history

A failed or neglected city springs to mind when walking around Macau during the day time. Around the outskirts of the Islands the doors of modern buildings never seem to open. Hotel restaurants tend to sole customers with reluctance: public gardens remain empty except for the lone tramp rooting around in the bins, roads remain unsullied with tyre tracks and the silence is loud all around. Inside and up the hill cracked and uneven pathways run along to meet the next, weeds compliment the falling cement on graying walls.

Like everyone else creating content about Macau these days, we've been confronted with the usage question -- what's the right way to spell the name? Macau? or Macao?

It's actually more complicated than it may seem...

Choosing Sides

There's a lot of division on this subject. Even the big names in the news industry can't seem to agree. The Washington Post: Macau. The New York Times: Macao. The Associated Press: Macau.

Situated 60 kilometers west of Hong Kong on the Chinese mainland, Macau was colonized by the Portuguese in the 16th century, and the Portuguese influence is evident to this day. In fact it was in 1553 that Portugal established a trading post in Macau, as a center for trading with China, Japan and areas of South East Asia. It was the first settlement that Europeans established in the Far East.

The risk takers see no bounds. And neither does gambling. The origins of gambling cannot be traced to one country or region in particular. Gambling is an age old practice. Though its concentration in the United States is higher, its popularity is evenly distributed. With betting in sports and the advent of international and national lotteries, gambling has found new vistas across the globe.