Macau casino minimum bets soar

Macau keeps raising the minimum bets at its tables. “If you’re betting $50 a hand, you can’t play in my casino on weekends,” one executive told me. In the short run, it’s about maximizing profits from a limited number of tables. But in the long run, high costs for play, along with expensive hotel rooms and shopping, may alienate visitors, good news for less expensive regional rivals such as the Philippines, Cambodia and Vietnam.

Totally globalized native New Yorker and former broadcast news producer Muhammad Cohen is a blogger for Forbes and author of Hong Kong On Air, a novel set in his adopted hometown during the 1997 handover about television news, love, betrayal, high finance, and cheap lingerie. See his bio, online archive and more at www.muhammadcohen.com; follow him on Facebook and Twitter @MuhammadCohen.

Sands Macao: The house that built Sheldon Adelson

Ten years ago, Las Vegas Sands founder and nine-figure political donor Sheldon Adelson was a Strip B-lister who’d stumbled into the casino business, scrambling to pay the interest on his junk bonds. Then, in May 2004, Adelson opened Sands Macao, Asia’s first American style casino, and he got richer faster than anyone ever. Sands Macao is the house that built Sheldon Adelson.

Totally globalized native New Yorker and former broadcast news producer Muhammad Cohen is a blogger for Forbes and author of Hong Kong On Air, a novel set in his adopted hometown during the 1997 handover about television news, love, betrayal, high finance, and cheap lingerie. See his bio, online archive and more at www.muhammadcohen.com; follow him on Facebook and Twitter @MuhammadCohen.

Sands Macao transformed Macau, Adelson, world

The future of the global casino business, Sheldon Adelson and Macau began on May 18, 2004, the day they broke down the doors for the opening of Sands Macao.

Totally globalized native New Yorker and former broadcast news producer Muhammad Cohen is a blogger for Forbes and author of Hong Kong On Air, a novel set in his adopted hometown during the 1997 handover about television news, love, betrayal, high finance, and cheap lingerie. See his bio, online archive and more at www.muhammadcohen.com; follow him on Facebook and Twitter @MuhammadCohen.

Macau stocks: expect a wild ride

Wells Fargo Securities analyst Cameron McKnight forecasts a “choppy” year ahead for Macau casino stocks. But for true believers, sharp drops represent buying opportunities.

Totally globalized native New Yorker and former broadcast news producer Muhammad Cohen is a blogger for Forbes and author of Hong Kong On Air, a novel set in his adopted hometown during the 1997 handover about television news, love, betrayal, high finance, and cheap lingerie. See his bio, online archive and more at www.muhammadcohen.com; follow him on Facebook and Twitter @MuhammadCohen.

Vietnam rolls the dice at Ho Tram

As casinos spread across Asia, Vietnam gets into the game with a world class resort on the beach south of Ho Chi Minh City, the former Saigon. But the Ho Tram Strip faces unique challenges.

Totally globalized native New Yorker and former broadcast news producer Muhammad Cohen is a blogger for Forbes and author of Hong Kong On Air, a novel set in his adopted hometown during the 1997 handover about television news, love, betrayal, high finance, and cheap lingerie. See his bio, online archive and more at www.muhammadcohen.com; follow him on Facebook and Twitter @MuhammadCohen.