Many of the big time Las Vegas casino resort names are shifting their focus to the Asian gambling market, specifically Macau and the Cotai Strip. There is no better example of this than Wynn Resorts. Casino resort mogul Steve Wynn and his company re-envisioned Las Vegas in the 1980’s and 1990’s. They took the casino hotels and made them casino resorts. Much of the look and feel of today’s Las Vegas can be attributed to Steve Wynn and other casino resort visionaries. However, since the recession that has hit the United States over the past couple of years hit, Las Vegas has seen almost record low numbers. Almost all of the well known casino resorts have been stung and had to find ways to cut expenses while still generating revenue. It has not been easy.

This is where the Asian gambling connection comes into play when it comes to dealing with the long term health of the casino resort companies. Wynn Resorts Ltd. is set to announce a $17.2 million operating loss for the second quarter of 2010. Even though Wynn Resorts is facing high health care and employee costs, feeling the sting of lower visitor numbers and falling room rates, and low cash flow, investors on the NASDAQ market did not seem to be panicked by the low revenue numbers for Wynn Resorts’ Las Vegas Properties.

Gaming analyst for Stifel Nicolaus, Steven Wieczynski, stated that, “Most investors are well aware of the challenges posed by the Vegas market.” Because Steve Wynn has announced that he is spending more energy in the Macau market, Mr. Wieczynski went on to say, “As we have indicated in the past, Wynn shares are driven by Macau with Vegas an afterthought.

At one point in time Las Vegas was the gambling and vacation capital of the world. However, Macau has become the world’s largest gambling hub. With the major Las Vegas casino resort names establishing their presence in Macau, the Chinese peninsula could become the place to go for a gambling vacation.

Tags: casino, gambling, online