This small peninsula of land is China's answer to Sin City.

這座小小的半島就是中國對於「萬惡之城」的應對。

And, with gaming revenue, that's five times that of the Las Vegas Strip.

有著高於拉斯維加斯賭城大道五倍的賭場收益。

It's become one of the wealthiest places on earth.

這裡成了世界上最富有的地方之一。

Macau is rich, and it's only getting richer, with the International Monetary Fund tipping it to surpass Qatar as the wealthiest place on earth by 2020.

澳門很富有，未來也只會越來越富有，國際貨幣基金會預估它將會在 2020 年超越卡達，成為世界上最富有的地區。

So, how did it get so rich?

所以它是如何變得如此富裕的？

One word: gambling.

兩個字——賭場。

Macau is located off the southern coast of China, about 40 miles from Hong Kong.

澳門位於中國的東南角，距離香港約 40 哩（約 64 公里）。

And its gaming history can be traced back all the way to the 16th century.

它的賭場歷史可以追溯回 16 世紀。

Macau is a former Portuguese colony, and, when its role as a trading port began to fall behind Hong Kong, the Portuguese government decided to legalize gambling in 1847 to give it an edge.

澳門從前是葡萄牙的殖民地，而當它作為一個貿易港口的能力被香港比下去之後在 1847 年，葡萄牙政府決定將賭場合法化，好讓它佔有一席之地。

It remained under Portuguese control until 1999 when it was formally handed over back to China.

一直到 1999 年正式歸還給中國前，它一直在葡萄牙的管轄之下。

And, while it's technically part of China, it's known as a special administrative region, which means it has its own rules and economic freedoms.

而它雖然技術上來說算是中國的一部分，但卻是一個特別行政區，意味著它有自己的法規和經濟自由。

Casinos and pool betting are illegal throughout China, but not Macau, which is why it's become a hot spot for China's high-rollers.

賭博和投注在中國全境都是違法的，除了在澳門，這就是為什麼它成了中國豪賭客的熱門地點。

Macau quickly grew as a gambling hub.

這就是為什麼它成了中國豪賭客的熱門地點。

In 2003, the number of visitors from mainland China began to surge as travel restrictions loosened and hundreds of millions of Chinese citizens were lifted out of poverty.

澳門很快成為了一個賭博重地。在 2003 年，來自中國大陸的觀光客人數開始劇增。隨著旅行限制的鬆綁，以及中國公民日漸脫離貧窮。

And Macau's gaming revenue and GDP thrived along with it.

澳門的賭場收益和 GDP 也隨之飆升。

There's not a lot of land here in Macau, and, yet, it has a population of about 650,000, making it one of the most densely populated places on earth.

澳門並不是很大，但這裡還是有近 65 萬人口， 使得這裡是世界上其中一個人口最密集的地方。

Its small population relative to its economy means its GDP per capita is high.

它少少的人口對應起它的經濟，意味著它的人均 GDP 會很高。

By 2020, Macau's GDP will reach around $143,000 per person.

到了 2020 年，澳門的 GDP 會到達人均約 14 萬 3 千美金。

Compare that with Qatar, which is projected to be $139,000, followed by Luxembourg at $118,000.

相比起來，卡達的人均預計會是 13 萬 9 千，盧森堡則是 11 萬 8 千。

Vegas is big; Macau tries to be bigger.

拉斯維加斯很大。澳門試圖比那更大。

This is the Venetian; it's twice the size of its sister casino in Las Vegas, and it's the largest casino resort in the world.

這是威尼斯人酒店，它是拉斯維加斯分店的連隔壁大，也是世界上最大的賭場度假村。

The gaming industry here in Macau has brought in more money than Las Vegas for the past 10 years now.

澳門的賭場事業在過去幾十年來帶來的收益多於拉斯維加斯。

In fact, the majority of profits for both the Vegas-based Las Vegas Sands and Wynn Resorts come from Macau.

事實上，總部位於拉斯維加斯的金沙集團和永利度假村的大多數收益都來自於澳門。

In 2017, Macau accounted for 53% of adjusted earnings for Las Vegas Sands and 71% for Wynn Resorts.

在 2017 年，澳門佔了金沙集團調整後總收入的 53% 、永利度假村的 71%。

It hasn't always been fun and games, though.

然而，也並不總都是樂趣和遊戲。

Gaming revenue reached $45 billion in 2013⏤that was its peak.

賭場的收益在 2013 年達到 450 億美金，那就是它的尖峰。

Then, Beijing began cracking down on corruption.

然後北京開始打擊貪污。

Since coming to power, China's President Xi, Jinping has punished more than 1.5 million Communist Party government officials for corruption.

自上任掌權開始，中國國家主席習近平已經懲處了超過 150 萬名貪污的共產黨政府官員。

Along with reining in corruption in business and among private sector billionaires.

其中也包含了控制住商業和私人部門富豪中的貪污。

That crackdown meant less money would flow through its gambling capital.

這次肅清意味著會有較少資金流往賭場重鎮。

Casinos here experienced more than two years of gross gaming revenue declines.

這裡的賭場已有超過兩年是處於淨收入衰退的狀態。

The industry began to pick up at the end of 2016 and, in 2017, it increased its gaming revenue for the first time since its peak.

該產業在 2016 年年底開始回升，然後在 2017 年，它的賭場收益自前次高峰以來首次增加。

China's slowing growth and uncertainty around the US-China trade war has also placed some question marks around Macau's rebound.

中國的緩慢成長以及中美貿易戰中的不確定性都給澳門的恢復帶來了更多疑問。

Critics also point to the wealthy area's rising income inequality and poverty.

評論家也指出富裕地區中越來越嚴重的收入不平均和貧困。

The government says just 2.3% of its population is living in poverty, but other reports estimate it's about 10%.

政府表示該地區只有 2.3% 生活在貧困中，但是其它報告估計約有 10%。

Now, Macau is hoping to diversify its revenues beyond gaming by taking after Vegas and upping its entertainment offerings.

現在，澳門期望能夠藉由向拉斯維加斯看齊、增加娛樂選項，使收益多元化。

Non-gaming in Macau accounts for just 12% of its total revenue.

在澳門，非賭博的收益僅佔了總收益的 12%。

In Las Vegas, that's 65%.

在拉斯維加斯，該項佔了 65%。

It's upping its offerings by bringing in the likes of Celine Dion and Bruno Mars to perform, as well as increasing the types of dining options.

它試圖請來類似席琳．狄翁和火星人布魯諾的藝人以增強自己的項目，另外還有增加用餐的選項。

But whether it can actually move beyond its gaming fortunes to become an entertainment hub for China remains to be seen.

但它是否能夠不再局限於賭場收益、成為中國的娛樂重地，都還是未知數。

Until then, its gaming revenues might just be enough to propel it to be the richest place on earth.

在那之前，它的賭場收益或許已足夠將它推為世界上最富有的地方。

Hey, guys, it's Uptin; thanks for watching.

嗨，各位，我是 Uptin，謝謝收看。

For more of our videos, check out "What does Qatar own around the world?" here and "Why is Dubai so rich?" here.

想收看我們更多的影片，請去看看這裡的 What does Qatar own around the world? 還有這裡的 Why is Dubai so rich?。

We're also taking suggestions for future CNBC Explains.

我們也歡迎大家建議我們未來的節目主題。

So, leave your comments in the section below and, while you're at it, subscribe to our channel.

所以在底下留言吧，留言時也別忘了訂閱我們的頻道哦！