Macao's gaming revenue exceeds Las Vegas Strip's

Macao's gaming revenue surged 22% in 2006, surpassing the Las Vegas Strip as the world's biggest casino market.

The Chinese city's gambling industry reaped $6.95 billion in revenue, according to the website of the industry regulator. Analysts estimate that the Las Vegas Strip took in $6.5 billion to $6.6 billion last year.

Macao's gambling revenue started to surge in 2004, when Sheldon Adelson's Las Vegas Sands Corp. and Galaxy Casino ended the four-decade monopoly of billionaire Stanley Ho. Foreign investors are staking $20 billion on making the city, a former Portuguese colony, into the gambling capital of Asia.