Leisure - Evening Entertainment

Thousands of visitors are drawn to Macau every day of the year. Satisfying the wants of each of those guests might seem quite a challenge for such a small city. The vast number of entertainment venues, however, is sure to surprise and delight all who spend leisure time here.

If dining out at a fancy restaurant is your wish, then sample some of the incredible ethnic dishes available: Chinese, Portuguese, Macanese , Thai and African. Some are located in the larger hotels, others are dotted throughout the city.

Evenings are always lively in the "Docas" area at the south end of the Macau peninsula! To find this region simply look eastward from the Nobre de Carvalho bridge for the twenty-metre-high bronze statue of Kun Iam, the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy. She stands on a lotus flower pedestal facing the NAPE gardens. This waterfront area has dozens of restaurants, cafes, bars and clubs which remain open until the early morning hours. Each establishment offers unique atmosphere, both indoors and out front at their sidewalk tables. A wide assortment of music styles can be heard as you walk by, so it is fun to stroll around the blocks before choosing your particular place to sit and relax. On given Fridays and Saturdays a live band will be performing!

For a different type of evening outing, go westward from the Nobre de Carvalho bridge to the new "Lam Gwai Fong" area. Here you can purchase food and beverages at the Nam Van Lake waterfront restaurants and find a comfortable place to sit and watch the Cybernetic Fountain. Small restaurants and shops on the other side of Avenida da Praia Grande also offer various ethnic foods and dazzling window shopping items.

Every evening, music accompanies a multicolour display of fountain fantasia! There's even a 80 meter high geyser!

So stay and relax, or enjoy a walk. Macau streets are alive at night! Either proceed east and north toward the Leal Senado fountain, or go westward along (Avenida da Praia Grande) the old waterfront. You'll pass the big pink colored Government House first; behind it, and further along the waterfront at the base of the Portuguese Consul Residence, remnants of the old city fortifications can be seen. Continuing westward, kiosks are set up at the Sai Van Lake. Look up (literally!) ahead for the Macau Tower Convention and Entertainment Centre. Inside are several restaurants, including the 180o and the 360o (revolving) at the top of the tower. Also available on a lower level is a wine bar with a fashionable selection.
Ground level restaurants offer outdoor seating on the waterfront promenade at the base of the tower. Usually recorded music plays, but live entertainers also appear there. It is a nice spot to sip a beverage, savor the flavours of local cuisine, and watch the lights bobbing up and down as boats of all sizes pass by.

In the mood for flashy cabaret style entertainment? There are several shows every night at Macau's numerous hotels and casinos containing nightclubs. You'll also find famous high-profile entertainers, Portuguese folk dancing, disc jockey discotheques and live dance bands, depending on the place you choose. The casinos stay open 24 hours a day to give everyone a chance to try his or her luck at blackjack, baccarat, roulette, or Chinese "fantan" and "dai-siu." You can even find a floating casino near the Macau Ferry Terminal!

Macau is a gambler's paradise! Besides the casinos' evening activities, Taipa's horse racing track is open for racing under the lights! If you'd rather watch canines charging around the track, then visit the Canodrome on the Macau peninsula.

If movies are your preferred night time activity, the 4th level of the Convention and Entertainment Centre has a cinema complex. Another, slightly older cinema centre is located next to the Sao Francisco Garden and the Military Club.

Horse Racing

The Macau Jockey Club is equipped with modern facilities and has assembled a cosmopolitan group of trainers, riders and administrators, while horses are being imported from several countries in order to provide racing of international standards. With private boxed and air conditioned grandstand, club members and public can enjoy the races, whether watching them live, on the giant Diamond Vision or the closed circuit television monitors. Chinese and European restaurants are available.

Greyhound Racing

Greyhound Racing is held on Mondays, Thursdays and weekends starting from 8pm and there are 14 games on every racing evening.

Admission is 2 patacas for the public stand and 5 patacas for the members' stand. Boxes for six people cost 80 patacas and a VIP room costs 25 patacas.

An off-course betting shop is located on the G/F of the Hotel Lisboa, Jai-Alai Palace and "Macau Palace" Casino.

Island's Weekly Fair

The Island's Weekly Fair takes place in a pituresque area of Taipa Island, in the Village Centre, between Bombeiros Square and Camoes Square. There are 125 booths selling traditional crafts and souvenirs, food and beverages, brand items and trifles, clothes, toys and other products. From 4:00p.m. to 5:00p.m. there are cultural and recreational events at Maia de Magalhaes Square

Golf

The Macau Golf & Country Club, located on the southern side of Coloane island, is one of the most beautiful golf courses in Asia open to locals and foreigners. With a uinque view over the Pearl River and the Hac Sa Beach.

