Masters clack tiles in glitzy Macao casino

In a ballroom of a glitzy casino hotel, the clatter of plastic tiles turned into roaring applause as the winner was determined for an international mahjong competition late Sunday following a weekend-long wrangling over square tables.

Zhao Jian was among some 200 players who had crowded the corner of Macau's Venetian Hotel, vying for a cash prize and a golden mahjong tile-shaped necklace for coming top at the "World Series of Mahjong" competition.

"Sweetheart, we got money," says the 36-year-old from Jiangsu province as he hugged his wife after he was crowned champion for accumulating the most points, at the end of some 20 hours of gaming inside the casino hotel.