雙語新聞:澳門上半年賭場收入下滑12.4%
【英文原文】
Macao casino revenues fall
摘要：自2002年澳門賭業開放競爭以來，這個全球最大賭博市場的年度收入可能首次下滑。
The world's largest gambling market is on track for its first year-on-year decline since it was opened to foreign competition in 2002.
Macao, the Chinese special administrative region near Hong Kong, has reported a 12.4 per cent decline in first-half casino revenues to 51.4bn patacas ($6.4bn).
If the trend continues, driven by a 20 per cent fall in visitor arrivals, this year will be the first to see a contraction since the monopoly of Stanley Ho, the veteran gambling tycoon, was broken up seven years ago.
Macao's liberalisation attracted multi-billion dollar investments by some of the world's largest gaming companies, including Las Vegas Sands, Wynn Resorts and MGM Mirage. Las Vegas Sands, which has struggled to meet its debt payments and suspended a Macao expansion project late last year, operates the world's two largest casinos in the tiny territory.
Controlled by Sheldon Adelson, Las Vegas Sands is considering a spin-off of its Macao assets on the Hong Kong stock exchange.
Macao, with a population of 550,000, is dependent on visitors from mainland China.
The Chinese government, however, has been restricting visa access since the middle of 2008.
An investment bank gaming analyst said: “The key factor is what happens in July. In the second half we're looking for a bit of a rebound.”
Exacerbating the pressure on Macao casinos, the June opening of City of Dreams – a joint venture resort by Mr Ho's son, Lawrence, and James Packer of Australia – contributed to a 14 per cent increase in first-half capacity.
【中文譯文】
自2002年澳門賭業開放競爭以來，這個全球最大賭博市場的年度收入可能首次下滑。
靠近香港的中國特別行政區澳門報告，其上半年賭場收入下滑12.4%，至514億澳門元（64億美元）。
如果這種趨勢在訪澳遊客減少20%的推動下持續下去，今年將出現7年來首次萎縮。7年前，賭王何鴻燊在澳門賭場的壟斷經營權被打破。
澳門賭場經營權放開後，吸引了一些全球大型賭博公司的數十億美元投資，包括拉斯維加斯金沙集團(Las Vegas Sands)、永利度假村(Wynn Resorts)和米高梅公司(MGM Mirage)。拉斯維加斯金沙集團在彈丸之地的澳門經營着兩家最大的賭場。該公司已遭遇償債困難，並在去年末擱置了澳門一個擴建項目。
拉斯維加斯金沙集團由謝爾登•埃德森(Sheldon Adelson)控制，正考慮分拆其澳門資產在香港證交所上市。
擁有55萬人口的澳門，依賴於中國內地的遊客。
但中國政府自2008年年中以來收緊了進入澳門的簽證發放。
一家投資銀行的賭博業分析師說：“關鍵是看7月如何。下半年多少會有些反彈出現。”
6月份開業的新濠天地(City of Dreams)加劇了澳門各賭場的壓力，促使上半年澳門各賭場的接待能力增加了14%。新濠天地是一個合資項目，由何鴻燊的兒子何猷龍(Lawrence Ho)和澳大利亞的詹姆斯·帕克(James Packer)共同投資。
