A billboard advertises Wynn Macau, currently under construction. Photo by JANE ANN MORRISON/REVIEW-JOURNAL Click image for enlargement. Graphic by Mike Johnson.

MACAU -- Something didn't seem quite right inside the Sands Macau. Something was amiss. Actually, something was missing.

There were plenty of gamblers; that wasn't the problem.

The baccarat tables were packed, although I didn't see the reported hordes of gamblers standing three, six or even eight deep to place a bet ... but it was a Thursday.

Suddenly it was obvious. Where were the sexy cocktail waitresses?

My instinct for observation pinpointed one of the leading differences between gamblers in Las Vegas and the bulk of Chinese gamblers in Macau.

Booze.

Chinese gamblers take gambling seriously. In Macau, they are there to gamble, not party.

So that's why there were no provocatively dressed cocktail servers. Instead, a guy in a coolie hat strolled around on the casino floor passing out hot tea.

During my one-day visit to Macau on my March vacation, I did what tourists do: I gawked and talked about how this was different from "back home," which in my case is Las Vegas.

People who say a casino is just a casino may be right, but when the customers are predominately Chinese instead of American, there are differences -- and not just the Tea Boys.

First obvious difference: Security.

At the Sands Macau -- which opened in 2004 and is the first gambling palace in this Chinese territory owned by a Las Vegas company -- gamblers went through a metal detector and had their bags searched before entering.

For me this was not routine and suggested something ominous. I'd heard of triads, Asian organized crime gangs. Was there a potential shootout ahead inside the Sands Macau?

A 1997 quote came to mind, when a Macau official in charge of security said tourists need not worry about getting caught in crossfire from warring triads because Macau had "professional killers who never miss their targets."

Turns out that the Macanese government requires metal detectors for all casinos, Las Vegas Sands Corp. President William Weidner told me upon my return.

Weidner has been visiting Macau since 1981. He was able to answer my questions and provide some perspective, both to the differences between gambling in Macau and Las Vegas, and the grand plans his company has for both Macau and Singapore, where I spent three days.

In Singapore, the Las Vegas Sands is one of 19 companies competing for two casino sites. A formal announcement Monday will reveal whether the Singapore government wants to legalize casino gambling, (Few expect the answer to be no.)

But unlike Macau, where there is developable land for many casino sites, Singapore has only two identified sites, each one big enough for just one operation. Competition is intense because the two companies that end up winning a site will share a monopoly in Singapore.

Back at the Sands Macau, I was still comparing and contrasting gambling in China with gambling in Nevada.

Two things were immediately obvious at the baccarat tables in Macau. First, baccarat was obviously the game of choice. Second, there were more women at the baccarat tables, and women of all ages. And there was a different style of play.

Good heavens, these baccarat players were bending their cards (a cardinal sin in Las Vegas); they were throwing cards at other players (also a no-no here); and they were yelling and laughing depending on their luck.

In Las Vegas, baccarat is typically sedate. In Macau, it seemed like more fun.

Another noticeable difference: Food.

The gourmet restaurants on the third floor weren't getting much business, but the fast-food places on the first floor were jammed.

Weidner helped me with that, too.

Most Macau gamblers are there for one day and they are there to gamble, not eat leisurely meals.

When more gamblers make the transition from Hong Kong day-trippers to destination resort visitors prepared to stay three or four days, there will be less of a sense of hurry up and gamble, and more time to enjoy amenities such as finer restaurants, shopping and entertainment.

My Macau visit was short, but I managed to see tycoon Stanley Ho's Hotel Lisboa, his leading operation, and his Greek Mythology Casino, his newest creation, which seeks to emulate a Las Vegas casino but fails.

Greek Mythology offered a pathetic mini-show in the center of the casino where Las Vegas-style showgirls did a dance review. Feathers and oversized headdresses came first, of course, and subsequent dances included an echo of "La Femme."

The Chinese seemed most excited by the big finale, which featured a circular fountain spewing jets of water that might have reached to the knees of the beaming showgirl standing within the circle. The sad part: The dancers weren't that bad, but no one applauded at any point. My heart went out to those hard-working women, who must face that silent treatment daily, trapped in Showgirl Hell in China.

Drink, security, food, style of play and response to entertainment were all vastly different than Las Vegas and all were indicative of the cultural differences.

But because of my unfamiliarity with the value of the chips in Macau, Weidner had to point out the most important difference and the reason Nevada companies are elbowing each other to get footholds in China: Those Chinese gamblers I watched with such interest were playing higher stakes than the typical gambler in Las Vegas.

"You take the high-end table games out of the mix and the average bet here is $10 to $15," Weidner said at his office in The Venetian. "The average bet there is $65 and $85."

