Nevada Tourism Craps Out in Beijing

The Nevada Tourism Bureau will close its office in Beijing after 11 years, reflecting a change both in government priorities in the global gaming landscape, the Associated Press reported Tuesday. 

Nevada will remain engaged with the Chinese market and will re-launch its tourism efforts later in the year, Claudia Vecchio, the state's tourism director, was quoted as saying. 

The office was opened in Beijing in part to try to maintain Las Vegas' appeal to Chinese travelers and gamblers, with closer options including Macau which expanded its licensing scheme in 2004, and Singapore which legalized gambling in 2005. Macau overtook Las Vegas as the world's gambling capital in 2007. The Special Administrative Region generated USD 44 billion in gaming revenue in 2014  and that was during its first year-on-year drop in gambling growth since 2004. 

Las Vegas could boost its image with Chinese travelers, many of whom are now eligible for the recent streamlined, 10-year US visa, and among those wishing to avoid the government scrutiny that an appearance in a Macau casino might generate.

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Photo: Poker Ground

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I guess chinese gamblers are busy enough losing their moneyi n the shanghai a-shares market

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