Macau is the Monte Carlo of the East.

With a flourishing gaming and tourism industry, Macau just might be the world’s fastest-growing tourist trap.

If you want to get technical, it’s actually a special administrative region of the People’s Republic of China. An area barely seventeen square miles in size, it’s only slightly larger than the island of Manhattan.

Its streets and local culture bear the marks of both Cantonese and imperial Portuguese traditions, but visit the small peninsular region and the first thing you’ll notice might be the thousands of people from Hong Kong riding the hydrofoil and ferry services 40 miles southwest into town. They’re not here to see the ruins of Saint Paul’s Cathedral or sample the local cuisine. They are here to play, and there are more of them coming with every passing day.

While the place widely known as “the Monte Carlo of the Orient” does have a modest textile industry, the economy is anchored by the more than 8 million tourists who visit the region every year, most of them with sit and go tournaments and gambling on their mind.

Almost half of Macau’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) comes from gambling, part of which can be found at the small number of racetracks around town, like the Canidrome in northern Macau or Racecourse in nearby Taipa. But people are coming to Macau in droves primarily to sample its immaculate casinos and hotels. And how can you tell that Macau is about to become the gaming world’s new boom town? Americans are starting to invest.

“The key for us is just to draw the parallel between what has become a successful model in Las Vegas. Obviously you have to adapt it a little bit for culture and remain sensitive to that,” says Ron Reese, Executive Director of Communications for Las Vegas Sands Corp., owner of the Sands Macau. “Operating off the coast of mainland China is different from operating in Nevada.” The Sands Macau used to be the only American-owned casino property in Macau, but that is changing.

After the recession, a lot of Las Vegas tycoons are starting to invest in Macau. So if you have not visited Macau and you like gambling, put it on top of your list if you want to be taken seriously as a world class gambler.

Tags: Canidrome, Chinese gambling, gambling culture, Macau, Macau gambling, Monaca, Montecarlo, Sands Macau, The Sands