Inside Asian Gaming

July 2016 inside asian gaming 17 Industry profile ended I was asked to go to Tasmania to play soccer – a friend had been appointed coach of Juventus in Hobart. The coach was a builder and roof tiler so I worked with him for about two months but he didn’t pay me. The casino at Wrest Point had opened the previous year and two of my friends had just started working there as dealers. I started working as a dealer in 1974. IAG: Were you attracted to the industry from the outset? MC: The main attraction at the time was that Wrest Point paid their staff and also that there were many beautiful women that worked there – and they all liked to party! Young people from all around Australia came to work at Wrest Point in the early years and we were all one big family. The casino industry has been very good to me. I worked in London at the Playboy Club, in Southern Africa in Botswana and in Swaziland. I worked on cruise ships too and saw the world. In Botswana I started pulling slot machines to pieces and rebuilding them so when I returned to Australia it was a natural progression to work for a slots company that serviced and sold machines in Newcastle. I was employed as a slots technician and went around to the clubs servicing their machines. Once I was in the industry I tried to learn as much about it as possible. IAG: You’ve spent time running various gaming operations in Perth, Melbourne and Auckland. What did you learn from your time working at those properties? MC: Burswood Casino in Perth opened in late 1985. It was an interesting time in the gaming industry in Australia as Adelaide Casino and Jupiter’s on the Gold Coast opened within three months of each other. I was the Slots Department Manager and was responsible for gaming machines, systems and all operational aspects of the department. At Crown Melbourne I was originally employed as a Gaming Shift Manager and then worked my way up to General “Many of the innovations we introduced at Crown have become industry standards worldwide. I remember the fights I had internally when we wanted to introduce pre-shuffled cards to baccarat.” Manager of Table Gaming. Crown was a great learning opportunity. The owner Lloyd Williams was a visionary and was happy for you to spend money if there was a return on investment. Many of the innovations we introduced at Crown have become industry standards worldwide. I remember the fights I had internally when we wanted to introduce pre-shuffled cards to baccarat. Previously after each shoe the new cards were brought to the table still in their boxes, sorted to see if all the cards were present and spread for the customers to see, then shuffled and cut