) finally gave the go-signal to four investors ready, willing and able to put up a world-class gaming center in
As this paper reported yesterday, what has been envisioned as a Las Vegas-like
Pagcor has approved the project proposals of the four groups, with total investments of about $10 billion spread over three to five years.
When fully operational—the earliest by 2010—the integrated resort facility is projected to raise the country's gaming revenue by at least 30 percent. It is also expected to boost foreign tourist arrivals by up to three million travelers annually, and generate over 250,000 new jobs.
Pagcor aims to use the Bagong Nayong Pilipino as a catalyst to sustain the growth of the country's tourism industry. It hopes to attract at least $4 billion in investments.
Fears that the envisioned gambling center would further erode Filipinos' public morals seem to be unfounded. Similar—but not as grand—gaming operations have actually been operating for several years now in Ilocos Norte, Cagayan, La Union, Rizal and the old US military bases at Clark and Subic Bay. The bulk of their clientele is foreign—including spillovers from
Besides, the potential of the
Pagcor published a half page press release today with a picture of the complex that will have a semi submersible observation wheel. heres the same picture. Look at the bottom of the observation wheel. Notice how it dips into a man made lake? What did i say earlier!!!
The Pagcor tower will be built by Pagcor and will serve as their headquarters. The architect is local firm called JT Cruz and Partners. If they truly want to make this world class, they should hire an international firm known for making iconic landmarks and design a symbol not just for the complex but for the 'new' Philippines. they should learn from landmarks like the PETRONAS twin towers (used Muslim motifs, symbolic gateway to
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