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Popular Culture Review
without uttering a word. It’s all understood once someone reaches over and
plunks down twice the amount of the bet. These practices that are deemed
outrageous in Las Vegas are seen as normal and appropriate in Macau, and
identify one as a seriously cool gambler. To keep their sharpness and focus on
the game, the gamblers drink tea at the tables instead of alcoholic beverages.
Another factor distinguishing the Macau casinos is the heavy smoke
filling the room. The gamblers tend to chain smoke as they play. There are no
smoke-free sections. In fact, this trait distinguishes the new American-owned
Sands Macau from other casinos in Macau. In the Sands Macau, a good-sized
section of the casino is designated for non-smokers, something not seen in other
clubs. It should be noted that there is less activity in this section of the Sands
Macau than in the larger section that allows smoking.
The older Macau casinos have a strong masculine character and most of
the gamblers are male. A sideshow in some of the casinos in Macau is the
parade of young prostitutes. While prostitution may be readily available in Las
Vegas, there is a substantial and continual effort to limit its visibility. This is not
the case in Macau casinos. The circular hallway that winds through the
restaurant and shop complex of the Lisboa is notable for the continuous parade
of pairs and trios of young, well-dressed Asian women searching for eye contact
with interested males. The lack of these women in the Sands Macau
distinguishes it from the other casinos, and identifies it with the owners’ Las
Vegas roots.
Streetwalkers are also common in areas near the casinos, including a
large group of Russian women. The Russians are called “ghost women” by the
locals in reference to their white skin. They are found on street comers, and at a
location on a walking street behind the downtown Holiday Inn, not far from a
number of casinos. Here a large group of them is known to be available every
afternoon and evening as they sit around tables in front of a restaurant
socializing and sipping sodas—and propositioning passersby. They seem to have
no trouble from police.
Rethinking Cultural Globalization
Cultural globalization is often thought of as a one-way flow, a
dominant society infusing its cultural contents into a weaker one. While we can
see evidence of that in Macau as it is being recreated into Las Vegas East,
something else is also happening that may make it necessary for the flow to be
two-way in order for Las Vegas to maintain its premier gaming status.
Macau, the stepchild of Las Vegas, has become a revenue-generating
powerhouse. Analysts from the brokerage house CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets
predict Macau’s casinos could bring in $6.3 billion in 2005, nearly a 20 percent
increase from the $5.33 billion in 2004 (New York Times). That 2004 figure was
equal to the total revenue brought in by all casinos on the Las Vegas Strip that
year, and not far from the $6.25 billion revenue for 2004 for the whole of Las
Vegas that includes The Strip, Downtown, and North Las Vegas (Nevada State
Gaming Control Board).