For many Las Vegas has always been the world’s greatest gambling venue. But recently a new world leader has started to emerge. Macau in China is on a peninsula around 40 miles from Hong Kong and has casinos that are just as spectacular and exciting as any you’d find in Vegas.

Many would say that it’s also a much more interesting and varied place to visit than Sin City because of the cultures that lie behind its history. For example it was run by the Portuguese for over three centuries before being given back to the Chinese 1999. These influences can be seen everywhere you go and even in the cuisine.

But if you’re visiting Macau for the casinos it’s probably these that will be the focus of your interest. The region of the city to head for if you want to experience them is the Cotai Strip where you’ll find the biggest and the best of them.

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For many people the Venetian is the very grandest of them all. It’s reckoned to be the biggest casino in the world as its gaming floor area covers an unbelievable 550,000 square feet. Also attached is a 3,000 room hotel and the biggest shopping mall in the city, packed with designer stores. There are even man-made canals with Venetian-style gondolas and gondoliers to transport you around the resort.

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To mix things up a bit you don’t necessarily have to head half way across the world to experience all the thrills and excitement of a genuine casino experience. A lot of these can also be enjoyed through excellent online casino websites such as 888casino and from the comfort of your own home.

And, while it might not quite have the glamour of taking on the high rollers of Macau, at least you’ll be able to keep on wearing your slippers without getting any sideways looks from across the table.

You’ll be able to find more than a little bit of Las Vegas at the Wynn Macau. That’s because it’s modelled precisely on its sister casino in Las Vegas to create a beautiful and opulently-appointed environment that has been specially created to attract the high rollers of the region. It’s also where the exciting casino scenes in the Bond film Skyfall were filmed.

For a more traditional-style experience then the Casino Lisboa is one of Macau’s oldest and is totally unlike Wynn and the Venetian. Inside there are a series of rooms where serious gamblers play for serious money.

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Overshadowing it, quite literally, is the Grand Lisboa. When it opened in 2007 it was the highest building in the high-rise city, and still is today. The building stands 261 metres high and has 47 storeys. There are over 430 hotel rooms and suites as part of the resort and the casino itself contains over 240 gaming tables and more than 750 slot machines. Most impressive of all is the huge domed ceiling it contains and which is illuminated by no less than a million separate LED lights which gradually change colour throughout the day and night

So there you have it now all you have to do is try it out for yourselves, hopefully this guide will be useful to those looking for that something special outside of Vegas and who knows you may just have discovered your new favourite gambling destination.