>> tonight on "titans at the table," i traveled to what many consider the las vegas of the east. macau. this is part of what attracts people? >> yeah. >> the small territory on the south of the chinese coast raked in $45 billion of revenue. more than seven times that of vegas. >> did you ever think macau would surpass las vegas by that much? >> it makes perfect sense. the resorts are world-class compared to las vegas. macau has taken off. >> the next generation of people

from china have become more affluent. >> siblings lawrence and pansy ho have become -- they have a combined net worth of $7 billion. for the last decade, they have met stiff competition. >> they predicted i would not even open. they did not believe somebody else could do this. >> they underestimated. >> they grossly underestimated. >> sheldon adelson has a net worth of $35 billion. much of that wealth made on his macau casinos. this pits billionaire against billionaire. divine for the attention of the 1.3 billion chinese to the north. macau is an 11 square mile enclave on the southern coast of mainland china.

for four centuries, it was under portuguese rule. is the closest place to china where gambling is legal. in 1962, stanley ho was the first person to usher in a new era of casinos in macau. he paved the way for other investors to make it big in macau. today, one of those investors is his son, lawrence ho. >> my father revolutionized the casino market 40 years ago in macau. he brought in a new style. throughout my career and life, it has been about trying to prove myself. >> it was important to you to prove you could build a company from scratch? >> it was important to you to prove you could build a company from scratch? >> yes. >> determines to break out of his father's shadow, he partnered with james packer. himself the son of a famous tycoon. their properties include two extravagant resorts. >> it is the ultimate

destination for urban entertainment in macau. >> lawrence refers to the "city of dreams" as an integrated resort. where tourists come to spend at boutiques and stay at five-star hotels. >> how have the casino moguls in las vegas helped you in terms of inspiration? >> many times in asia, a lot of people built slowly and are more conservative. when you go to las vegas, and you see the mega-resorts, 5000 rooms, shows and theaters and nightclubs, my philosophy is like that. go big or go home. having seen that that is workable and doable, that is how i developed "city of dreams." >> big vision.

>> give our customer something they have not seen before. it is about being more innovative. bigger and better. >> bigger, better, and wetter. part of his vision is attracting customers to performances, including this acrobatic experience called "house of dancing water." five days a week, 3.7 million gallons of water flow through the custom-built stage. actors dance, dive, and dazzle a captivated audience. building it was a huge gamble. it premiered in 2010 during the financial crisis. >> we went ahead and built out our show. it has been a huge success. the fact that we tried these things that nobody wants to try has given us an edge.

>> in the beginning, business was far from booming. lawrence ho's first casino opened to disappointing results. it seemed his gamble to go big in macau was destined to go bust. but then he focused on high-stakes vip clients. the tables turned. revenue topped an incredible $5 billion. >> are you surprised by how fast this has grown and developed? >> one of the great things that has happened is the growth of the middle income earning bracket in china. they would like to travel and enjoy life. >> did you ever think macau was going to surpass las vegas by that much? >> we all knew that was going to happen. ultimately, if you look at geographically -- a lot of our

customers prefer things that are closer. since the resorts in macau are world-class, comparable to las vegas, it makes sense that you look at the five-hour flight time for macau, there are over one billion people. new york to las vegas is also five hours. >> while lawrence is bringing lots of glitz and glam to macau, sheldon adelson says he invented the concept. in vegas first. now he says he is the one who will conquer macau. >> they predicted i would not even open. i would never get it built. if i got it built, it would not open. and if it did open, i would be in bankruptcy immediately. they didn't want to believe someone else could do it better than they did. they grossly underestimated me. >> when we come back, sheldon adelson tells us why he is the real king of macau. ♪

>> for a man whose business caters to high rollers and big spenders, billionaire shuttle -- sheldon adelson's roots are unglamorous. he was born the son of a cab driver in a poor section of boston. he first began in the convention business in 1979. he eventually sold that and other shows for hundreds of millions of dollars. he bought the original las vegas sands hotel. he replaced it with the venetian it is the first integrated resort of its kind. sound familiar? in macau, he has built another

venetian. this is what adelson says made him stand out among other casino tycoons. >> you mentioned you wanted to build a las vegas and macau. -- in macau. how come no one else saw that? >> i guess that is what vision is made out of. >> people thought you were crazy. >> of course. i have been in dozens of businesses. every time i go into business, everybody thinks i am crazy. nobody wants to recognize that doing something different is viable. nobody wants to recognize that. the only way i could prove it is to do it and succeed. >> adelson did not just succeed. he dominated. his first resort, the sands macao, was so successful he made back the $265 million investment in the first year.

he went on to build a massive hotel. and the 2900 room venetian macao. he plans on adding another property to be completed by the end of 2016. bringing the grand total to over 10,000 rooms. if he has his way, visitors would never leave. >> we are developing enough retail malls of different types. you can be in 3000, 6000, 12,000 or 15,000 hotel rooms and never leave the building. i will give you an anecdote. i had a friend from boston. they came in on thursday.

on monday, he said, how is the weather? i said, you have not been out? he said, why would i go out? everything i want is here. >> lawrence ho is talking about shows that are coming in. it is retail, it is restaurants. they are copying you. >> they are trying to copy me. he's a nice guy and a gentleman. he has no exhibition and convention space. there is not a city in the world that does not want exhibition space and convention space. >> as many of adelson's peers have noted, it is his success in macau that has left las vegas in the dust. >> did you ever think macau would surpass las vegas in the way it has? >> yes. when we first applied in macau, in 2002, there was $2.5 billion in gaming revenue.

