Macau casinos can offer Hold'em

According to an Associated Press article, on Friday officials in Macau announced that local casinos are now authorized to offer Texas Hold'em for the first time.

The Macau government issued the rules approving the popular poker variation earlier this week, which will allow the house to collect a commission of 3-5% of the betting pool for each game.

The first casino taking the plunge into offering Texas Hold'em is the Grand Lisboa, the flagship casino of Sociedade de Jogos de Macau (SJM) owned by Stanley Ho. According to a spokesperson, the casino has inaugurated four new tables dedicated to Texas Hold'em.

Interest in Texas Hold'em has exploded over the past few years in the United States and in Europe. Interest has also been growing in China, and the APPT, sponsored by PokerStars, hosted a leg of its tour in Macau at the Grand Waldo Hotel and Casino in November.

The event drew in 352 poker players from around the world and resulted in an $809,600 prize pool for players.

"We are confident that Texas Hold'em will become very popular here," said Louis Ng, SJM director and chief operating officer, in the AP article. "It is popular in Europe and in the U.S. and there are international Texas Hold'em Poker tournaments every year."

Other casino operators in Macau include Wynn, Las Vegas Sands and MGM Grand.

According to regulators in Macau and Las Vegas, Macau raked in more gaming revenue in 2006 than the Las Vegas Strip did.