I spent the last two days in Macau. It was a much needed break encouraged by the necessity to comply with the Chinese customs authority visa requirement. I had a choice of either heading to Hong Kong or Macau. Either way, I technically exit China and upon re-entry renew my stay limit. I was still a few weeks off of hitting the magic number, but there had been a slight lull in work and I decided to head out before things pick up again.
Macau was pretty cool. It is hyped up to be the Las Vegas of Asia. There is an MGM, Sands, Wynn, and Venetian. These all are in addition to local joints such as the Fortuna and Lisboa and a bunch of other casino/hotels. There is a huge difference in the "entertainment" angle that is presented by US based casinos vs. local Macauan counterparts. The original Macau casinos have the feel of what I imagine Las Vegas had 20 years ago. While the US based casinos are almost identical (if not a better "learned from our first try") to their present Nevada counterparts (Venitian Canal and all). The big difference is that even though most of the casinos are bunched up, there isn't a "strip" where you can walk down and have casinos on both sides of the street. They are more in a cluster or a taxi drive away.
I refused to play at the US based casinos. I wanted to feel the grime and keep my lungs primed with second hand smoke (they have been processing nicotine for over 40 days, why purify them now?). I spent most of my time and money at the Casino Lisboa. Nothing glamorous, just an overly decorated room with obnoxious carpeting and tables arranged in the standard form that invite players to walk around and find a seat while pit bosses oversee the action.
To my disappointment, the Macauan casinos don't have craps tables. To my even greater disappointment, their tables are about 75% baccarat. I had always saved learning baccarat until I was either (a) so loaded that I could play in the exclusive Roger Moore bow tie high roller VIP rooms or (b) at the point where I'd squander my social security check minutes after $2.99 worth of eggs over medium, bacon, hash browns, and some Celestial Seasonings chamomile tea just as each month got started.
Baccarat held a certain mystic. I've always felt that it held no middle ground for me. It was heart breaking to see the game being played as if it were blackjack (no offense to those that like blackjack). It was either play some strange variations of poker table games or figure baccarat out. I did the latter. It was alright. I lost money, but, even worse, lost a piece of my future. I'll play baccarat again, but it won't be because of the resulting gains or losses of my life. My future isn't as clear now as it was last week. Who knows on what vice I'll blow my social security checks after breakfast?
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