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HONG KONG — (Associated Press) - Macau's government says casino gambling revenue surged by more than half in 2010, solidifying its rank as the world's biggest gambling market.
Data posted on a government website Monday showed that casino revenue totaled 188.34 billion patacas ($23.52 billion) last year. That's 57.8 percent higher than the 119.37 billion patacas reported in 2009.
Macau's economy has boomed after a casino monopoly was broken up nearly a decade ago and the market opened up to foreign operators. The former Portuguese colony on the southern coast of China is now the world's most lucrative gambling market. Macau is the only place in China where gambling is legal and casino profits have been boosted by high-spending gamblers visiting from the Chinese mainland
