"HAVE you seen the Venetian Macao yet?" was a refrain I kept hearing while walking around downtown Macau last week.

About 3,000 people had queued as early as 1pm last Tuesday to be the first to try their luck at the newest casino there.

This adds to the current 26 casinos, joining big names like Wynn and Grand Waldo as well as local heavyweight Casino Lisboa, in the Special Administrative Region of China.

STEP BACK IN TIME: Once the biggest church in Macau, Unesco heritage building St Paul's now has only a stone staircase and front facade as reminders of its glorious past.

Just three months earlier, the newest bet in town was at the Crown Macau. Then, queues started at 10am for a 7pm opening.

Ask any Macanese and he will tell you proudly that sleepy Macau - all of 28.6 sq km - has woken up in a hurry, with over US$25 billion (S$38 billion) of foreign investments committed in the last few years.

Once a tag-on destination for travellers to Hong Kong, it is now a port of call for even celebs. Football club Manchester United visited recently, with players like Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo pursued by paparazzi.

Walking around Macau, once notorious for triad activities, the changes are startling, for a large section of the city resembles a giant construction site.

The "old strip", where the legendary Lisboa Casino and Hotel stands, houses work-in-progress for a lotus-shaped tower of Grand Lisboa next door, a three-coloured slab that is the MGM Grand Macau and the second phase of Wynn Macau.

Going over to the 80ha of reclaimed land called Cotai Strip, connecting the outer islands of Taipa and Coloane, I could almost hear the cry of Julius Caesar's "veni, vidi, vici" (we came, we saw, we conquered) echoing around the place.

HERITAGE HERE, THERE AND EVERYWHERE: Signs at Senado Square in Macau's Portuguese English quarter point to the 25 different heritage buildings located on the island.

Big hotel brands like St Regis, Four Seasons and Hilton are in the pipeline, as is a Playboy Mansion. All are laying bets on making money from China's 1.3-billion population.

In Macau, you cannot avoid the casinos even if you try.

SMS messages come non-stop, luring me with promises of 'grand prizes' to be won at such-and-such casino. Free shuttle buses wait at the port, airport or border crossing to whisk you off to your casino of choice.

And unlike Singapore where buses and taxis carry ads from drinks to shaving cream, in Macau it seems only casinos use these travelling billboards.

It's money well spent: Macau overtook Las Vegas as the world's biggest gaming hub last year, raking in US$6.95 billion compared to the latter's US$6.7 billion.

There were other nuggets of information for a casino virgin like me: Where, in the past, the punters would be from Hong Kong betting in smoky dens, today they are mostly Chinese with thick wads of cash.

Starworld Casino offers a space theme, Wynn Macau is modern elegance and the Venetian Macao has touches of the Italian city, complete with gondolas on canals.

But an old favourite - the Canidrome which has hosted dog racing since 1931 - is not in danger of being run to the ground.

Visit and you'll hear punters saying: "This dog looks great, see how powerful his hind legs are." The greyhounds have names like World's Best Runner, Black Crystal and Prosperity.

A-MA-ZING: Dedicated to the goddess of fishermen Ma Zu, A-Ma Temple was built during the Ming dynasty and is the oldest temple in Macau. It is believed that the island's name was derived from the temple's original name, A-Ma-Gao (Bay of A-Ma).

At the end of a race, which lasts all of 30 seconds, a punter looked at me and moaned: "I should have bought No.2."

But tell Macau tourism chief Joao Manuel Costa Antunes that the place is all gambling and nothing else, and he is quick to rebut you.

Nowhere in the world, he said, can visitors see a concentration of 25 heritage buildings and seven squares recognised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

The historic centre has ruins of St Paul's Church, St Augustine's Church and Senado Square with their pastel-coloured buildings bearing testimony to their Portuguese heritage.

Make time for shopping too. I eschewed the boutiques offered by Wynn and Mandarin Oriental for browsing along the streets, where sellers tempt you with free samples of bak kwa (barbecued meats) and almond cookies freshly made before you.

If you want to haggle, it helps if you speak Mandarin or Cantonese. Finding English-speaking locals to answer queries is still pretty much a hit-and-miss affair.

Macau's old serenity also exists in some fashion, safe from the modernisation and hordes of tourists.

I took a bus ride to Taipa island which still houses a sleepy village of 7,000 people. Here, the folks congregate in the marketplace to chat and enjoy their tea.

I did the same. From where I sat, I could see the modern towers of Macau in the distance but, for the moment, I was not in a hurry to get back.

I had hit the jackpot of tranquillity.

weichean@sph.com.sg

Top photo: AFP

ST Photos: Lim Wei Chean

5 things to do 1 Hop on a bus to visit the islands of Taipa and Coloane to catch a more authentic slice of local life. In Macau, the buses charge one price - MOP 2.50 (S$0.50) - for travel within the peninsula, and slightly more to the islands. 2 Try local cuisine such as salted cod and Portuguese egg tarts with their creamy centres and crispy shells. The latter cost MOP 6 each. 3 Take a MOP 10 bet on a dog at the Canidrome where greyhounds race one another to catch a stuffed rabbit. BANG FOR YOUR BARK: Not only can you catch canines racing at the Canidrome, but you can also bet on them. 4 Relax with a Macanese spa treatment. The Mandarin Oriental special, for instance, features a grapeseed scrub and an indulgent sangria bath for MOP 1,440 for 140 minutes. 5 Check out the casinos with their different themes and interior decors. Admission is free and bets start from as low as $1 for the fruit machines. 2 don'ts 1 Don't forget to pack a pair of walking shoes for sightseeing as the landmarks can be sited quite far apart. 2 Don't be afraid to ask for help. There may be a language barrier as few Macanese speak English, but they are friendly.