Macau Trip Report Part 1.

I will have to do this in 2 parts as it covers almost a week, and a lot happens in a week.

Note: HK$100 = US$13. My prices are in $HK, the most accepted currency in Macau

Day 1;
My girl and I flew from Phuket, Thailand to Hong Kong on AirAsia, an uneventful trip which arrived 10 minutes early in Hong Kong. The first shock was the 10c temperature, I say shock as it was 31c when we left Phuket. Transit passengers in Hong Kong do not go through Immigation, so we quickly bought our fast cat ferry tickets and 30 minutes later were on our way to Macau. The ferry costs HK$215 per person one way. The ferry trip was also uneventful and soon we were through Immigration and on our way to our hotel. It was just as cold in Macau but a 10 minute walk to the hotel was OK. We stayed at Casa Real, in a nice room, with excellent facilities at HK$660/night (no breakfast). I recommend the place to anyone.

After dropping the bags we headed for Sands casino, a 10 minute walk from the hotel. Its the last time we walked it, it was just too cold for us.

We headed immediately for the airball roulette which I played for 2 hours using the "hot numbers" I collected on my last visit. This did not work and I lost my HK$4000 bankroll in short time. Then I reverted to playing the way I normally do and I recovered HK$3400 of that, so not too bad a result. Lesson learned.

We were a bit tired so it was back to the hotel to sleep and recover for the next day.

Day 2;
My plan "B" was to record a minimum of 222 consecutive spins (37x6) and see if there were any "hot numbers" and try to use those to have a successful session. Immediately #13 was red hot, with more than 10 appearances in the 222 spins (6 appearances would be expected). Some other numbers were also hot but not quite as much. I then started playing 13 plus the next 5 hottest numbers. This worked for a while, but soon the hot numbers faded away, and others became hot. Its was frustrating.

I made a mini spreadsheet to record the winning numbers with the numbers in the order they occur on the wheel down the left side, and squares beside each number across the page. Then as the numbers came out, I simply put an "x" in the sguare beside the number and over time it built a nice vision of where the numbers were falling on the wheel. Unfortunately, this information only worked in short bursts, and then previously cold numbers became hot, and vice versa. There was a block of numbers on the wheel that was quite devoid of hits, but then suddenly that section became active. Again frustrating, but expected.

The most interesting sequence was 2, 28, 4, 28, 28 2, 28, 4, 28. Luckily 28 is a number I play quite often so I did OK.

At then end of the night, after again reverting to my normal playing style, I showed a profit of HK$1400 and had abandoned the approach of diligently recording the numbers and hoping to use them to advantage.

The most useful strategy was that there were a lot of repeats or near repeats, so I often played 12 numbers on the sector just before "0" as they seemed to recur quite frequently.

By my observation Sands was not as busy as it was in November when I was there last, but I think the winter deters travellers. Its also approaching Chinese New Year so maybe people are saving money for that time.

We ate at the Sands restaurants every day, and the buffet dinner at the "888 Gourmet Place" was as good as ever. I paid HK$626 for two persons after 10% discount with my Sands Club membership.

So with 2 days behind us, I had not made any great profit.

Day 3;
I wake up with a serious flu. I feel bad and we sleep longer than usual. I decide to get the obligatory shopping out of the way, and while I am stocking up on flu remedies, and headache pills, my girl is off shopping for clothes. An hour later, we are done. We go to Senado Square which is about the only shopping concentration in Macau. Its in the old part of the city where the Portuguese buildings have been preserved, so its quite a nice place. Around noon we are back at the hotel and head to Sands again.

The afternoon goes quite well, and its busier today so I have to wait for a space at the air ball roulette. I make the mistake of playing "Casino War" for 15 minutes and drop HK$1500. Its a stupid game and I am embarassed that I played it. I note that the dealers did not burn 3 cards before dealing the cards in the event of a tie.

Once I get the the roulette, I am in the grove. The first two days I struggled, but today is good. I play dozens and hot numbers and they seem to drop for me today. Between about 2pm and 10pm I win HK$4400 which is about as good as I ever do. I always up my bets when I win and they runs are good today.

We go back to the hotel happy and optimistic for the rest of the trip.

Quote: Pando

My girl and I flew from Phuket, .

Can we say 'phuket' without being banned?

say it as Pooket

Do you know how many points you got for your action at the Sands? I am trying to get the ruby card while losing as little money as possible but there is absolutely no information about their reward club online; I don't even know if the points ever expire and if I need to get 888 points within a certain time frame to be upgraded.

FYI the Chinese new year is usually the busiest period for Macau casinos and it's usually very to find a hotel room during this period if you don't book it in advance, let alone find a cheap one.

Yes, I got 217 points in 5 days

But I am not sure exactly how they are earned either. I assume it is on money spent rather than lost or won.

Points do expire as I cashed mine in 2 years ago as they were due to expire Dec 2009.

