Sheldon Adelson, chairman of Las Vegas Sands Corp., the world’s top gaming firm, is betting on controlling the lion’s share of a Macau gambling market that could more than double to $14 billion in revenue by 2010.

Despite a looming wave of top-notch competition, Adelson was effusive about Macau’s prospects in an interview with Reuters on Thursday. He even wished casino mogul Steve Wynn success with the opening of his first Macau venture next week — though he doubted his rival could reap the same returns given his late entry.

Sands gained a headstart by opening the first Vegas-style casino in the former Portugese enclave in 2004, and placed a $10 billion wager on a Vegas-style “neon alley” entertainment and convention complex — the Cotai Strip — being built on reclaimed land.

Two years after opening, the jam-packed Macau Sands has become the main driver of earnings for Las Vegas Sands, with revenue from the casino jumping 53 percent to $307.1 million: some 60 percent of the firm’s turnover in the second quarter.

Last year, Macau’s gaming revenue amounted to a staggering $5.7 billion, making it nearly equal with Las Vegas. The Chinese enclave also accounts for 60 per cent of Sands’ business in the second quarter of this year, and it is looking to increase that figure by the middle of 2007 when it will open its second casino in the territory.

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