MACAO, April 3 (UPI) -- The Chinese territory of Macao has passed Las Vegas as the world's biggest-grossing casino center, the government confirmed Tuesday.
Gambling revenue in the former Portuguese island colony on the coast near Hong Kong soared 22 percent in 2006 to $7.2 billion, the Statistics and Census Bureau figures said.
Las Vegas' full-year revenue was $6.6 billion.
Macao updated figures it released Jan. 23 saying its revenue was $6.95 billion.
The latest figures also say investment in Macao rose 39.5 percent in 2006, as a record 22 million people visited the island, with 12 million coming from mainland China and 7 million from Hong Kong.
In the eight years since Macao was returned to Chinese control, it has experienced a huge boom in casino investment.
Some of the world's biggest casino operators -- including Las Vegas magnates Sheldon Adelson, Steve Wynn and Kirk Kerkorian -- have agreed to invest more than $20 billion to build new luxury hotels, giant casinos and VIP suites.
The Sands Macau, opened in 2004, is the world's largest casino as measured by the number of table games.