China's 'Las Vegas' is leaving billionaires behind in favor of the rising middle class — see inside the $3.4 billion mega-casino leading the charge

MGM Cotai

• The gambling capital of the world is Macau, an autonomous region in China, with gaming revenues more than three times that of Las Vegas.
• The city made its name catering to high-spending VIPs from China, but casino giants have had to change their strategy due to a corruption crackdown and directives from the Chinese government. 
• MGM China opened its new $3.4 billion mega casino-resort earlier this year to appeal to China's rising middle class, with a $100 million theater, priceless art, and a high-end spa, among other features.
• I visited the resort recently. It was clear that gambling was hidden away while MGM was trying to sell a new kind of luxury to its guests.

Americans might be surprised to find out that the gambling capital of the world isn’t Las Vegas.

It's Macau.

Gambling revenue in the former Portugeuse colony topped $33 billion last year, more than three times the revenue generated by Las Vegas casinos. 

It's a stunning turnaround for the city, which became a gambling mecca for the millionaires and billionaires created by China's economic rise. Global gambling giants Steve Wynn, Las Vegas Sands, and MGM all jumped in to feed the demand.

But, starting around 2013, revenue started to dry up as President Xi Jinping led a crackdown on corruption in the Communist Party, scaring off the VIPs who drove casino revenue.

Gaming revenue has come back as the crackdown has eased, but this time around its the crowds driving the revenue, not the VIPs. That, along with the Chinese government's directives that Macau needs to broaden its scope away from gambling, has changed the strategy for casinos.

In February, MGM China opened its $3.4 billion bet on the new face of Macau — the one based around family-oriented tourism and appealing to China's middle class, which is projected to grow from 430 million to over 780 million in the next decade.

The MGM Cotai is a 35-story, 1,390-room casino-resort that takes the focus off gambling and towards features like  a $100 million theater that change into multiple configurations — from fashion show to concert to nightclub — as well as a $12.7 million collection of contemporary and traditional Asian art, nine high-end restaurants, and a world-class spa with “singing bowl” massages.

“Our strategic plan is built on catering to this tremendously emerging more-affluent Chinese customer, a customer that’s looking for more experimental experiences, not just a selfie moment or a gaming table," MGM CEO James Murren said.

I was recently invited to the MGM Cotai for two-day art symposium to show off the resort’s extensive art collection, as well as try out the various features and facilities — here’s what it was like.

The MGM Cotai is located in Macau, which I accessed by ferry from Hong Kong. More specifically, the resort is on Cotai, a 2-mile strip of reclaimed land where casino giants have sought to create a new Las Vegas Strip of diversified mega casino-resorts offering everything from amusement parks to a mechanized dragon.

The MGM is surrounded by massive casino-resorts like Steve Wynn's Wynn Palace and City of Dreams Macau. There are more than 10 casino-resorts on "the Strip."

Opulence is the name of the game. The golden lion in front of the MGM Cotai weighs 38 tons, is 33 feet tall, and made from 32,000 sheets of 24-karat gold foil.

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