Tens of thousands of gamblers are expected to descend on Macau Sunday for the opening of a spectacular new high-rise casino in the booming Chinese gambling resort. Punters from Hong Kong, mainland China and Taiwan will queue for seats at the new Grand Lisboa where owners have promised to give 10,000 Hong Kong dollars (1,300 US dollars) to a random guest every 15 minutes. Please note this is the opening of the casino facilities only, not the hotel which is expected early 2008.

The six-hour, 31,000-US-dollar giveaway, which begins when the new casino opens at 10 p.m. Sunday, is expected to spark off a frenzy among casino fans in the former Portuguese colony.

In September last year, the Las Vegas-owned Wynn casino was forced to open its doors early when false rumours swept through the waiting crowd that free gambling chips were going to be given away on the opening night.

The Grand Lisboa, a giant multi-storey casino a stone’s throw from the Wynn, is casino mogul Stanley Ho’s extravagant answer to the wave of new Las Vegas casinos opening in Macau.

Macau’s biggest building, it boasts 40 floors, 200 gaming tables and is shaped like a giant lotus flower, symbol of the territory which reverted to Chinese sovereignty in 1999 after 449 years of Portuguese colonial rule.

Macau is Stanley Ho territory and he is not about to let the Vegas bullies come in without a fight. The 85-year-old Asian billionaire is opening a new casino on Sunday in an effort to strike back at American gaming moguls who invaded the Chinese territory after Ho’s four-decade monopoly was broken up four years ago.

Ho’s new HK$3 billion (US$384 million; €295 million) Grand Lisboa Hotel — a gold tower with 430 rooms and a top that looks like a giant lotus flower — may also help Macau hold its new title as the world’s casino capital.

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