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Macao tops Las Vegas as gambling center

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.

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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.

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