Macau showed a 47 percent increase in gambling revenue to $10.34 billion in 2007. The figures are slightly below analysts' projected figures but still exceed the growth rate and gambling revenue of the Las Vegas strip.
Four new casinos opened in Macao last year. Another one opened in January and another five are scheduled to open this year. As many as nine could open next year. At year-end, Macau had 4,375 gaming tables and 13,267 slot machines in 28 casinos compared to 2,762 tables and 6,546 slot machines in 24 casinos at the end of 2006.
The Las Vegas strip took in $6.83 billion in gambling revenue in 2007, a 2.1 percent improvement over the previous year. Gambling revenue for the entire state of Nevada, which includes the Las Vegas strip and the rest of the city as well as outposts such as Reno and areas around Lake Tahoe, reached $12.85 billion, a 1.8 percent improvement. Of course, Las Vegas is an already mature market that should be expected to have flatter growth curves.