So we have just arrived in Macau, the last leg of our tour. It was quite exciting to fly into town and realize that there is blue skies and clean air somewhere in China. For those of you that don't know, Macau is technically its own government and providence. But as are most of the area's around mainland China, it is still owned by China. It has a strong influence from the Portuguese, which are the original inhabitants of the islands.
Macau is made up of 3 islands. The main one is the one with most of the casino's and the island i will spend most of my time while we are here for the next 2 weeks. The 2nd island is the one that has the newer casino's including the Venetian(the largest hotel and casino in the world) and the airport for Macau. The 3rd island i think is much smaller and we never had the chance to make it to.
So of course the first night we are in town, we head out for the night to run around and see the sights and play in the casino's a bit. I have to be honest, i think Macau is a long ways from being the "Asian Vegas" as everyone calls it. There are definitely alot of casino's on the islands, but there is little charm to them. At least in Vegas you have casino's old and new, plus charm of a dessert town. And in real Vegas there is definitely a cohesiveness to it.
In Macau, it just kinda seems like there are Casino's sprung up randomly and little thought into the layout of the city. We are staying at the Casa Real, which from first thought i was hoping for a little more Mexican theme but not so much.
Across from us is the Golden Dragon, one of many Chinese casino's with little influence from the west. It is funny to walk into a Chinese vs. a "Vegas Style" casino. In the Chinese ones they are basically just a room with a few tables. Pretty much all Baccarat and Hi-Low(a version of craps but with 3 dice and less options). Never the less, the Chinese come in droves to play these 2 games. I just read that the Sands Casino Corporation can lose up to $100 million a month just on Baccarat alone!!!
And then there is the Sands. Unlike our Hotel/Casino and the Golden Dragon, the Sands is everything you could want from a western style Casino. It is huge in everything and probably bigger than the one in Vegas. Here we are making our first attempt to beat the house!!!
And then oh course we have to work. This is actually the backside of the Sands, and just next to it was our theatre. To the right in the photo you see the 1st of our containers ready to be unloaded. It was kinda nice to be able to walk to work everyday, and unfortunately being in Macau still doesn't mean they have anything edible. So the 1st level of gold you see in the picture in the Sands is a McDonald's. And sadly but for the last time, i was forced to eat there very often. And if you are now a member of the "geez, Matthew must be getting fat cause all he eats is McDonald's and must not try to eat some of there foods"... Let me remind you of a few things. To date, having now been back in China for 2 months, i have lost 20 pounds. Yep, i ate a small portion of McDonald's and i lost 20 pounds. And 2nd, lets look at the alternatives. There is greasy fried Chinese chicken with bones, cartilage, and lots of fat.... There is scorpion on a stick..... hmmm, which would you choose?
Here is Sam, Jake, and Nicole. Don't they look so happy to be doing one last load in!!!
Macau is made up of 3 islands. The main one is the one with most of the casino's and the island i will spend most of my time while we are here for the next 2 weeks. The 2nd island is the one that has the newer casino's including the Venetian(the largest hotel and casino in the world) and the airport for Macau. The 3rd island i think is much smaller and we never had the chance to make it to.
So of course the first night we are in town, we head out for the night to run around and see the sights and play in the casino's a bit. I have to be honest, i think Macau is a long ways from being the "Asian Vegas" as everyone calls it. There are definitely alot of casino's on the islands, but there is little charm to them. At least in Vegas you have casino's old and new, plus charm of a dessert town. And in real Vegas there is definitely a cohesiveness to it.
In Macau, it just kinda seems like there are Casino's sprung up randomly and little thought into the layout of the city. We are staying at the Casa Real, which from first thought i was hoping for a little more Mexican theme but not so much.
Across from us is the Golden Dragon, one of many Chinese casino's with little influence from the west. It is funny to walk into a Chinese vs. a "Vegas Style" casino. In the Chinese ones they are basically just a room with a few tables. Pretty much all Baccarat and Hi-Low(a version of craps but with 3 dice and less options). Never the less, the Chinese come in droves to play these 2 games. I just read that the Sands Casino Corporation can lose up to $100 million a month just on Baccarat alone!!!
And then there is the Sands. Unlike our Hotel/Casino and the Golden Dragon, the Sands is everything you could want from a western style Casino. It is huge in everything and probably bigger than the one in Vegas. Here we are making our first attempt to beat the house!!! And then oh course we have to work. This is actually the backside of the Sands, and just next to it was our theatre. To the right in the photo you see the 1st of our containers ready to be unloaded. It was kinda nice to be able to walk to work everyday, and unfortunately being in Macau still doesn't mean they have anything edible. So the 1st level of gold you see in the picture in the Sands is a McDonald's. And sadly but for the last time, i was forced to eat there very often. And if you are now a member of the "geez, Matthew must be getting fat cause all he eats is McDonald's and must not try to eat some of there foods"... Let me remind you of a few things. To date, having now been back in China for 2 months, i have lost 20 pounds. Yep, i ate a small portion of McDonald's and i lost 20 pounds. And 2nd, lets look at the alternatives. There is greasy fried Chinese chicken with bones, cartilage, and lots of fat.... There is scorpion on a stick..... hmmm, which would you choose? Here is Sam, Jake, and Nicole. Don't they look so happy to be doing one last load in!!!
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