Vegas vs Macau (crime, best, life, people)

[beiyang]

Which city do you prefer and why? I like Macau more simply because of the legal brothels .

[Tiger Beer]

Originally Posted by beiyang

Which city do you prefer and why?

I've spent time in both, and Las Vegas is by far the more interesting city in every respect.

The saddest thing about Macau, is you'll be very hard-pressed to find hold'em poker games. Only two casinos even offer it, and they aren't running most of the time either.

Generally speaking, most of the casino games in Macau only offer what Chinese people like to play, so you don't see Poker. Also, most of the games in Macau are heavily geared in favor of the house. Not that all casino games aren't like that anyways, but the types of games they play in Macau, are games that heavily favored by the house to win.

On top of that, there is just an amazing international meets california in the desert feel of Las Vegas that is very attractive. Macau isn't very international, it's seemingly at least 95% chinese. I also remember how it was nearly impossible to find a tourist t-shirt that says 'macau', but you'll have a gazillion 'gold and jewelry' types shops absolutely everywhere.

Just a ton of little things that Macau lacks for a more international audience. I find better casinos in Manila, for example, and a heck of a lot more poker in Manila, than in Macau, for example.

[LondonAreaWeatherSummary]

I hear if you get on the wrong side of the casinos in Macau they dont mess about when dealing with you.

[Trimac20]

I'm the opposite of Tiger Beer. I find Macau interesting, but not for the casinos. In fact we didn't even go to any casinos or gamble, apart from setting foot in the lobby of one casino, I think it was the Sands. This was 6 years ago (December 2006) and I hear that Macau has grown a lot since then, with the construction of many new casinos.

No, what interested me about Macau was of course the colonial architecture (old Catholic churches, the piazza.etc, all unique in China) and just the overall feel of it. Still an Asian city but with a lot of the colonial charm. Pretty laid back, I felt. Loved just exploring the UNESCO heritage listed town site while feasting on local sweets like Portuguese egg tarts (almost worth going to Macau for this alone) and milk pudding. The Macanese (mixed Portuguese and Chinese) culture and cuisine is very unique and interesting.

In contrast, Vegas felt like a big theme park. It was cool just to VISIT it - I spent all day in the scorching desert heat (it was close to 110F) walking down the strip and having a look in most casinos. Vegas just feels like PURELY a gambling/entertainment mecca, while Macau is so much more, and is actually a bit underlooked. I actually preferred it to Hong Kong. Vegas was founded in the early 20th century and didn't really get going until the 50s I think. I was also the victim of petty crime in Vegas. Overall if you ask me to spend a week in either, I would pick Macau in a heartbeat.

[choroneko]

Trimac, I agree with you!

Overall-wise, Macau is much more interesting, and has much more to offer aside from casinos, resorts and prostitution.
And Macau has DELICIOUS street food.

[Trimac20]

Originally Posted by choroneko

Trimac, I agree with you!

Overall-wise, Macau is much more interesting, and has much more to offer aside from casinos, resorts and prostitution.
And Macau has DELICIOUS street food.

I would recommend Macau for anyone visiting Hong Kong or southern China for that matter, even if they're not into gambling.

When we visited a Formula One race was going on. While most of the track was barricaded to block our view, at parts we could see the cars racing by, and of course the sound of those F1 cars is pretty incredible and could be heard from all over the city.

[Tiger Beer]

Originally Posted by Trimac20

No, what interested me about Macau was of course the colonial architecture (old Catholic churches, the piazza.etc, all unique in China) and just the overall feel of it. Still an Asian city but with a lot of the colonial charm. Pretty laid back, I felt. Loved just exploring the UNESCO heritage listed town site while feasting on local sweets like Portuguese egg tarts (almost worth going to Macau for this alone) and milk pudding. The Macanese (mixed Portuguese and Chinese) culture and cuisine is very unique and interesting.

Actually, that's what I did like about Macau! Pretty much everything except the casinos I loved the colonial architecture and general feel of the city. Loved walking around a lot.