by 2005, there was $5.5 billion. the business was there. people were not recognizing it. there were 1.3 billion chinese. >> about 64% of his revenue comes from his macau properties. since opening the sands macao, he has expanded into other industries. bringing people from his resorts in hong kong to macau in high-speed boats. >> what do i know about the ferry business? what i know about every business when i go into. zero.

but there's not much i cannot learn. i believe this industry in which we operate, the lodging or gaming industry, i believe it is a supply driven industry. if i put those buildings there -- >> and they did. when we come back, the battle for market share pits him against the ho family. >> my family pays for the foundation for macau today. we carry that torch. ♪ >> sheldon adelson may be

trying to conquer macau. but patriarch stanley ho's

industry is far from failing. we spoke with pansy ho, his daughter. she says gaming in macau is still a family business. >> you are the richest woman in hong kong. >> i don't know how they calculate it, but they say so. >> you are part of a legendary hong kong family. you have an added responsibility. >> we feel like we have that sense of a legacy. there were 450 years of portuguese presence in macau. my father helped create the foundation for macau today in terms of creating the largest industry, the gaming industry.

we would very much want to help grow macau to be something that is more exciting and important. we carry that torch. >> pansy has a 27% stake in mgm china, which owns the mgm macau property. >> you have this partnership with mgm. how is that going? >> it is going very well. this is the moment when we are resting on our laurels, and we have done fantastically well. we are now snug in the position where we have formed a strong professional team. which really oversees the daily operations. which has the time and space to consider long-term perspective,

the strategies for the future. >> more than 60% of visitors who go to macau are from mainland china. hong kong is a one-hour ferry ride. >> what has been surprising is the swiftness with which chinese consumers are changing. this is a very fluid group of people. they are full of curiosity. their requirements continue to change over time. we can see that happening during the past seven or eight years. >> pansy ho also runs a company that operates turbo jets. a high-speed ferry service between macau and hong kong, competing with adelson.

her ferries transported about 28,000 people a day. >> we have been running the terminals, the ferry terminals. we know how to manage and how to commercialize the real estate so it can be of great service to these people. >> that is not how adelson sees it. >> she doesn't like that we are a competitor. i can't say i am the ferry expert of the world. but she got bitter over the competition so she has been bitter all this time. >> coming up, the clash of the titans continues as they look beyond macau for the next gambling mecca. ♪ >> the explosion of the casino

business has been a huge windfall for this territory. casinos paid the government almost $18 billion in taxes and fees. with great success comes a great amount of squabbling. adelson, a man -- >> there is no such history as the palestinian people. >> or how the gop can take back the white house -- he has seen his share of battles. >> there was a meeting of concessionaires. pansy ho was there. not a very congenial environment. >> she was not nice to you? >> i don't think she was nice to most of the people. she doesn't like that we are competitive.

i think it is a matter of jealousy. i think they never anticipated i would succeed. if you go back to when i first opened in 2007 with the venetian, and you look at the clippings, it was clear they thought i would fail. the day i opened it, we opened at like 6:00 or 7:00, we had many visitors. there were 30 million people visiting macau. last year, we got 63 million visitations. how can i get 63 million from 30 million visitors? because they went to one of my properties twice. >> it remains to be seen who will claim the crown.

but sometimes bigger is not always better. some things that happen in vegas should stay in vegas. >> sometimes people have to walk for five minutes or 10 minutes just to go to their rooms. asians are not used to that. >> do you understand the chinese tourist naturally more, because you are chinese versus sheldon adelson? >> that is an advantage we would have. i was born in hong kong. spent time in hong kong, macau.

at the same time was educated in north america. i get a sense of the best of both worlds. the formation of my company was based on that belief. how do i marry the best of the east with the best of the west? >> it is easy to see the asian touches. the dragons. the feng shui that he incorporates into the layout. but adelson, who once called himself the richest jew in the world, says there is no monopoly on culture. >> most of our employees are chinese. my chinese deal is, interact with chinese customers. what is the difference? >> they would say they know the people. they are chinese. they know what they want. >> i can't be a successful businessman if i don't respect who and what my customer is. the resorts are a commercial enterprise. the measurement of success is the bottom-line profit. why are we -- >> some casino watchers warn there is a bubble of hotelsforming in macau that is

about to burst. >> i can't be a successful businessman if i don't respect who and what my customer is. the resorts are a commercial enterprise. the measurement of success is the bottom-line profit. why are we -- >> some casino watchers warn there is a bubble of hotelsforming in macau that is about to burst. stricter visa rules have investors worried that the inflow of tourists may slow down. but they are doubling down. they are spending $26 billion on

new resorts, doubling hotel capacity. they won't stop there. these casino titans want to score big in the rest of asia. >> japan is the holy grail. they have pachinkos. they are slot parlors. very popular. that industry is $35 billion. it has a lot of potential. >> with the olympics slated for tokyo in 2020, the casino industry could win with the worldwide publicity. the government still has to approve. win lose or draw, the titans have already made a killing in macau. ♪ >> puerto rico's beaches and

sunshine have always delighted tourists. for years, the economy has struggled under a cloud of debt. now, the government insist that the situation is improving. >> there is the doomsday prophecies about being like detroit or greece, they have gotten it wrong. >> creating tax incentives for business. puerto rico is taking steps to become a destination for investors and people are taking notice. >> san juan represents one of the great investment opportunities of my generation. >> can puerto rico comeback from the brink of disaster and get capital?