acau was among the first European settlements in Asia. Established by the Portuguese in 1557, it predated the founding of its bigger neighbour Hong Kong by nearly 300 years. For most of its life it was a sleepy poor relation of Hong Kong, often described as a backwater, yet ideally placed as a staging post for goods coming in and out of Canton (Guangzhou). More recently, it was chiefly known for its Macanese and Portuguese food, Vinho Verde wine, cheap hotels, seedy casinos and slightly grubby nighdife. Macau came under Chinese control in 1999, two years after Hong Kong’s handover. For a while, much remained the same, but all that changed when the casino monopoly was broken in 2002 with the granting of licences to Sands China, Galaxy Entertainment Group, Wynn Macau, MGM China, Melco Resorts & Entertainment and SJM Holdings (majority owned by the late Stanley Ho
