Inside Asian Gaming

september 2016 inside asian gaming 39 Asian Gaming POWER 50 2 0 1 6 Building a multi-billion dollar casino resort on Saipan, five hours from anywhere, seemed ridiculous when Best Sunshine won the casino license in 2014 on the largest island in the US Pacific territory Commonwealth of Northern Marianas Islands. But with visa-free entry for mainland Chinese, former heavyweights from Macau junket promoter Henghseng Group behind the scenes, and, since November 2014, Mark Brown at the helm, Best Sunshine has built casinos, cash flow and credibility. Mr Brown, an American with substantial US and Asia experience – he opened Venetian Macao in 2007 – speaks the language in Saipan. He found a site in the main tourist hub for Best Sunshine, part of Hong Kong listed Imperial Pacific International Holdings, to build the 300 room Imperial Pacific Resort, opening early next year. He identified a government-owned plot 20 minutes to the north for “our version of the Cotai Strip with 11 hotels and 9 casinos,” Mr At a touch under 30 square miles, Macau is far from a continental giant. Yet few have managed such widespread influence as Paradise Entertainment’s Jay Chun. A man with many hats, Chun was appointed Chairman of Paradise – of which he owns a 59% stake – in 2002 where his day to day responsibilities include managing Macau’s Kam Pek Paradise Casino and the Macau Jockey Club. Since then he has founded or chaired a number of industry bodies – most recently the Macau Gaming Equipment Manufacturers Association (MGEMA) which aims to promote the interests of equipment manufacturers. Chun is also the man behind the MGS Entertainment Show (formerly Macao Gaming Show), which celebrates its fourth year in November. Brown says, and negotiated with the current leaseholder to leave Best Sunshine as the sole bidder for a new lease. Imperial Pacific has also added former US CIA Director James Woolsey to its board of directors and created an advisory board with two former US state governors and ex-FBI Director Louis Freeh, who investigated Kazuo Okada for Wynn Resorts. Most immediately impactful, Mr Brown won approval for a “temporary casino” to train future resort staff. It began operations in July last year and added VIP play in November. Through the first half of this year, its 48 total tables and 144 slots generated US$714 million in EBITDA and averaged US$2.1 billion monthly roll on no more than 16 VIP tables. After rolling US$3.2 billion in May, the company declared that, until the new facility opens, VIP operations were “saturated.” Not a problem many casinos face these days. However, it was a simple observation he made during the early days of liberalization that would change the face of gaming floors across Macau. Noting the incredible pace with which new casinos were being built, Chun came to the conclusion that a dealer shortage in Macau was inevitable and from here the concept of Live Multi Game Machines was born. Featuring a single live dealer surrounded by dozens of individual betting terminals, Live Multi Game Machines also provided a solution to the government-imposed table cap. An instant hit when the first machines were rolled out under Paradise subsidiary LT Game in 2008, Live Multi Game has gone on to revolutionize Macau’s casino industry with the number of individual terminals now spread across the city up to 3,800 and counting. Mark Brown PRESIDENT AND CEO Best Sunshine International Power 830 last 44 Score year Claims to Fame Developing a US$7 billion resort complex on a speck in the Pacific. Oversaw the opening of Venetian Macao while serving as the property’s President 34