Twelve Years Already?

On May 11, we celebrated our twelfth wedding anniversary. It is hard to believe we've been married so long and have known each other for fifteen years. It has been a great ride! To commemorate the occasion, we went to Macau and stayed in the Venetian. Macau is an island off of Hong Kong where gambling is legal, thus, it is known as the Las Vegas of the east. The Venetian hotel and casino is just like the one in Las Vegas only newer and bigger. It is supposed to be the second largest building in the world. The room was decadent and bigger than most Hong Kong residents’ apartments. It was an enjoyable anniversary.

Macau was formerly under Portuguese rule, and there are some remnants of the culture. Since the weather was bad, and we were still recovering from Vietnam, we decided to save the sightseeing for another trip. We enjoyed a great Portuguese meal at a long-standing restaurant. Unfortunately, we were not lucky in the casinos, but our money held out for a few hours of fun. Note: my game of choice is craps, and Erik plays blackjack. To travel to Macau, you take a high speed boat ride of approximately one hour.

The development in Macau is astounding—all casinos and big hotels including a new MGM Grand. Chinese are crazy about gambling, and the large population of mainlanders becoming rich is fueling the growth. We watched a long TV show about the Macau phenomenon. It is interesting to see which games are popular in China versus in Las Vegas. There were tons of Baccarat tables but very few blackjack. The horse races are very popular in Hong Kong, and we need to go before the summer break.