If Wynn Resorts Ltd. is any indication, shares of Sands Macau will be listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange within a couple of weeks. Wynn Macau Ltd. completed its $1.87-billion IPO at the start of the October, 15 days after filing the required disclosure statement.

Macau, a special administrative region of China, is the only place in the county where gambling is legal. The gambling industry there started in 1962 when the government issued a single license to Stanley Ho. The monopoly ended in 2002 and several licenses were handed out. In 2006, the market surpassed Las Vegas as the world's largest gaming market.

Las Vegas Sands' filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange details its current and planned future operations in Macau, both of which are significant. Currently, Las Vegas Sands owns three operating casino resorts--the Venetian Macao, the Sands Macao and the Plaza, which have a combined 3,554 suites and hotel rooms, 1,098 table games, 3,631 slot machines and over 60 different restaurants and food outlets. Sands Macau opened in 2004, followed by the Venetian Macau in 2007 and then the Plaza in 2008. It also owns CotaiArena, Macau's largest entertainment venue and one of the largest convention and exhibition halls in Asia, and one of three major high-speed ferry companies operating between Hong Kong and Macau.