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Macau China Travel Service （Zhuhai） Co.,Ltd., Changsheng Road, Xiangzhou, Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, China

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Macau China Travel Service （Zhuhai） Co.,Ltd., Changsheng Road, Xiangzhou, Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, China

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Macau China Travel Service （Zhuhai） Co.,Ltd., Changsheng Road, Xiangzhou, Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, China

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A lot of people compare Macau, China to Las Vegas, Nevada because of the many casinos they offer.  Linked here is an article comparing the two of them.

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Heads up: some of the links on this site are affiliate links. If you click and make a booking or purchase, I'll make a commission (at no extra cost to you). I partner with companies I personally use and the $$ goes towards creating more awesome, free travel content.
One of the only places in the world with legalized casino gambling Macau is a gambling mecca. Las Vegas is famous for its casinos, but Macau has the world's highest stake in gambling. It's built up an impressive casino industry in its corner of the world.

Las Vegas and Macau are two of the world's most famous cities and are popular destinations for millions of people each year. But which is the capital of the world of casino gambling? The answer is both, as Las Vegas and Macau are cities where casinos are regularly visited by gamblers, but they are not the same. Las Vegas is a city famous for its giant casinos, shows, and hotels such as the famous Bellagio Hotel. The same can be said of Macau, with many high rollers roaming through its giant casinos.

Gambling is an activity that many take part in, either through physical casinos or online gambling at sites with great bonuses like Casino Secret. Still, it's nice to go to a gambling mecca every once in a while.

In a list of cities with the best gambling in the world, Macau and Las Vegas are always at the top. Below are some facts about Las Vegas and Macau as well as some casino information to help you decide which is the capital of gambling.

Income equation

Income is one of the most important things to consider when talking about this topic. At first glance, Macau looks to be at a disadvantage, since it is about three times smaller than its American counterpart. However, the population of the two cities is almost the same.

Although Macau is much smaller than the city and has less space for huge casino complexes, its gaming revenue is three times that of Las Vegas, which is pretty impressive.

Out of the entire $6.4 billion gross gaming revenue of Las Vegas, 34% comes straight from the casino games themselves. The rest comes from hotel rooms and restaurants. On the other hand, Macao's SGR amounts to USD 28.04 billion. Out of that money, Macau city receives about $12 billion, about twice as much as Las Vegas generates.

Moreover, Macau's revenues continue to rise every year. Last year, sales rose 23.7%, exceeding growth projections of 15-20%.

What is the tax on casinos?

Casino taxes are the main source of revenue for gaming cities. They need to find the right balance between taking enough to keep growing, but not taking too much or they will alienate the casino operators.

The monthly tax rate in Las Vegas for gambling is 6.75% of the MBR, which isn't too bad. However, Las Vegas also charges casinos a flat annual fee of $250 per slot machine if there are more than 15.

In addition, federal income taxes range from 15% to 39%, depending on various factors, and additional fees apply. So it's not that easy to run a gambling business in Vegas.

Macau, on the other hand, has decided to keep things as simple as possible. The gambling industry has to pay 40% of its gross revenue in taxes to the city, and that's a lot. In total, 78% of Macao's revenue comes from gambling taxes.

Demographic factors play a role

One of the main reasons why Macau is supplanting Las Vegas as the gambling capital of the world is its demographics. Specifically, two-thirds of Macau's visitors come from China.

China is a growing economy, and people like to spend money on things they couldn't afford before. In addition, they also have an enormous number of visitors each year, owing to China's massive 1.3 billion-strong population.

On the other hand, 49% of visitors to Las Vegas come from the western United States. The rest comes from abroad, mainly from Western Europe. Many visitors from Las Vegas come here for family or sightseeing. Along the way, they make a few bets but don't go overboard, which means Vegas earns much less money from tourists than Macau.

The debate about which is the true gambling capital of the world still rages on. The truth is, no one knows. One could argue that both of these cities have been doing business in the gambling industry for decades. Both of these cities have their fair share of casinos, but there is still no definitive answer as to which city deserves the title.

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Macau vs. Las Vegas: Which Is the Capital of Casino Gambling?

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Heads up: some of the links on this site are affiliate links. If you click and make a booking or purchase, I'll make a commission (at no extra cost to you). I partner with companies I personally use and the $$ goes towards creating more awesome, free travel content.

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Venice, Metropolitan City of Venice, Italy

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Venice, Metropolitan City of Venice, Italy

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Venice, Metropolitan City of Venice, Italy

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https://newsforkids.net/articles/2018/05/10/venice-has-too-many-tourists/

This connects to this lesson because the students are finding what Nevada is famous for. One thing Nevada is famous for is tourism. This connects because Venice, Italy is a very tourist place.

