Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING DECEMBER 2017 38 ASIAN GAMING POWER 50 2 0 1 7 Rob Goldstein PRESIDENT AND CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER Las Vegas Sands Corp POWER 1,616 LAST – SCORE YEAR CLAIMS TO FAME Sheldon Adelson’s global deputy and enforcer Has overseen key property openings in Las Vegas and Macau 11 A veteran of the company, having served as Executive Vice President of Marketing at the Sands Hotel in Atlantic City before joining Las Vegas Sands in 1995, Rob Goldstein has been at the coalface of LVS’ rise to the top of the global gaming mountain. Over that time he has earned the trust and respect of no less a judge than Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson, ultimately progressing to become Adelson’s right-hand man, trusted confidante and global voice – making sure the boss’ vision becomes a reality. Goldstein has a strong track record. Part of the executive team that oversaw the opening of LVS flagship The Venetian Las Vegas, he became its first President and Chief Operating Officer upon launch in 1999 where, as the company says, “he helped shape the identity of the property and set the stage for its long-lasting success.” When the Palazzo opened in 2007, he took charge there too and with his promotion to President of Global Gaming Operations in January 2011 became a guiding force in LVS’ growth into the industry’s largest multinational. His elevation to President and COO of Las Vegas Sands – which also saw him temporarily fill the role of interim Sands China President prior to the appointment of Wilfred Wong – came in January 2015 following the departure of Edward Tracy and saw him tasked with two key challenges, namely navigating through Macau’s downturn and ensuring the smooth opening of the Parisian Macao. In regards to the former, Sands China emerged from the mini- crisis as market leader, led by its strong presence in the mass market segment. As for the latter, the Parisian has been one of the primary beneficiaries of Macau’s resurgence in 2017 with net revenue up 15.8% year-on-year to US$418 million and Adjusted property EBITDA growing 27.4% to US$135 million. “We’re very pleased,” Goldstein said during the company’s 3Q17 earnings call. “The Parisian has proven to be wildly successful. This quarter, I think, validates our approach there – the themed approach. The façade is exemplary. It attracts 40,000 people a day into the building. And all segments seem to be attracted to this building.” Another tick in Goldstein’s glittering career. James Packer DIRECTOR Crown Resorts POWER 1,513 LAST 9 SCORE YEAR CLAIMS TO FAME Owns controlling stake in Crown Resorts Implemented Crown’s revised strategy of focusing on Australian assets 12 Aftermore than a decade pursuing his dreamof world domination, 2017 will go down as the year James Packer finally conceded defeat. “We didn’t succeed in a global strategy,” Packer told shareholders after returning to the board of Crown Resorts – the Australian casino operator in which he holds a 48.5% stake – in October. “But in terms of the list of Australian companies that have gone offshore and come back to Australia with their tail between their legs, I think we are at the top of the list because we actually made a couple of billion dollars.” The 50-year-old was referring first and foremost to Crown’s 13- year partnership with Melco Resorts in Macau, which officially came to an end in May with the sale of its remaining 27.5% interest. Only two years ago Crown was majority partner. Las Vegas, another of Packer’s long-held ambitions, has also been abandoned with Crown announcing it would sell the parcel of land previously slated for a US$2.5 billion resort called Alon.