CASINO gamblers hate two things. One is losing. The other is understated decor. There is no risk of the latter at the Galaxy, Macau’s latest shrine to excess, which opened on May 15th. Its owners, Galaxy Entertainment, a firm controlled by the family of Lui Che-woo, a Hong Kong cement magnate, claim to have slapped enough gold leaf on its fixtures to cover 87 football pitches. To recoup the $1.9 billion it cost to build the Galaxy, it will have to attract a lot of losers.
賭場(chǎng)的賭徒們向來(lái)最討厭兩件事情：一件是輸錢(qián)，另一件就是賭場(chǎng)裝修的不夠氣派。但是對(duì)于澳門(mén)5月15日新開(kāi)張的超一流賭博圣地Galaxy來(lái)說(shuō)，有關(guān)裝修的擔(dān)心則完全可以忽略。Galaxy所屬的Galaxy Entertainment公司由Lui Che-woo家族所控制。Lui Che-woo是香港建筑業(yè)巨頭，他聲稱新建的賭場(chǎng)占地有87個(gè)足球場(chǎng)那么大，并且內(nèi)飾奢華。Galaxy共耗資19個(gè)億，要想收回成本，它就必須吸引大量的賭徒前來(lái)賭錢(qián)。
Macau, a former Portuguese colony known for gambling and other vices, was handed back to China in 1999. By this accident of history, it became the only place in the People’s Republic where casinos are legal. Stanley Ho, an ageing local tycoon, lost his monopoly over the business (though his family still controls or has fingers in roughly half of it). Glitzy Western casino operators arrived to challenge his bedraggled gambling dens with their spit-stained carpets. The Sands opened in 2004, the Wynn in 2006 and the Venetian in 2007, each fancier than its predecessor. The Galaxy tops the lot. What will come next?
澳門(mén)作為葡萄牙的，在1999年回歸中國(guó)之前，以賭博和情色業(yè)等而聞名。出于歷史的偶然性，澳門(mén)現(xiàn)在成為了中華人民共和國(guó)境內(nèi)唯一可以合法開(kāi)設(shè)賭場(chǎng)的地方。Stanley Ho，這位年事已高的澳門(mén)本地商業(yè)大亨，正在逐漸喪失他對(duì)澳門(mén)賭博業(yè)的壟斷（盡管他的家族現(xiàn)在仍然控制或插手澳門(mén)賭博業(yè)大約一半的生意）。Glitzy Western賭場(chǎng)的老板就仗著自己賭場(chǎng)的名聲遠(yuǎn)道而來(lái)向他發(fā)起挑戰(zhàn)。另外The Sands賭場(chǎng)也與2004年開(kāi)業(yè)，the Wynn賭場(chǎng)和the Venetian賭場(chǎng)分別于2006年和2007年開(kāi)業(yè)，每一座新建的賭場(chǎng)在規(guī)模和裝修上都會(huì)超過(guò)先前。Galaxy的規(guī)模和豪華程度更是世所罕見(jiàn)，下一個(gè)又會(huì)是誰(shuí)呢？
Possibly not much. Granted, the Sands hopes to open an even bigger casino next year, and three out of the four other operators (Wynn, MGM and Mr Ho’s SJM) have ambitious plans. But there are new constraints. Macau’s government, perhaps at the urging of Beijing, recently capped the number of gambling tables in Macau at 5,500, approximately the current number. Another 3-4% will be allowed annually, split between all the operators. That hardly allows room for mega-projects—the Galaxy alone added 450 tables.
也許不會(huì)有太多了。盡管the Sands集團(tuán)希望在明年開(kāi)一個(gè)規(guī)模更大的賭場(chǎng)，并且四大賭場(chǎng)老板中有三位(Wynn, MGM and Mr Ho’s SJM)仍然在計(jì)劃擴(kuò)大規(guī)模。但是澳門(mén)政府已經(jīng)出臺(tái)了新的限制政策。澳門(mén)政府最近通過(guò)與北京協(xié)商，打算將賭桌的數(shù)量控制在5500桌左右，大約相當(dāng)于現(xiàn)有的規(guī)模。另外澳門(mén)政府將允許賭桌數(shù)量每年有3%-4%的增長(zhǎng)，這一增長(zhǎng)將平分給澳門(mén)所有的賭場(chǎng)。所以像Galaxy這種一次性增加450桌的大手筆已經(jīng)一去不復(fù)返了。
Perhaps the government will relent. Demand shows no sign of slacking. From December, the three-hour bus ride from Guangzhou to Macau will be replaced by a 47-minute trip on a high-speed train. Eager punters from the Chinese interior will suddenly find temptation nearer. Aaron Fischer, an analyst with CLSA, a broker, predicts that gambling revenues in Macau will rise by 35% this year, 25% next year and 20% thereafter, while the supply of new tables will rise only gradually. Fat profits beckon.
但是也許澳門(mén)政府在不久的將來(lái)會(huì)放松限制。因?yàn)槭袌?chǎng)對(duì)賭桌的需求沒(méi)有絲毫的放緩。自十二月起，從廣州到澳門(mén)的高速列車(chē)將會(huì)開(kāi)通，屆時(shí)原本需要3個(gè)小時(shí)的車(chē)程將會(huì)被縮短至47分鐘。中國(guó)內(nèi)陸的賭徒也許突然會(huì)覺(jué)得誘惑離自己更近了。Aaron Fischer是CLSA的一名分析師，同時(shí)也是一名經(jīng)紀(jì)人，他預(yù)測(cè)澳門(mén)賭博業(yè)的收入增長(zhǎng)在賭桌增長(zhǎng)受限的情況下，今年會(huì)保持在35%左右，明年會(huì)保持在25%左右，以后每年則會(huì)保持在20%左右。澳門(mén)的賭博業(yè)將會(huì)收入頗豐。
The greatest threat to Macau’s licence to print money is that the Chinese government may grow jealous. It has in the past limited the number of visas it issues for mainland visitors to Macau. And there are rumours that it may allow casinos on other patches of its territory, such as Hainan, an island province in the south. Casinos are popular, pay a lot of taxes and please well-connected developers. It would hardly be a surprise if the government in Beijing decided to grab a piece of the action.
也許對(duì)澳門(mén)賭博業(yè)來(lái)說(shuō)最大的威脅來(lái)自于北京的嫉妒。北京在過(guò)去已經(jīng)開(kāi)始對(duì)內(nèi)陸游客前往澳門(mén)的簽證進(jìn)行了限制。并且有謠言說(shuō)北京將在除澳門(mén)之外的地方開(kāi)設(shè)賭場(chǎng)——海南將會(huì)是北京的一個(gè)選擇。開(kāi)賭場(chǎng)不僅盈利前景看好，并且可以給政府帶來(lái)高稅收，還可以滿足那些背景雄厚的開(kāi)發(fā)商的投資需求。所以如果北京決定在賭博業(yè)分一杯羹的話，這大可不必感到奇怪。
