Inside Asian Gaming

inside asian gaming April 2016 18 IAG: What about Asian gaming outside of Macau. There’s Entertainment City in the Philippines, new developments in South Korea, and Japan always gets mentioned. New regulation might be coming to Cambodia and Vietnam and even Australia is drawing mainland Chinese visitors. Should Macau be worried? GM: As a scholar with a focus on IR management I’m lucky to have been to these jurisdictions over the past few years. I’ve been to Japan to talk about IR development, I’ve worked with Korean gaming sectors, the Philippines and recently I was in Australia. We know other Industry profile jurisdictions have a lot of non-gaming working for them. I have no doubt Macau will always get a considerable slice of the gaming market, but what will we look like if we don’t succeed in diversification? Yes, we will become less attractive. Las Vegas in the 1980s was able to make the turnaround. We know there’s solutions because we’re able to read all of the Las Vegas literature. There’s a case study there. So it’s a matter of taking and applying it in a Macau context. IAG: Tell us a bit about the Irish Bar and the Irish Coffee House. Does every business you open have to be so green? GM: The Irish cultural mix is a very strong brand and Irish bars are known globally as a place of fun and a pint in a good environment. When I arrived I was surprised to see Macau didn’t have an Irish bar so after a year I opened my own. I knew that when people leave work they want to go somewhere offsite for a nice coffee or beer. Will I continue to open green things? I think that’s probably enough in my spare time now to keep me busy. IAG: What do you like to do in your spare time? GM: I used to run a lot. I did ten marathons here and each time would aim for a personal best. Now I have two children, aged one and two, so I spend a lot of time with my family. Before Macau I studied Long Choo Dragon Fist Kung Fu in Hong Kong. A few years ago I took it up again and now I’m going for my second dan. Recently we did a Sunday training session with staff from casinos and they loved it. Several of them want to start their belts. I’m a great believer in sports. I have no doubt Macau will always get a considerable slice of the gaming market, but what will we look like if we don’t succeed in diversification? Yes, we will become less attractive.