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I chose to do global connections on two different areas around the world, one being the Sahara desert for the dryness and desert reasoning, and one being mount everest for the mountains reasoning. Both these locations have aspects that Nevada also has, but also doesn’t. The Sahara Desert is one of the driest places on this earth and Nevada is the driest state in the United States. Nevada also has mountains but unlike Mt. Everest, Nevada is hot and Mt. Everest is snowy.
https://www.dogonews.com/2020/6/30/godzilla-dust-cloud-from-the-sahara-desert-blankets-parts-of-the-united-states

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Dust from the Sahara Desert, blown across the Atlantic Ocean, creates hazy skies in Puerto Rico (Credit: NSW Cleveland/Twitter)

A massive dust cloud that had been journeying 5,000 miles from the Sahara Desert across the Atlantic Ocean since June 15, 2020, finally hit the United States mainland on June 26, 2020. Nicknamed "Godzilla," the 3,500 mile-long plume broke into two chunks, thanks to the split in the mid-levels of the atmosphere.

One part drifted northwards towards the Plains States and the Midwest before moving up to the Canadian border on Monday, June 29, 2020. While cities like Minneapolis and Chicago witnessed hazier than usual skies over the past weekend, the dust had diffused and thinned out substantially by the time it reached the areas. However, the second batch of dust, which lingered over Texas, the Carolinas, and Florida for a couple of days, was thick enough to pose health risks to residents, causing authorities to recommend they stay indoors, if possible. Fortunately, the dust has since moved towards the tropical Eastern Pacific Ocean, where it will eventually dump its swirling mass of particles.

The "Saharan Air Layer" is not an entirely unknown phenomenon. Each year, windstorms pick up182 million tons of sand - enough to fill 689,290 semi-trucks - from the Sahara Desert. The sand cloud's ultimate destination depends on the time of the year. In the winter and spring, the winds usually direct the dust plumes to land directly in the Amazon rainforest in South America. In the summer, it sends them towards North America.

This "true-color" composite animation of visible satellite imagery shows the movement of the Saharan Dust plume from June 15 to 25, 2020. It was captured by the VIIRS instrument aboard NASA/NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite. The bright streaks seen at regular intervals are due to sun glinting off the ocean surface (Credit: NASA/NOAA, Colin Seftor)

However, the dust layer, which begins about one mile into the atmosphere and extends upward for about two miles, typically disperses by the time it reaches the US coast, leaving little visible impact. But this year the cloud was unusually large both in volume and density. "In terms of concentration and density and size, it is the most dust we've seen in 50 or 60 years," Pablo Méndez Lázaro, an environmental health researcher at the University of Puerto Rico, told The Atlantic.

Though the massive amounts of sand can result in respiratory issues, especially among those that suffer from allergies, it does have some benefits. For one, it results in spectacular sunrises and sunsets. "Typically, you lose the blue sky for more hazy, milky sky," Dr. J Marshall Shepherd, director of the Atmospheric Sciences Program at the University of Georgia, told NPR. "You tend to see more vivid sunsets and sunrises because of the scattering properties of the dust interacting with the sunlight." The dry, dusty storms also help prevent massive hurricanes from forming over the Atlantic Ocean, by soaking up the moist, storm-friendly air.

And that is not all. The large amounts of minerals and nutrients in the sand help fuel the local ecosystems in which it lands. The Saharan dust storms are believed to be an essential source of phosphorus for plants in the Amazon rainforest, particularly those growing high up in the Amazon canopy. Some researchers believe the dust storms are also responsible for the beautiful coral reef that encrusts the Bahamas. They assert that the waters around the islands lack the nutrients to create such an oasis.

What is unclear, however, is the effect the current dust plume will have on Pacific Ocean ecosystems, given that they are typically untouched by the yearly sand migration. A 2001 study by the University of South Florida suggests that the deluge of nutrients, particularly iron, could result in a proliferation of algal blooms that cover the water's surface and deplete large areas of oxygen, causing harm to marine animals. Hopefully, that will not be the case!

Resources: TheAtlantic.com,NPR.org, ScientificAmerican.com,CBSnews.com

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"Godzilla" Dust Cloud From The Sahara Desert Blankets Parts Of The United States

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A massive dust cloud that had been journeying 5,000 miles from the Sahara Desert across the Atlantic Ocean since June 15, 2020, finally hit the United States mainland on June 26, 2020. Nicknamed "Godzilla," the 3,500 mile-long plume broke into two chunks, thanks to the split in the mid-levels of the atmosphere.

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I chose to do global connections on two different areas around the world, one being the Sahara desert for the dryness and desert reasoning, and one being mount everest for the mountains reasoning. Both these locations have aspects that Nevada also has, but also doesn’t. The Sahara Desert is one of the driest places on this earth and Nevada is the driest state in the United States. Nevada also has mountains but unlike Mt. Everest, Nevada is hot and Mt. Everest is snowy. https://www.dogonews.com/2019/11/18/nepalese-mountaineer-nirmal-nims-purja-conquers-worlds-14-highest-peaks-in-six-months

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Nirmal "Nims" Purja shattered the existing world record by climbing 14 Himalayan mountain peaks in 189 days (Credit: Nirmal 'Nims' Purja, Bremont Project Possible)

Though thousands of adventurers have scaled Mount Everest, the highest and most famous of the world's 14 tallest mountains, only 40 climbers have conquered them all. Located in Asia's Himalayan and Karakoram ranges, the "eight-thousanders" each stand over 8,000 meters (26,247 feet) tall, above the so-called "death zone," where the amount of oxygen is insufficient to sustain human life for an extended period.

