It used to be that Stanley Ho was the only face of casino gambling in Macau.

His gaming company, Sociedade de Jogos de Macau (SJM), held a monopoly of the region’s casinos, including Casino Lisboa, the largest Macau casino for the longest time.

Ho’s monopoly ended when the Chinese government opened Macau to other, especially foreign investors in the hopes of further boosting its casino gambling economy.

SJM’s share of the region’s gambling revenue has since plunged from 100% to 50%, and continues to spiral down. Foreign investors are staking some $20 billion on the new casino gambling Meccah; local investors have begun to join the battle. Casino Lisboa is suddenly beleaguered by competing casinos all around it, and they do not only woo with gambling but apply the Las Vegas mantra of fusing wagers with wow.

Sheldon Adelson of Las Vegas Sands (Sands Macau). Steve Wynn of Wynn Resorts (Wynn Macau). Kirk Kerkorian of MGM Mirage (MGM Grand Macau). They are big wigs of Las Vegas casino gambling, and invested heavily in new Macau casino hotel resorts that come complete with celebrity chefs, luxury shopping, and the requisite Las Vegas style hodgepodge of tourist attractions, replicated landmarks, and entertainment performers.

James Packer, 39 year old son of the late Australian tycoon Kerry Packer — who was a huge fan of baccarat, is collaborating with Lawrence Ho, 30 year old son of Stanley himself, to invest $3.3 billion in three new Macau casinos. Lawrence, chairman of Hong Kong-listed Melco International Development Ltd., is one of many in the Ho clan going head to head with Stanley in the fight for Macau supremacy.

Pansy Ho, another of Stanley’s 17 children, and CEO of the Ho family company, Shun Tak Holdings Ltd., has forged a 50/50 partnership with Kerkorian on the $1 billion MGM Grand Macau, which, sardonically enough, is situated within walking distance from Dad’s flagship Lisboa.

Winnie Ho, 84 year old sister of 85 year old Stanley, blocked with a lawsuit what would have been his sale of $1.9 billion worth of SJM shares to fund his stake at the competition. Winnie maintains a minority stake in SJM’s parent company and alleges she was not privy to this decision to sell shares.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong superstar Jackie Chan has bought a 5% stake in the $80 million Emperor Grand Hotel and Casino. It is one of five Macau casinos belonging to Hong Kong billionaire Lui Che-woo, whose Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd., owner of the new StarWorld Casino Hotel, is among the strongest local investors in Macau.

Interestingly, there is a marked difference between Macau’s local and foreign investors in how they approach the casino gambling business. From SJM to Galaxy, local investors have casinos targetted at serious gamblers who expend all their funds at the gaming tables. From Sands and Wynn to MGM Mirage, foreign investors are betting on gamblers who would not only spend on casino chips but for luxuries from fine dining to adult shows and Bellagio Cirque types on the side.

[Visiting Macau on a tight budget is potentially a major bummer. Win first on Internet casino games and tournaments at Bodog Online Casino.]