双语新闻:澳门上半年赌场收入下滑12.4%

【英文原文】

Macao casino revenues fall

摘要：自2002年澳门赌业开放竞争以来，这个全球最大赌博市场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.

【中文译文】

自2002年澳门赌业开放竞争以来，这个全球最大赌博市场的年度收入可能首次下滑。

靠近香港的中国特别行政区澳门报告，其上半年赌场收入下滑12.4%，至514亿澳门元（64亿美元）。

如果这种趋势在访澳游客减少20%的推动下持续下去，今年将出现7年来首次萎缩。7年前，赌王何鸿燊在澳门赌场的垄断经营权被打破。

澳门赌场经营权放开后，吸引了一些全球大型赌博公司的数十亿美元投资，包括拉斯维加斯金沙集团(Las Vegas Sands)、永利度假村(Wynn Resorts)和米高梅公司(MGM Mirage)。拉斯维加斯金沙集团在弹丸之地的澳门经营着两家最大的赌场。该公司已遭遇偿债困难，并在去年末搁置了澳门一个扩建项目。

拉斯维加斯金沙集团由谢尔登•埃德森(Sheldon Adelson)控制，正考虑分拆其澳门资产在香港证交所上市。

拥有55万人口的澳门，依赖于中国内地的游客。

但中国政府自2008年年中以来收紧了进入澳门的签证发放。

一家投资银行的赌博业分析师说：“关键是看7月如何。下半年多少会有些反弹出现。”

6月份开业的新濠天地(City of Dreams)加剧了澳门各赌场的压力，促使上半年澳门各赌场的接待能力增加了14%。新濠天地是一个合资项目，由何鸿燊的儿子何猷龙(Lawrence Ho)和澳大利亚的詹姆斯·帕克(James Packer)共同投资。