In the twilight, the artificial illumination of Macau's Hotel Lisboa 24-hour a day casino is the only colour (color) of this cityscape. The dominating silhouette of a giant open-mouthed Chinese lion looms from outside the Bank of China building in central Macau. Besides historical Chinese and Portuguese world-heritage relics, Macau's biggest attraction is its gaming business. Its gambling revenue in 2006 weighed in at a massive £3.6bn - about £100m more than Las Vegas. Though many forms of gambling are legal here, the most popular game in the casinos is baccarat, which generates over two thirds of the gaming industry's gross receipts. The official languages are Portuguese and Chinese and the Macau Special Administrative Region, more commonly known as Macau - or Macao - is one of the two special administrative regions (SARs) of the People's Republic of China (PRC), along with Hong Kong. Administered by Portugal until 1999, it was the oldest European colony in China, dating back to the 16th century. The administrative power over Macau was transferred to the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1999, 2 years after Hong Kong's own handover. Macau's name is derived from A-Ma-Gau or Place of A-Ma and this temple dedicated to the seafarers' goddess dates from the early 16th century.
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