Macao 澳门

This past Sunday I took an hour long ferry ride from Sheung Wan in Hong Kong to the island of Macao. Why would I miss church to go to this place get-a-way casino haven? For good reason, I can assure you. I had the opportunity to see Pete Sampras play versus Andre Agassi in an exhibition Tennis Showdown event. To see them play each other in a match was going to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I knew that I had to get a ticket.

I'm so glad I went. Not only did I feel like I went back in time as I sat there mind-boggled with the fact that Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi were on a tennis court together before my eyes, but I was excited to be in Macao. To be honest, the only reason to visit Macao is to gamble. Everyone there is either working for the Casino or is a tourist having the time of their lives at the casino. The tennis match was held in the Cotia Arena, which is connected to the biggest Casino there (I'm assuming it was because it was monstrous)called The Venetian. This place is similar in style (so I'm told) to The Venetian in Las Vegas. But this place was out of this world with decorations. People were telling me this is "Asia's Las Vegas". I testify to that nickname, because the amount of money spent on the architecture, inside and out, was unheard of.

Maybe one of these days I will take a trip to Vegas and compare, though I would be fine without ever stepping foot there. You get off the ferry, and these amazingly high quality charter buses escort everyone to the casino free of charge. That right there proved to me that there's not much else to do in Macao! Although I'm sure there are some pretty landscapes to see or parks to visit, there can't be much else complementing these massive casinos.


At the game I made a new friend while waiting in line for getting into the arena. His name is Monu and he is a Hindu from India. It was great to meet him! He knew so much about tennis and we hit it off from the start as we talked all about tennis. He is a fan of Nadal, and I am a fan of Federer. Then he told me he was a fan of the Lakers! And then I went on to tell him how much I loved the Celtics. We ended up sitting together the whole game and I'm glad because talking with him during the matches made it a lot more fun.

The cool thing about him being from India is the fact that the number one 17-year old junior player from India Yuki Bhambri was there to play a set verse Ryan Harrison from the States. So we both felt an obvious desire for our fellow countrymen to do well (and win mind you). Nonetheless, we were still able to become good friends and teach other about our culture. He lives in Tsim Sha Tsui, which is also in Kowloon, Hong Kong nearby where I am living. I hope to reconnect with him sometime soon.

Now, about the players. The first match was a timed match between Yuki Bhambri and Ryan Harrison. This was great to see them play because it was their first times on the big stage. They were both very talented players who were obviously fighting nerves. Yuki was a smarter player than Ryan, but Ryan was strong and had an amazing serve.

Next up: THE LEGENDS. Well, the old men who looked like they needed a bit extra time to warm up! LOL. After a few games, they finally started to impress us with there secret weapons. Pete's beautiful serve formation and graceful one-handed backhand was amazing to see in person. Even better today was Agassi's serve, surprisingly.

He was really feeling it, and seemed much more focused than Pete. Sampras seemed so calm and relaxed, and didn't really show any huge desire to win. But, somehow, Pete managed to be the victor. When they got to the third set for the 10-pt tiebreaker, Pete showed Agassi who was the boss when it came to serving. Agassi really played well though, which makes me wonder how Pete won. I guess when you are the best, you just don't even have to play well to win.

Don't worry all, I didn't go to the slots. And I didn't even play poker - although it was tempting. Luckily, I scheduled my ferry ticket to leave soon after the match. So I didn't really have enough time to do much else. Nevertheless, I am glad to have said I have been to Macao! Great place for gamblers - but not for me! By the way...Rod Stewart was supposed to have a mini concert before the match, but he supposedly had to go to the hospital for some reason. Bummer! Rod Stewart is on my Favorites list in my iPod - JUST KIDDING.