Karting Track

Built by the Macau Government and managed by Macao Motorsport Club. This track is over reclaimed land opposite Seac Pai Van Park. It has floodlights, a choice of seven different circuits and paddocks for more than 200 karts. It opens daily from 10am to 6:30pm.

Macau Casino

The casinos in hotels (e.g. Lisboa, Mandarin, Hyatt, and Kingsway), and in entertainment centers such as Jai-Alai and the Macau Jockey Club, together with the Floating Palace, offer probably the widest range of casino games in the world, including baccarat, blackjack, roulette, boule, craps, "big and small", fan-tan, 12 numbers, and of course, hundreds of the most glittering array of slot machines anywhere.

The legal age for gambling in Macau is 21 for local residents and 18 for tourists. Visitors to the casinos should read the sign at each entrance, urging players to chance only what they can spare at the gaming table. Winners are not obliged to tip, but croupiers will usually deduct about 10% of the winnings.

The major games found in the casinos are :

Baccarat
The minimum bet on baccarat is $100. Maximum bets on baccarat are depending on the table. Maximum payout on any game of baccarat is $60,000 for the table.

Blackjack
The casinos operate several kinds of Blackjack tables - some with minimum bets of $20 and others with minimum bets of $100. The maximum bet on any game is $1,000 or $3,000 depending on the table.

Roulette
The roulette tables in Macau are similar to those found in casinos elsewhere in the world. The wheels in Macau carry only one zero.

The minimum bet on any roulette number is $1 and $5. Bets of a minimum of $20 may also be placed on quarter divisions of the wheel, with the exception of zero, which is held by the bank on such bets. Players are provided with a chart bearing a reproduction of the wheel, showing the sequence of the numbers, the colours and the quarter divisions. The chart also lists winning numbers from the last several games at the table.

Boule
The major difference between boule and roulette is the use of a large ball on the wheel - which carries a series of indentations rather than distinct divisions as seen on the roulette wheel. The 25 numbers on the boule table are also divided into sections to allow a variety of betting combinations. The minimum bet on boule is $20.

Fan Tan
This is an intriguing and very ancient Chinese game using porcelain buttons. In the game, the croupier plunges an inverted silver cup into a pile of buttons on the table. He then moves the cup containing a number of buttons to one side. After bets are placed the cup is lifted and the buttons counted off in groups of 4 until either one, two, three or four buttons are left at the end of the count. Bets are made before the count left at the end of the count. Cash bets are placed on the table on the numerals 1,2,3 or 4; odds or evens, corners or on divisions between numbers.

Big and Small (Dai-Siu)
This is another Chinese game based on the throwing of 3 dice under a covered glass canister. Players may place cash bets on the table for dice values they think will come up when the dice are thrown. They may also bet on whether the combined dice will have a "big" value or a "small" table. House rules stipulate that if your bet is placed by another person and is put on a number other than the one you have requested, and this number loses, it is accepted that you have lost the game.

If dice are cocked or obstructed in any way, the game is canceled and the dice must be thrown again. If the dice show exactly the same value (for example, all 3 or all 4) no player wins and the banker takes all except if you have bet directly on 3 of a kind.

Slot Machines
Slot Machines are available in a variety of forms in all casinos. Popularly known in Macau as ¡§hungry tigers" most machines operate on either Macau $1 or HK$1 coins. Tokens are available from the money changers' desks.

Tombola
Tombola fans can enjoy the fun of the game every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, from 8:00 pm to 11:30 pm, at Jai-Alai Palace on Macau Outer Harbour and every Saturday, Sunday and on Hong Kong public holidays (except Mondays), from 3:00 pm to 6:30 pm at Mona Lisa Hall, at Hotel Lisboa new wing.

Football Lottery
SLOT-Sociedade de Lotarias e Apostas Mutuas de Macau, Lda. operates football lottery, providing handicap-goal and odds, and accepts bets on selected football mactched drawn from important League and Cup matches. Minimum bet per cash betting is $100; minimum bet per Telephone-betting is $200. The Betting Centres are located at: Macau Jocky Club, Hotel Lisboa Lobby, Jai Alai Palace, Canidrome and Wing Heng Pacapio Centre.

Besides of the above games, there are also other various games for your choices.