Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING DECEMBER 2017 20 “At the end of the day, in our industry the concept of ‘power’ generally comes down to direct or indirect control of money. The greater the GGR controlled, the greater the power.” longevity and/or executive tenure, the list predominantly focuses on the activities of the prior 12 months. It’s all about “what are you doing now?” and “what have you done lately?” not “what have you done in the last 15 years?” As such the Power 50 list is very dynamic as people move up, and down, and on, for a multitude of reasons. As part of this year’s exercise we looked over the lists for the previous nine years and surprised ourselves at how many names are no longer on the list, or the names who were once in the top 10 or 20 and who are now ranked much lower. A phenomenon that repeatedly presents during the making of the list each year is the “My business has grown therefore I should move up the list” fallacy. The truth is everyone lifts in a rising tide and because, as a general rule, the majority of people on the list are managing businesses that grow each year, just to maintain any given spot on the list usually requires annual growth. Someone doing the same thing year after year and achieving similar results will slowly slip down the list as the years roll by. Dilemmas Although we have become quite adept at putting this list together, the task seems to get more complex each year as the Asian gaming industry matures and becomes more nuanced. How on earth does one compare the sole owner of a smaller property to the brand new “hired help” COO of a much larger one? How about comparing a large property that is still in pre- opening to a smaller one that has been active for years? A junket operator in Macau versus the CEO of the Hong Kong Jockey Club? Or the head of a smallish casino company about to go public to the President of a casino chain in Korea that doesn’t have locals gaming? These are the types of tough questions the selection panel of the Asian Gaming Power 50 wrestles with. As with any such ranked list, there are always criticisms and objections, usually from those who feel slighted against. We often hear claims of not reading the list or not caring about it, but just as often we are contacted either directly or through surrogates to bemoan the injustice of a perceived lowly position ASIAN GAMING POWER 50 2 0 1 7