Taiwan build $910 million mega resort-casino
Officials in an outlying Taiwan archipelago said on Wednesday they would build a massive resort-casino with investment of at least $910 million if local voters approve a gambling referendum as early as next month. The Penghu County government has proposed its casino resort on 130 coastal hectares with hotels, duty-free shops, a convention centre and a golf course, said Liu Mei-fan with the county’s tourism bureau, which would concession out the land. Taiwan hopes to stimulate the kind of growth seen in other places, most notably Macau, that have legalised or expanded gaming. But such growth could be hard to replicate due to the relative remoteness and lack of facilities in Penghu. Big name firms from around Asia and the United States, including Harrah’s Entertainment Inc, have visited Penghu, a chain of wind-hammered islands in the Taiwan Strait, to examine the investment potential. 
Taiwan’s parliament voted in January to legalise gambling on offshore islands, paving the way for as many as three casino-resorts in Penghu. But before any casino goes forward, voters in Penghu, with a population of 90,000, must approve another referendum to legalise gambling and may go to the polls as early as next month. The county’s project should take shape over four to five years.