SINGAPORE - Macau’s success as a gaming haven is spurring the industry in Asia, with some countries already building massive casinos and others moving to legalise them, experts said Tuesday.

The provision of wholesome entertainment, retail shopping, and hotel and convention facilities as part of the gaming experience is helping to shed the usual image of casinos as linked to gambling, crime and sleaze, they said.

“The major thing that has… revolutionised the gaming industry in this part of the world of course is Macau,” said Andy Nazarechuk, the dean of the Singaporean campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

“Macau is the star in the Asian world when it comes to the gaming industry,” he told delegates at a conference in Singapore that brought together gaming executives.

Macau’s casinos reported revenues of US$9.7 billion in the first seven months of this year, up 44 per cent from the year before, he said.

The southern Chinese territory’s gaming revenues in 2007 topped US$10 billion for the first time, well ahead of the Las Vegas Strip, other figures have shown.

Singapore is constructing two integrated casino resorts, one of them set to open in late 2009, after the government lifted a long-standing ban on casino gambling.

Canada-based Asian Coast Development Ltd. (ACDL) is constructing a US$4.2 billion beachfront project in Vietnam’s Ba Ria-Vung Tau province, which will include the communist nation’s first Las Vegas-style casino.

ACDL chief executive David Subotic told delegates the 169-hectare (417-acre) development, called the “Ho Tram Strip,” will feature five-star hotels, luxury resorts, a conference centre and a golf course designed by Greg Norman.

The first casino is slated to open in late 2010.

Another luxury resort with 1,200 hotel rooms, a casino, restaurants and nightclubs will be operational by 2011.

Japan hopes to open its first casino either by 2012 or 2013 after legislation is put in place, said Toru Mihara, a casino advisor to Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

Mihara said Japan is closely studying the Singaporean model for casino resorts offering family entertainment, convention facilities, luxury shopping and restaurants, apart from gambling.

Taiwan is aiming to pass legislation by the end of this year to allow casinos to operate, said Day Yang Liu, director of the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology.

Taiwan is aiming for two to three integrated casino resorts, initially on Penghu island, about 40 minutes by plane from Taipei, he told the conference.

Chea Peng Chheang, secretary of state at Cambodia’s ministry of economy and finance, said his country’s focus will be to further develop casinos located along its land borders. -CNA/vm

Channel News Asia

Aishwarya Rai stars in Kuch Na Kaho on RTM2, tomorrow, 12.30pm.

Want to know how to become Malaysia’s favourite dancer? Watch Alam’s Story, writes SHARMILA BILLOT.

Julia Roberts stars in The Mona Lisa Smile on RTM2, Sunday, 3pm

WHAT does it take to be Malaysia’s favourite dancer? Tune in to Alam’s Story on 8TV this Sunday at 10pm.

Winner of the first season of So You Think You Can Dance Malaysia, Muhammad Haslam a.k.a. Alam from Johor, will share his experiences in the reality dance show with viewers.

Corporate reality show The Firm 2 is premiering tomorrow on ntv7 at 8.30pm.

The show follows the struggles of 14 contestants in their exhilarating journey to the top of the corporate ladder.
Each episode depicts a discipline in business that is imperative to the success of a corporate high-flier.

These include branding, promotions, positioning and catering.

For movie buffs, 8TV is airing The Making Of… 21 tomorrow at 10.30am.

Directed by Robert Luketic, this action drama is about six MIT students who were trained to become experts in card counting. They subsequently took millions in winnings at Vegas casinos.

The movie stars Jim Sturgess, Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth, Aaron Yoo, Liza Lapira and Jacob Pitts.

On Sunday, 8TV is also airing The Making Of… Dark Knight (10.30am).

Directed by Christopher Nolan, this action/crime movie is a sequel to Batman Begins.

It follows the caped crusader’s mission as he joins forces with Gotham City’s police Commissioner James Gordon and district attorney Harvey Dent to take on a psychotic bank robber known as The Joker.

The movie stars Christian Bale, Heath Ledger and Aaron Eckhart.

TOMORROW

Panggung Sabtu (Hindi movie) (TV3, 2pm) - Hadh Kardi Aapne
Anjali suspects that her husband, Sanjay, is cheating on her. She asks her friend and namesake Anjali to go abroad and spy on her husband. Starring Govinda and Rani Mukherjee.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (English movie) (TV3, 12.30am)
Joel Barish is heartbroken after finding out that his girlfriend Clementine underwent a procedure to erase him from her memory and decides to do the same. However, as he watches his memories of her fade away, he realises that he still loves her, and that it may be too late to correct his mistake. Starring Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Gerry Robert Byme, Elijah Wood and Thomas Jay Ryan.

Bollygood Time On 2 - Kuch Na Kaho (Hindi movie) (RTM2, 12.30pm)
Raj is not interested in marriage. However, his uncle, Rakesh, has other plans for him. Rakesh enlists the help of his secretary, Namrata, to find a suitable bride for Raj. Starring Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, Satish Shah and Suhasini Mulay.

I Do I Do (Chinese movie) (8TV, 8.30pm)
Driver Ah Peng falls in love with Wen, who works as a manager in the same company. However, Wen does not feel the same about him. She meets a handsome stranger and is attracted to him. Starring Adrian Pang, Sharon Au, Marcus Chin, Allen Wu and Margaret Lee.

Secret Window (English movie) (RTM2, 9pm)
Famed mystery writer Mort Rainey is confronted by a stranger outside his house. The man, who calls himself John Shooter, claims that Mort stole an idea for a story from him. Mort declares his innocence but Shooter starts to become violent. Starring Johnny Depp, John Turturro, Maria Bello and Timothy Hutton.

SUNDAY

Raden Mas (Malay movie) (TV3, 3pm)
Prince Pengiran falls in love with dancer Mas Ayu and marries her against his parents’ wishes. One day, the queen commands her son to go on a hunting trip. Upon his return, Pangiran finds his home ablaze and his wife killed. He escapes to another village with his baby daughter. Starring Nordin Ahmad, Latifah Omar, M.Amin and Siput Sarawak.

The Mona Lisa Smile (English movie) (RTM2, 3pm)
Katherine Watson is a free-spirited graduate of UCLA who accepts a teaching post at Wellesley College, a women’s-only school where the students are torn between their repressive culture and their longing for intellectual freedom. Starring Julia Roberts, Kirsten Dunst, Julia Stiles and Maggie Gyllenhaal.

New Straits Times