Old and new casinos pour in billions of dollars into local economy, promising to reverse recent slump

A cluster of splendid new casinos on the way to Macao highlights the operators' efforts to lure gamblers back. Hopes are high for a recovery in the gaming industry. Some think it is probably on the cards.

That may be because Macao's casino operators had another busy year of constructions. The world's largest gaming hub last month added its most expensive casino - the $4.2 billion Wynn Palace from the stable of US casino mogul Steve Wynn. Just a month after that, American billionaire Sheldon Adelson's $2.9 billion Parisian Macao opened.