I may have the rewards brochure somewhere, if so I will post any further details.

Agree the Chinese New Year prices are prohibitive

http://www.macaubusiness.com/news/cards-off-the-table/6405/

This article says the points system is based on money wagered

Nice report. Congrats on the wins.

Quote: Pando

The most interesting sequence was 2, 28, 4, 28, 28 2, 28, 4, 28. Luckily 28 is a number I play quite often so I did OK.

Wow. That would have paid off nicely in my Poker For Roulette side bet. You didn't by chance take a picture of that history display, did you?

The only history display on the air ball roulette is on the touch screen that the player uses to place the bets.
The larger displays you speak of are only on the manual roulette tables and card games. Sorry.

Quote: Pando

The most interesting sequence was 2, 28, 4, 28, 28 2, 28, 4, 28. Luckily 28 is a number I play quite often so I did OK.

On a slightly related note the last time I went to the Venetian I saw a baccarat table that got 12 Banker wins in a row. In addition to all the seated players there were an additional 10-15 players standing there and placing wagers too. When the Player finally won a hand the table collectively lost over 150k and most of the players left.

What kind of rewards can you get for 217 points? I never bothered checking since I wanted to get 888 points but since points expire I doubt I will be able to reach this goal.

Interesting trip report.

I am very curious about Macao, and would welcome as much description from you about the people, the place, as you are willing to provide.

How do the Wynn and Adelson properties compare to their Las Vegas counterparts?

The gambling: what are the popular games that the people are playing (other than baccarat)?

Are there many Westerners gambling in the casinos?

What I'm curious about is, are the casinos absolutely packed with seething masses of humanity? Does Macao resemble an anthill after an earthquake?

Also, do multiple people bet on the same spots, like they do in Asian games in California (creating a complete mob scene as twenty or more players crowd around the same table)?

Quote: mkl654321

Also, do multiple people bet on the same spots, like they do in Asian games in California

I would never go to Macau, Asians are generally rude to people outside their race, who needs it. I lived in Hawaii for 6 months in the 70's and never saw so much racism in my life, its why I left. I know a guy I went to high school with who's lived there for 30 years and he says you learn to accept the overt racism. Speak for yourself..

Quote: mkl654321

What I'm curious about is, are the casinos absolutely packed with seething masses of humanity? Does Macao resemble an anthill after an earthquake?

Also, do multiple people bet on the same spots, like they do in Asian games in California (creating a complete mob scene as twenty or more players crowd around the same table)?

I was there last year during the Chinese New Year and it was so packed I could barely walk. The place is so packed casinos can afford to not be generous on comps. My relative lost over HK$100K at the Wynn and they could not even find him a room; he wanted a limo to get back to his hotel to take more cash but they said he had to take a taxi. He also had to pay for his two dinner at the Wynn even though he gave them a lot of action. People usually bet on the same spot if the table is 'hot' or if they want to bet less than the minimum. Like I said earlier I once saw a table that got 12 banker wins in a row and there were so many people betting on each spot it was difficult for the dealer to calculate who won what (the dealers here split the win if several people bet on a spot). Chinese games like Sic Bo do not have seats because they are usually crowded and most of the table usually ride the biggest better. I would say the ratio foreigner-Asian is around 99-1 in most casinos. If you go play poker the ratio gets closer to 50-50 but table games are dominated by Asians.

Other than baccarat you can so find Chinese games like Sic Bo, Fan Tan and Pai Gow. There are also a few blackjack and carribean poker tables. I think even the big casinos only have 1-2 craps tables and a couple of roulette wheels since these aren't very popular here. If you are willing to play automated games on a screen then you can find a lot of different games but the choice of actual table games are rather limited.

Is it true that Asians don't give slot machines a lot of play, that they mostly play table games?

Big difference between Macao and Las Vegas, if true.

Quote: MrV

Is it true that Asians don't give slot machines a lot of play, that they mostly play table games?

Big difference between Macao and Las Vegas, if true.

In 2010, 72% of Macau's gaming revenue came from high limit baccarat, 18.6% came from mass-market baccarat, 5.4% from slot machines, 1.9% from Sic Bo, 1.2% from blackjack and the rest was shared by all the remaining games. Most of the slot players I've seen in Macau looked like compulsive gamblers so I was never tempted to approach these machines. Money also goes too fast through these; in baccarat I can take 2 minutes to bend a card over and it just makes everyone more excited but taking 2 minutes to hit a button would look quite stupid.

I got something like 690 points last year which entitled me to a choice of some small rewards from the gift shop at the Venetian. I chose 6 ball pens, nicely presented in gift packs with the Venetian logo on them. They retailed in the shop for HK$98 each, so about HK$600 worth of rewards. I gave them to friends for Xmas gifts. The previous year I took a set of towels (one large, one small) for a lesser amount of points.

