By Daniel Escurel Occeño

My mother found a bargain promotion in the newspaper of a trip to Macau, China promoted by Philippine Airlines. I already knew the airline was involved in promoting Macau as a tourist destination, but what I did not know was why, so I formulated my own theory after our trip.

I was already told that Macau was trying to be the Monte Carlo of Asia not Vegas of the Orient.

Well, the Casino industry in Las Vegas, Nevada U.S.A. marketed to the middle and upper middle class Americans, the majority demographics with jobs and loose income to spend vacationing and gambling in the Game of Chance Industry.

All of Asia probably does not have a middle class. There are only two classes, rich or poor. The poor cannot afford to vacation, what more travel to gamble.

The businessmen of Macau, China marketed to the wealthy of all of Asia. It worked because our tour guide said that “Macau is now the largest gambling city in the world, since two years ago.”

“The first American casino, the Sands, invested 1.2 billion American dollars and recouped their investments in five months all from tourism.”

The connection is a destination for Filipino Overseas Workers (FOW) to find employment in the Game of Chance Industry in Macau, China while sending back remittance or fresh capital for loves ones to survive in the Philippines or invest in a small business for the future, helping the economy.

Macau is known as “The City of Dreams”.

Macau is the Portuguese spelling and Macao is the British English spelling.

The children are taught Cantonese Chinese and Portuguese in the public schools, but students in the private schools can learn Mandarin Chinese spoken in the northern areas for business beyond tourism as well as learning British English in elective classes.

A ferryboat that would take one hour from Hong Kong brought more tourists.

Macau was peaceful because the tourist and the workers spent most of their time inside air-conditioned hotel casinos. The streets were flooded with jumbo bus transportation, but the traffic was not at all inconvenient that flowed naturally.

I really enjoyed the Portuguese food, expecting to eat authentic Chinese food. The “wild boar pork jerky” was soft and the Portuguese egg custard tarts were mouthwateringly delicious. I strongly recommend taking some back to munch on.

I learned that the Chinese Buddha, the fat guy statue in Chinese restaurants that supposedly lived a thousand years, used “incense” to smoke away pesky mosquitoes and to dry meats for preservation because refrigerators were not invented yet.

Smoked meats like “jerky” and chasing away mosquitoes might help to live a thousand years.

Many of our children in Metro Manila know how to speak Cantonese Chinese so as an overseas location to work, Macau would be an excellent place except I prefer we developed our own Game of Chance Industry for native born Filipino children to work in and with the salary saved they can vacation in Macau.

“Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) is the Philippines second largest contributor of revenue after the Tax Authority. It is a government owned and controlled corporation first established in by Presidential Decree 1067-A and entered itself in a contract with Philippine Casino Operators Corporation (PCOC) in operating …. The company employs more than 11000 employees.” (From Wikipedia, the free Internet encyclopedia)

PAGCOR will provide even more jobs as it continues to grow in all 7107 islands. Cebu City will not be the only municipality south of Metro Manila that will benefit from the business growth of the Game of Chance Industry.

Our tour guide said as our bus passed a billboard advertisement of a race track on our way to the Macau airport to fly back to Manila: “Horse racing revenue will be allocated for the children, education and health.”

Non-Tax Revenue for education can be raised with Legal Mahjong Resort Hotels and Casinos for PAGCOR, “a government-owned and controlled corporation mandated to regulate casino gaming, to raise funds for the governments’ socio-civic, and to help boost revenue to improve the economy.”

(Free for native born Filipino children) Head Start, Pre-School, and Kindergarten can be paid for by Legal Mahjong Resort Hotels and Casinos for PAGCOR. New buildings, technology, school supplies, and better teacher salaries with benefits paid for with non-tax revenue to help educate children for future development and free health care for the underprivileged children.

PAGCOR’s non-tax revenue could also provide for Full-Tuition RENTENTION Scholarships.

Design a test for those qualified for college similar to private Catholic university’s entrance exams to determine the amount of scholarship to be given, 10 percent to full-tuition to the college of their choice.

The government can design the test and provide the NO CHEATING environment to take the test.

Rich or poor, the children are rewarded for studying since kindergarten and remembering what they learned.

With “Retention Testing Scholarships” the children are not punished because of their socioeconomic background or students are not disqualified from scholarships based on need and because their parents are successful.

Every college student in the Philippines has a chance for full tuition-paid every year till they graduate with “Retention Testing Scholarships” that can be provided by charities, the public sector, private corporations, and the government.

Poker tables that are popular with Americans or baccarat popular with Europeans, PAGCOR adding mahjong marketed to the billions of Chinese heritage in all of Asia will increase revenue.

Mahjong is a more marketable product already played in the Philippines in houses and restaurants. The “non-tax revenue” will benefit the education and health of native born Filipino children with the jobs and tourism income improving the Philippines’ economy, ending poverty.

About the Guest Writer: Daniel Escurel Occeño is a writer for children in the Philippines.

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