Khiatani Bandung J of Global South (2015) 1:8 DOI 10.1186/s40728-015-0024-8 RESEARCH Open Access Not just another crapshoot development: the challenges and opportunities of modelling after Las Vegas and Macao as an economic development strategy in the 21st century Paul Vinod Khiatani* *Correspondence:
[email protected] Abstract Department of Applied Recent decades highlight an extraordinary growth of casino gambling all over the Social Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, 83 world. In the race to build casino-cities, particularly to reap economic and social Tat Chee Ave, Kowloon, Hong benefits, most aspirers look to replicate the development models of the most famous Kong casino-cities known to date, Las Vegas and Macao. Countries that have modelled after the aforementioned casino-cities have had mix results of success; e.g., Singapore, which followed Macao, yielded considerable success, while other states of the US which modelled Las Vegas, such as Atlantic City, did not have as much luck. In this respect, the countries adhere to the words of the wise; “Standing on the shoulders of the giants”. Yet, perhaps explaining why no country can really replicate the successful development experiences of Las Vegas and Macao, most countries fail to see beyond the glitz and glamor to recognize the key challenges and opportunities that helped make Las Vegas and Macao; e.g., with respect to the presence of domestic organized crime groups. This paper delves deep into identifying the key actors and circumstances that made the aforementioned cities what they are today, elucidating the integral development strategies used during their formative years.