I have not been to Vegas, only casinos in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Macau so cannot give you a comparison.

I find the Macau people quite pleasant and friendly. I have been going to Sands Macau for maybe 4 years and even though the trips are months apart, I still get recognised and greeted by some of the regulars. In fact some even vacate a seat at the air ball roulette if none are available, and let me play.

There are few Westerners playing anything at least in the public areas. It would be 95% Chinese, and in that I include the locals who are Chinese bred living in Macau, rather than visitors from China or Hong Kong. I do see Japanese and Koreans there also but not many. Westerners are few and far between at least in the public areas.

The baccarat dominates to a huge extent, roulette has followers and the slots are generally under utilised. There is Sic-bo (played with 3 large dice) either manually operated or in a machine similar to air ball roulette. Blackjack is probably second favourite behind baccarat.

The casinos are large enough to not be overcrowded, but I have not been there at Chinese New Year which I would expect to be very busy. The Venetian is the largest casino on earth and it never seems to struggle to cater for the visitors. There are always tables under utilised when I have been there.

Yes some tables (in baccarat) are very busy and have 30 or 50 people playing, but it adds excitement and I have not seen it out of control.

Asians, especially Chinese are obviously used to crowds and they seem to manage without any agrivation.

Yes absolutely true Mr V.

Its all about what Asians perceive they can have some control over, and slots are just predetermined chance. There is no room to decide a bet as in the other games.

Sorry, I don't know why these replies didn't post in the right place after the question I was answering

Quote: mkl654321

What I'm curious about is, are the casinos absolutely packed with seething masses of humanity? Does Macao resemble an anthill after an earthquake?

I've been there twice and found the casinos are less crowded than in Vegas.

Quote: mkl654321

Also, do multiple people bet on the same spots, like they do in Asian games in California (creating a complete mob scene as twenty or more players crowd around the same table)?

Yes, they definitely do that in Macau.

Quote: EvenBob

I would never go to Macau, Asians are generally rude to people outside their race, who needs it.

I can only speak about China, where I've been five times. In my opinion it isn't that they are rude to non-Asians, they are rude to everybody. If forced, I'd say they are more rude to their own. There is no chit-chat at the table games in Macau. People are there to gamble, not to be entertained. Yes, the people in general are pushy in rude. However, you get used to it. It is that way all over China.

Quote: Wizard

I can only speak about China, where I've been five times. In my opinion it isn't that they are rude to non-Asians, they are rude to everybody. If forced, I'd say they are more rude to their own. There is no chit-chat at the table games in Macau. People are there to gamble, not to be entertained. Yes, the people in general are pushy in rude. However, you get used to it. It is that way all over China.

It's quite possibly a function of every individual being one of 1.3 billion, fighting for their share of a dwindling resource pool. Politeness is a funny thing. Initially, the polite person loses out; someone cuts in front of him, takes what he was in line to get, grabs his parking space, etc. It's only when politeness become the norm that those who choose to be polite aren't shafted for doing so.

I also think that if the goverment says that there are 600 million "excess" people (China's goal being to replace every two adult individuals with a single child), then that means that the individual is deemed to be of little or no worth. In such a culture, respect for personal space, personal rights, in short, anything other than a dog-eat-dog world is seen as not only undesirable, but downright silly. Observe the benavior of a Chinese crowd trying to get something---they don't queue up, but rather, push and shove and brawl and claw each others' faces trying to get to the front. This is the way life should be, according to Chinese society--every man for himself. If you don't succeed, it's because you didn't fight hard enough for it.

Quote:

I also think that if the goverment says that there are 600 million "excess" people (China's goal being to replace every two adult individuals with a single child),

Quite clearly, with multiple generations, that a 1 child policy does not imply that the population will or should be halved in the near or medium term.

Having lived in Asia for 8 years, my view is that the way of behaving is different, simply based on the fact that Asian countries are generally crowded, and if you don't push and shove you end up at the back of the queue.

I have observed some animated players at the baccarat tables - one guy, big man, big voice, big gold, big player was holding the fort at which ever table he went to. The other punters followed him around like the pied piper, just for amusement value I think.

Quote: thecesspit

Quite clearly, with multiple generations, that a 1 child policy does not imply that the population will or should be halved in the near or medium term.

Yes, obviously, it's a long-term goal, but a population with a rate of replacement of -1.0 will eventually dwindle to half its former number, then below (and eventually will die out, if that rate of replacement remains constant). It's true that they may stop short of halving the population, but even if they did, there would be an increasingly disproportionate number of old(er) people. So the "one child" policy will have the effect of halving the productive workforce. Also, the coming generation will be disproportionately male, given the widespread incidence of female infanticide, which the "one child" policy exacerbates.

I'm sure the Chinese government has contemplated just shooting or gassing the less productive half of the population, but there would be practical difficulties, such as disposal.