Macao logged a gambling revenue of 55.9 billion patacas (7 billion U.S. dollars) in 2006, overtaking Las Vegas as the world top casino hut, local media reported in Macao Wednesday.

Macao Daily News, the region's leading Chinese newspaper, quoted international analysts as saying that gaming revenues of Las Vegas in 2006 was expected to range between 5.59 billion to 6.6 billion U.S. dollars.

Macao, on the southern tip of China, witnessed a year-on-year rise of 22 percent in the gaming revenues, according to the city's Gaming and Inspection Coordination Bureau.

Macao, with a population of merely 500,800, has boomed in recent years as a number of Las Vegas giants including Las Vegas Sands, GM Mirage and Wynn Resorts started gigantic projects here.

Source: Xinhua