Starting in late August, Asian casino news was to be Macao-controlled and the Venetian Macao resort opened, but it was Melco International Development, James Packer's publishing and broadcasting joint partner, that made the biggest headlines as the global credit crunch began.

Packer's casino plans in Macao were clearly disrupted by the high cost of borrowing money. Publishing & Broadcasting and its joint partner Melco International Development say it has borrowed $1 billion ($1.2 billion) less than planned to build and develop a City of Dreams casino and entertainment resort in Macau. The money would be enough to build almost every part of the casino, 85,000 square feet of retail space, and the 366-room Hard Rock Hotel and the Crown Tower Hotel in Kotai. You can also build the Grand Hyatt Macau Twin Towers Hotel and the 1,700-seat Dream's Theater. MPEL will need more money in its plans to build a $353 million apartment-hotel complex in City of Dreams by 2009.

If it looks like bad news for MPEL, it doesn't seem to have affected the stock price, and it's up 40% less than a month after hitting a low of $8.98. It closed at HK$13.26 on Friday, September 7.

Venice opened in time with 3,000 hotels, theaters, and sports stadiums in what is said to be the world's second largest building by floor space. Analysts estimate that if Venice succeeds, it could double Macau's annual gaming revenue to $13.7 billion by 2010.

The Taiwanese government plans to issue three casino licenses in other parts of Asia. According to the proposal, the maximum permit period was set at 20 years, and operators would have to pay a fee equal to 40% of their revenue. Foreign investors will be limited to 60% of their shares in such ventures.

Another Asian country considering casino legislation is Japan, and American Steve Wynn may ask his old friend Kazuo Okada for help. Wynn asked Kazuo Okada for help in 2000 when the gambling mogul needed cash to fund a Las Vegas casino like him. Okada can now be the ace who lifts Wynn's arm in the Japanese businessman's domestic market. Wynn, Las Vegas Sands, and Australian publishing and broadcasting companies are among the companies pushing to open casinos in Japan. The government is considering a bill that could be approved within the next 12 months. 바다이야기

Goa, on the other side of Asia, was in the news regularly last month. Tourism, religion, agriculture, fishing, and the "Casino King of Nepal" in the United States and a 13-m-long casino boat. The problem is that 500 fishermen and about 5,000 dependents will survive on income generated from their armed Riversal fishery resources, and the river dredging needed for 13-metre long casino boats will destroy their livelihoods. How many tables, machines, customers and staff can a 13-meter-long casino boat accommodate? MV Carabella is the only vessel currently in operation. The yacht is 215 feet (65.5 meters) long and can accommodate 300 people. There are 11 table games.