Crossword Genius

Old Chinese leader about in Las Vegas of Asia (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

macao

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'old chinese' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.

'leader about in ilas vegas ofi iasiai' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'about' could be 'ca' (short for circa) and 'ca' is found within the answer.
'leader' could be 'mao' (Mao is an example) and 'mao' is found in the remaining letters.
No letters remain.
This may be the basis of clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for macao that I've seen before include "Eastern city" , "Former Portuguese colony in China" , "Portuguese province" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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