Macau made us$ 4.6 billion in October

In 2012, Macau - the world’s largest gaming market - produced a record $38bn in gaming revenues. Up to October, the region nearly topped that amount, producing $37.13bn in just 10 months. Macau gaming revenues -seven times bigger than Las Vegas - are up 18.4 per cent over the same 10 months of 2012.

The single-month revenue record in Macau equals roughly 75 per cent of the entire Strip gaming market revenue during all of 2012. Macau currently has more than three dozen large and small casinos.

Smoking restrictions

In other news, the results of a second round of tests of casino air quality and any penalties for failing them will be ready within a fortnight, Legislative Assembly member Ella Lei Cheng I said. Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On was prepared to cut the size of smoking zones in casinos that failed the tests, she told reporters.

The Macau Federation of Trade Unions, represented in the assembly by Ms Lei, met Mr Chui at government headquarters yesterday. In a press statement released after the meeting, Mr Chui’s staff said the air quality results would be out “soon”.

The restrictions on smoking in casinos, which came into force in January, allow smoking areas to take up 50 percent of gaming floors.

The government can reduce the size of smoking areas if a casino’s air quality is below standard.