Stanley Ho celebrated the long-awaited opening of his Grand Lisboa casino - Macau, a gleaming gold complex.

More than 15,000 gamblers on Sunday jammed into the new casino owned by Stanley Ho who is trying to fend off an invasion by Las Vegas tycoons who have been gobbling up market share in the booming Chinese territory of Macau.

Many of the punters who crowded into the Grand Lisboa, shaped like a huge lotus flower covered in blinking lights, were big-betting mainland Chinese who helped push Macau past the Las Vegas Strip last year as the world's gaming center.

The five-floor casino is owned by Hong Kong billionaire Stanley Ho, who held a monopoly on gaming in Macau for four decades until 2002. The former Portuguese enclave, two islands and a peninsula off China's southeastern coast, is the only place in China where casinos are legal.

His new five-floor casino was decorated with plush red carpet and silver light fixtures with strands of crystal beads. The gaming floors have 240 tables and 484 slot machines.

The 52-story building, with a 430-room hotel that opens later this year, has a round base that looks like a giant Faberge egg covered in lights the flash red, green and gold. The design of its tower was inspired by the long plumes of a Brazilian showgirl's headdress. The lobby is decorated with 580,000 Swarovski crystals, gold plated leaves and crystal balls.

The 85-year-old Ho, who has 17 casinos in Macau, enjoyed a four-decade monopoly on gambling here until the government in 2002 opened up the market. Ho now competes with American casino titans like Sheldon Adelson, Stephen Wynn and MGM Mirage Inc.

Ho's casinos have a reputation for being smoky, worn-out gambling dens with grumpy service. Industry experts will be looking closely at the HK$3 billion (US$384 million; euro295 million) Grand Lisboa, whose opening was delayed for weeks, for signs that this is a new start for Ho.

The tycoon acknowledged Sunday that his market share has slipped from 100 percent during the monopoly years to 63 percent in 2006. But he said 63 percent was "really good" considering the increased competition.

Ho has accused the Americans of unfair competition, like poaching his staff and stealing away customers. He complained again on Sunday but declined to name names.

"So far, the competition, except for a few cases, has been fair and I'm satisfied," he said.

www.macaudailyblog.com