President Casino, the 20th casino in Macao, was opened on Saturday.

The gaming hut, located at the downtown Hotel President, boasts four VIP lounges and 55 regular gaming tables.

President Casino was the third casino invested in Macao by the Las Vegas-based Galaxy Entertainment Group, an international gaming giant.

Macao, a region with a population of 480,000, has a 150-year history of gaming industry and is the only part of China where casino gaming is legitimate.

The gross receipts of the region's previous 19 casinos reached 46.1 billion patacas (US$5.76 billion) in 2005, up 8.2 percent over 2004, according to official statistics issued earlier this week.

(Xinhua News Agency April 30, 2006)