Vegas Plays to the World

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Asia isn't the only angle in the global casino game. Britain, which already sends the most foreign visitors to Vegas, is another big target. According to the Innovation Group, a consulting firm based in New Orleans, 71% of Brits have done some gambling in the past year, but so far they have preferred horse races, slot machines and lotteries to their country's casinos, which are either snobbishly high-end or seriously ho-hum. Vegas has responded with a flurry of deals. The MGM Mirage plans to build a handful of midsize casinos, Harrah's seeks to sprinkle 8 to 10 smaller facilities throughout the country, and the Sands wants to install spiffy entertainment complexes at a few British soccer stadiums. But Britain's most sought-after locale--London's Millennium Dome--went to Bahamian firm Kerzner International, best known for the Caribbean's coral-pink Atlantis resort, which announced last week that it had finalized an agreement to build a $350 million casino in the coveted redevelopment project along the Thames.

But all those deals are contingent upon Britain's scrapping several gambling restrictions next year, including a ban on casino advertising and a 24-hour waiting period for first-time patrons. Last month, when Parliament indicated that it may cap the number of slot machines at the largest casinos at 1,250 (roughly half the number in the Bellagio), Las Vegas Sands threatened to curtail its multibillion-dollar deals. "Most U.S. operators are jumping in with both feet," says Scott Fisher, managing director of the Innovation Group, "but with a big life raft attached."

U.S. casino executives are trying to sweet-talk other governments too. Although Thailand and Singapore have yet to legalize gambling, MGM Mirage's Lanni has met with the Thai Prime Minister to discuss a potential development, and the Sands' Weidner in May offered Singapore $2 billion to put a casino resort on its Sentosa island.

As the Sands Macao starts to woo Asia's VIP gamblers with access to private jets and special high-limit gaming areas, a major goal of exporting such rarefied Vegas amenities is to persuade more foreigners to ante up on the Strip. Nevada last month became the first state to open a tourism office in China, but it is not allowed to promote its gambling facilities there--"which means the best way to promote Vegas properties is to wine and dine 'em in Macau," says Bill Thompson, a gaming expert at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The Strip is ready and waiting for Asia's big spenders. The Venetian, for one, has added a VIP baccarat salon with marble floors and a gazillion decorative teapots. And for homesick Chinese gamblers, bird's-nest soup is now available at the hotel--for $150 a bowl. --With reporting by Neil Gough, Carmen Lee and Austin Ramzy/Macau and Laura A. Locke/Las Vegas