As reported by: Channel NewsAsia
Macau's success as a gaming haven is spurring the industry in Asia, with some countries already building massive casinos and others moving to legalise them, experts said Tuesday.

The provision of wholesome entertainment, retail shopping, and hotel and convention facilities as part of the gaming experience is helping to shed the usual image of casinos as linked to gambling, crime and sleaze, they said.

"The major thing that has... revolutionised the gaming industry in this part of the world of course is Macau," said Andy Nazarechuk, the dean of the Singaporean campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

"Macau is the star in the Asian world when it comes to the gaming industry," he told delegates at a conference in Singapore that brought together gaming executives.

Macau's casinos reported revenues of US$9.7 billion in the first seven months of this year, up 44 per cent from the year before, he said.

The southern Chinese territory's gaming revenues in 2007 topped US$10 billion for the first time, well ahead of the Las Vegas Strip, other figures have shown.

Article By: Channel NewsAsia