Las Vegas lacks that part....but the casinos are an interesting attraction in themselves. Vegas as a city isn't that interesting, however the scenery around it is is amazing - Mt. Charleston, Red Rock Canyon (I think is the name?) and others. It's in an interesting area.

But, if someone said, which city would you rather walk around in, I'd say Macau all the way!

[Trimac20]

Originally Posted by Tiger Beer

Actually, that's what I did like about Macau! Pretty much everything except the casinos I loved the colonial architecture and general feel of the city. Loved walking around a lot.

Las Vegas lacks that part....but the casinos are an interesting attraction in themselves. Vegas as a city isn't that interesting, however the scenery around it is is amazing - Mt. Charleston, Red Rock Canyon (I think is the name?) and others. It's in an interesting area.

But, if someone said, which city would you rather walk around in, I'd say Macau all the way!

This seems to contradict what you said before:

I've spent time in both, and Las Vegas is by far the more interesting city in every respect..

I agree the scenery around Vegas is great...driving into the city from the west is an experience I won't forget. Once you take away the city Vegas is, I have to say, one of the dumpiest cities I saw in America. So that's why I was a bit surprised about your comments before. I could understand if you preferred Vegas as a gambling destination, but generally people don't say how Vegas is a great city in all respects.

[Tiger Beer]

Originally Posted by Trimac20

This seems to contradict what you said before:



I agree the scenery around Vegas is great...driving into the city from the west is an experience I won't forget. Once you take away the city Vegas is, I have to say, one of the dumpiest cities I saw in America. So that's why I was a bit surprised about your comments before. I could understand if you preferred Vegas as a gambling destination, but generally people don't say how Vegas is a great city in all respects.

Yeah, well, the walkability in Macau was one respect I hadn't thought about so much

But for everything else....Vegas doesn't have much of a downtown....but it does have world class everything else - food, entertainment, pretty much everything.

I also like the housing of Vegas...all of the Mediterranean-style housing...and most of it is very new. But, you need a car for it all with Vegas.

There are much dumpier cities in the U.S....Vegas is quite new with a lot of new housing....I'd love to have a house in Vegas over most other U.S. cities. But it lacks in other things - i.e. education isn't highly valued and few universities/colleges in the Vegas area. Not much of a diversified economy.

I actually like the city though. If someone said would you rather go to Vegas for a week or Macau for a week, I'd go with Vegas immediately without hesitation.

[Trimac20]

Originally Posted by Tiger Beer

Yeah, well, the walkability in Macau was one respect I hadn't thought about so much

But for everything else....Vegas doesn't have much of a downtown....but it does have world class everything else - food, entertainment, pretty much everything.

I also like the housing of Vegas...all of the Mediterranean-style housing...and most of it is very new. But, you need a car for it all with Vegas.

There are much dumpier cities in the U.S....Vegas is quite new with a lot of new housing....I'd love to have a house in Vegas over most other U.S. cities. But it lacks in other things - i.e. education isn't highly valued and few universities/colleges in the Vegas area. Not much of a diversified economy.

I actually like the city though. If someone said would you rather go to Vegas for a week or Macau for a week, I'd go with Vegas immediately without hesitation.

I wanted to take a bus to the Fremont Street Experience where I thought I might've left my camera, but the route went just a few blocks from the Strip. I started to get worried because it looked like I'd ended up in the ghetto. Cheap, run-down housing, lots of sad looking liquor stores, empty shopfronts.

Don't want to sound racist, but when waiting at the bus stop for another bus a black guy comes up to me, asks if I wanna buy this phone for $20. I tell him repeatedly no thanks, but he won't take no for an answer, so I give in and hand him $20. Says he has to just call someone first and will be back in a minute. Disappears into a store and doesn't come out for a good 10 minutes. My bus comes and I just get on. I wasn't going to go in and follow him and demand my money back, I just chalked it up as a good life lesson.

To be honest, see one casino, seen 'em all. Just more gambling, really. I considered seeing one of the floor-shows, but didn't end up seeing it.

Macau just has more of what I prefer - history, culture - Vegas is very plastic. Best experience for me I think was the buffet.