Macau casinos back in black

HONG KONG: Macau���s bad luck may have started to turn, as first-quarter gaming revenues jumped 8.1% from the previous quarter after a dismal second half in 2008, official figures showed. Revenues in the gaming haven were 26.02 billion patacas ($3.26 billion) in the first three months of this year, up from 24.08 billion patacas in Q4 of 2008, Macau���s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau said on its website.

The upturn follows three straight quarter-on-quarter drops in revenue in the former Portuguese colony, as tighter visa restrictions on visitors from mainland China hit operators. But the figure was still down 12.8% compared to the record first quarter of 2008. Macau has become a gleaming temple to gambling, with enormous casino complexes cropping up over the past few years, helping the city easily overtake Las Vegas in terms of gaming revenue.

But the tougher visa restrictions and the crisis in the global credit markets has meant many projects have stalled in recent months as they struggle to find new financing. The visa restrictions were beefed up on Chinese worries about corrupt mainland officials laundering their cash in Macau, as well as the rise of problem gambling. There is also concern about the outflow of cash, much of it to United States-based firms that have been the major investors in Macau since its gaming sector was liberalised in 2002.