Casa de jogo: 1909

O jogo terá começado em Macau ainda no século XVI mas a  primeira legalização do jogo em Macau ocorre somente no século XIX com a proliferação das casas de Fan Tan. Segue-se a primeira concessão na década de 1930. O primeiro concessionário, a empresa "Hou Heng", de Fok Chi Ting, conquistou o monopólio em 1930 e o direito de explorar todos os jogos permitidos na lei. Em 1937, é a vez da companhia "Tai Heng", dos empresários Fu Tak Iam e Kou Hou Neng, assumir o monopólio dedicando-se apenas a jogos chineses como o "fan-tan", "p'ai kao" e "cussec" em espaços como o hotel Central.

Com a chegada de Stanley Ho ao sector, em 1961, o negócio dos casinos evoluiu e o Governo português de então começou a retirar dividendos financeiros da industria, mas só em 1977 é que o cálculo do imposto passa a ser contabilizado tendo em consideração a receita gerada nos espaços de jogo.

Dos 3,35 milhões de patacas pagos por Stanley Ho no primeiro ano de operação, as sucessivas revisões do acordo de concessão e a contabilização das receitas a partir de 1977 permitiram ao Governo local arrecadar mais dinheiro e garantir investimentos cruciais ao desenvolvimento da cidade.
Já no início do século XXI surge a concorrência americana e Macau acaba por ultrapassar em todos os campos os números da até então maior 'meca' do jogo de casinos, Las Vegas. É maior indústria do mundo, o jogo.

                            

Uma imagem obtida em 1909 de uma casa onde se jogava o Fan Tan

Fan-tan is game which originated in China. This game means repeating divisions. This game has been one of China's oldest games with gambling. This game is not as famous as it was once because of the other games usually found in casinos. There are other popular games which are also of Chinese origin. These are Pai Gow and another traditional game called Mah Jong. In the earlier years of modern America many Chinese brought Fan-Tan and played it during their free time.

In the beginning of the nineteenth century San Francisco had one of the first Chinatowns. The town had become a home to many fan-tan venues during that time. There was a police officer named Jesse Cook who claimed that there were around fifty places for playing fan-tan back then. The tables were given numbers with one up to twenty four. The number of tables depended on the room's size.

Casinos in Macau still offer Fan-tan. They can be played daily which last twenty four hours. People can place a five cent bet up to as much as five hundred dollars.

Fan-tan is one of the simplest games from China. There is a Fan-tan table which have been marked one up to four on both sides. The tables are made of plastic which has a dome shape.A metal square can be found on the center. Fan-tan has a banker always. Bankers for Fan-tan games are responsible for putting coins, beads or buttons. Beans can also be used at times. The banker will cover them with a bowl ideally made of metal. The Chinese called the cover a "tan koi".

The bets are placed on the side where the numbers can be found. Putting it on the corners can also be another way of placing the bets. After players put their bets the banker will remove the cover. The croupier may use a stick made from bamboo to take out the coins. In Macau a wand is used by the croupier. He counts the coins in groups of four.

The winner wins by counting the remainder and dividing It by four. Odds for this game are fairly calculated from getting ninety five percent of the bet. Five percent is deductible from the amount as commission prior to the calculation. This is not the same to purchasing and outlining the odds in other games like craps because the winning is calculated on the full amount.

Uma rua de Macau num postal de 1927