On October 29, 2019, Nepalese mountaineer Nirmal "Nims" Purja, joined the elite group of climbers when he reached the 8,028-meter (26,340-foot) peak of China's Mt. Shishapangma. Even more remarkable, Purja accomplished this extraordinary feat in just six months and six days, faster than his own seven-month target and far surpassing late South Korean climber Kim Chang-ho's 2013 record of 7 years, ten months, and six days.

"I am overwhelmed and incredibly proud to have completed this final summit and achieved my goal of climbing the world's 14 tallest mountains in record time," Purja said in a statement. "It has been a grueling but humbling six months, and I hope to have proven that anything is possible with some determination, self-belief, and positivity."

Nirmal Purja's viral photo of the long line of climbers at Mt. Everest's peak in 2019 sparked worldwide debate (Credit: Nirmal 'Nims' Purja, Bremont Project Possible)

Purja's "Project Possible" started becoming a reality on April 23, 2019, when he successfully peaked Nepal's 8,091 meters (26,545 feet) tall Mt. Annapurna. The climber then rapidly completed the next five mountains, including Mt. Everest, within a short four weeks! Five more peaks were conquered in July and the last three mountains - the Cho Oyu, Manaslu, and Shishapangma - during September and October.

The adventurer, who was joined by teams of Nepalese climbers on each of his quests, encountered numerous memorable and tense moments during his epic journey. On April 23, 2019, while descending Mt. Annapurna, Purja and his team heard about a Malaysian climber who had been separated from his group with no food, water, or supplemental oxygen for over 40 hours. Determined to find him, they trekked back up to 7,500 meters (24,600 feet), where Dr. Chin Wui Kin was last seen. Though the climbers succeeded in locating and getting him airlifted to a hospital, Dr. Chin did not survive his injuries and passed away a few days later in Singapore. On May 15, 2019, Purja's team similarly helped three stranded climbers on Mt. Kanchenjunga by giving them their supplemental oxygen. Purja's viral photo of the "traffic jam" of climbers trying to get to the top of Mt. Everest on May 22, 2019, has sparked extensive discussions to restrict the number of climbers allowed to attempt the peak annually.

Locations of the 14 eight-thousanders in the Himalayan Mountain Range (Credit: SY /CC BY-SA 4.0/ Creativecommons.org)

In addition to the physical challenges of this unprecedented feat, Purja also had to overcome the financial burden of the expedition. "Climbing eight-thousanders is expensive. Take single expeditions that cost in the region of $65,000 and then multiply that by 14," Purja told DW.com. The 36-year-old raised the initial funds by taking a second mortgage on his house and the rest through a sponsorship from British watchmaker Bremont, a crowdfunding campaign, and by taking paying customers along on a few of his climbs.

Purja, who hails from a small Nepalese village, said his primary purpose for undertaking this enormous task was to show the world that anyone can attain greatness if they put their minds to it. "By achieving this goal, I knew I could inspire people from all generations across the world," he said.

Purja was also faced with the daunting task of raising funds for his unprecedented expedition (Credit: Nirmal 'Nims' Purja, Bremont Project Possible)

The mountaineer, who first rose to fame in 2017, when he scaled Mt. Everest and the neighboring Mt. Lhotse and Mt. Makalu in a record-breaking five days, is far from done. On November 18, 2019, the adventurer announced that in 2020, he will be leading climbers along an uncharted Nepalese route to the Cho Oyu, the world's sixth-highest mountain, which is currently accessible only through Tibet.

Resources: projectpossible.co.uk, CNN.com, DW.com, NPR.org

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Nepalese Mountaineer Nirmal "Nims" Purja Conquers World's 14 Highest Peaks in Six Months!

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Though thousands of adventurers have scaled Mount Everest, the highest and most famous of the world's 14 tallest mountains, only 40 climbers have conquered them all. Located in Asia's Himalayan and Karakoram ranges, the "eight-thousanders" each stand over 8,000 meters (26,247 feet) tall, above the so-called "death zone," where the amount of oxygen is insufficient to sustain human life for an extended period.

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Embassy of Zimbabwe in South Africa, Merton Avenue, Eastwood, Pretoria, South Africa

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Embassy of Zimbabwe in South Africa, Merton Avenue, Eastwood, Pretoria, South Africa

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Embassy of Zimbabwe in South Africa, Merton Avenue, Eastwood, Pretoria, South Africa

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Las Vegas is classified as having a subtropical climate. Zimbabwe is a country outside of the United States that also has a similar climate to Las Vegas. Students will be able to make connections from the United States to Zimbabwe just based off of them having the same climate orgin.