Gambling is part of the Chinese tradition and they use a much larger portion of their disposable income for it, he said.

"Their attitude toward gambling is different from a Westerner's attitude. They're there to win or lose and they're pretty serious about how they go about playing. If they think their judgment is impaired by alcohol, they're not going to drink."

The different attitude toward gambling derives partly because the Chinese believe there's a god of fortune that determines their luck. The exchanges between players at the baccarat tables are part of the shared experience in a more collegial society, Weidner said.

"Ask someone who is Chinese if they're a gambler, and those who gamble only occasionally will say they're not a gambler. Here in Las Vegas, if they're not a gambler, that means they never drop a coin in the machine. With the Chinese, the difference between a gambler and a non-gambler is whether they're dedicating they're life to it," he said with a laugh.

Weidner offered a succinct answer to the frequent question: Won't developing gambling destinations in Macau cannibalize gambling in Las Vegas?

"Bah," he said. "Bah humbug."

Macau and Singapore, he said, will reach out to new untapped Asian markets, both mass markets and high rollers.

Just like Atlantic City "didn't hurt Las Vegas one iota," Weidner insisted Macau won't either. "Not only are we not going to hurt Las Vegas, we're going to grow new customers. We finding we're picking up the high-end market in Macau and improving our high-end Chinese business here."

The Sands Macau aimed for a mass market when it opened May 18. Located close to the ferry terminal, the casino has shuttle buses waiting outside the terminal to whisk gamblers who have taken the ferry from Hong Kong (a 75-minute ride) to the Sands Macau.

A 15-minute walk from the Sands Macau brings you to Wynn Macau, now under construction. Located across the street from Ho's Hotel Lisboa and its maze of casinos inside, Wynn is aiming at the higher end of the market. From the outside, it appears he took a mini-me version of his Las Vegas Strip property and plunked it down in Macau.

Wynn Resorts, which has a selective news media blackout for the opening of Wynn Las Vegas later this month, wouldn't talk about its operations in Macau or its hopes for Singapore.

Meanwhile, as the money rolls in from Sands Macau, the Las Vegas Sands Corp. is developing a second location on the reclaimed land of a nearby Macau island called Cotai.

The company is using its gaming license to create destination resorts that will keep visitors in Macau for more than a day.

Under the auspices of its gaming concession, the Las Vegas Sands Corp. has agreed to work with seven other hotel companies.

The Sands will build a $1.8 billion Venetian Macau as its flagship property on what is being called the Cotai Strip, and, because it has the gaming license, it will run casinos and showrooms for the other hotels that agreed to build there.

"We went forward like we did because we have confidence in the mass market and huge confidence that we would build a better mousetrap and as the market matures, the market will segment," Weidner said.

So the Sands Macau was designed for the mass market initially (although it's now going after high rollers, too) and Cotai will be for the longer-visiting, more sophisticated traveler coming there for a vacation or convention.

At the same time, the Sands Macau is a place to learn what works in China. Weidner said that when the 750-room showroom opens, they'll use that site to determine what shows will draw customers. (Perhaps customers who might even applaud.)

MGM Mirage officials were too busy for an interview about their plans in Macau and Singapore.

But for MGM Mirage, there is a pending suitability question about whether their partnership agreement with Stanley Ho's daughter Pansy to develop and operate a casino in Macau will pass muster with Nevada gaming regulators.

The Las Vegas Sands Corp. and Wynn Resorts are both operating solo in Macau, without any local partners. The MGM Mirage, after failing to make the first cut for the two new gaming concessions in Macau in 2002, decided to partner with Pansy Ho, whose 84-year-old father Stanley Ho has faced allegations (but not convictions) of ties to the Chinese triads.

The MGM Mirage-Pansy Ho partnership would operate under a sub-concession of Stanley Ho's concession, but would not be connected financially with the controversial father.

Currently, MGM Mirage is awaiting the go-ahead from the Nevada Gaming Control Board on that partnership.

Weidner said when the Las Vegas Sands Corp. first received its concession, it planned to operate with an Asian partner, but discovered the partners wanted to adopt the old way of doing business in Macau, where the gaming operator leased out VIP rooms in the casinos to others.

"Our original concession was a partnership under Galaxy. As we got into the details of how we'd operate, it became obvious we couldn't do that," Weidner said. "The only way for us to be able to maintain our (Nevada) license is to make sure we run and maintain every corner of that building," he said, referring to Sands Macau.

"We wouldn't take the risk of doing anything having to do with any Ho," he said.

Tomorrow: In her Monday column in the Nevada section, Jane Ann Morrison examines the Ho Connection -- will it boost or bog down MGM Mirage's plans in Macau?