Macau's landscape shows the far reach of human ambition - land reclamations have joined up the two islands of Coloane and Taipa to make a gambling and shopping sprawl called the Cotai Strip. Flashy casinos and garish hotels tower over what was once a sleepy trading town at the mouth of south China's Pearl River Delta. But now some of those towers stand half-finished, the sound of building work has gone. Only dust and concrete remain.

Despite a nationwide economic slowdown, Louisiana’s state-licensed casinos won nearly USD 208 million from gamblers in October, an increase over the same period last year, state police reported Tuesday at a Louisiana Gaming Control Board meeting in Baton Rouge. Revenue was up for the year at all New Orleans-area casinos except Harrah’s New Orleans, the state’s only land-based casino.

New York (AP) -- A JPMorgan analyst reduced some casino operators' estimates Monday, partly on a slowdown in Las Vegas spending and Macau revenue growth. Analyst Joseph Greff said in a client note that Wynn Resorts Ltd. is still well-positioned due to its solid balance sheet, assets and strong project funding, but investors may be nervous about the opening of its Encore resort in Las Vegas later in the year given current economic conditions.

Buffeted by a down economy and rising gas prices, casinos in neighboring Connnecticut and Rhode Island are turning to the gambling world’s equivalent of a sale - free slot-machine play. In a bid to keep their customers coming from Massachusetts and other key feeder markets, Rhode Island’s revamped Twin River racino and Connecticut’s Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun are offering players coupons for free slot-machine play.