Inside Asian Gaming

5 4 For the Locals The only one of South Korea’s casinos not restricted to foreigners, Kangwon Land Re- sort & Casino, opened at the end of 2000, and since then, the local press has regularly detailed and bemoaned the large sums “blown” by Koreans at the property – usu- ally neglecting to consider that the money could have otherwise been lost in casinos abroad, such as Las Vegas, where Korean Air flies non-stop three times a week. In an effort to improve its image, Kang- won Land went on to develop a deluxe ho- tel and convention and resort facilities, in- cluding a golf course, ski slopes and theme park. It is South Korea’s largest casino prop- erty, featuring 132 gaming tables, 960 slot machines and 477 rooms in its hotel. Still, in 2006, gaming accounted for 97.5% of total revenues. Kangwon Land was developed in an ef- fort to revive the economy of the impover- ished Kangwon Province, where once thriv- ing coal mines were abandoned following a slump in demand for coal in the 1990s, lead- ing to an exodus of residents. Violent pro- tests by laid-off miners led to the govern- ment granting permission to develop South Korea’s only casino for locals in the region. Despite Kangwon Land’s inconvenient location – it is four hours by train from Seoul – it now attracts around 5,000 visitors a day. Kangwon Land is listed on the Korean stock exchange, with the government holding a 51% stake. Mainland marketing difficulties Mr Park explains that “Seven Luck has faced difficulties to market to Chinese customers, but we will look into ways to attract more Chinese customers by strategic customer segmentation.” Macau may seem a more obvious draw than South Korea for mainlanders, especially given the massive casino development in progress in the city. However, South Korea has several advantages over Macau. Al- though the latter is accessible by car or bus from the wealthy southern coastal mainland province of Guangdong, Seoul is a mere hour and a half by flight from Beijing, while fly- ing to Macau from China’s capital takes over three hours. Furthermore, being a part of China may not necessarily weigh in Macau’s favour when mainlanders are making holi- day plans. Not only may China’s burgeoning middle-class find travelling to a destination that is not part of their country a more exotic option, but mainland high-rollers wishing to maintain their anonymity – and not just gov- ernment officials hoping to avoid detection – may feel safer placing their bets in South Korea. South Korea attracted 6 million interna- tional tourists in 2006, far short of its targeted 10 million, but the number of China visitors has shown strong growth, reaching 1 million for the year, up from 440,000 in 2000. South Korea also offers Chinese visitors amuchmore diversified offering than tiny Macau. A KNTO survey of Chinese visitors to South Korea in 2006 found that 89% of respondents chose to travel to the country for the shopping, 57% for sightseeing and 38% for food.“Guests are gambling as part of their shopping fun and entertaining themselves with massage or Korean films,” said Kim Hyung Jik, head of the casino sales team at the Seven Luck casino in Seoul’s Hilton Hotel, pictured in this issue’s Tour of the Properties on page 26. Resort ambitions Asked whether Seven Luck has plans to de- velop Vegas-scale casino resorts, Mr Park responds that the company is currently con- centrating on developing its identity and management and customer-service abilities to international standards, and once ready, will consider building mega resorts. He adds that Seven Luck would also look at taking on major international resort operators as part- ners,who would provide not only investment funding but also operating know-how. Seven Luck is currently focused solely on gaming,“but in future will seek to add other entertainment elements to its brand,” says Mr Park. In addition, South Korea boasts one of Asia’s most tech-savvy populations, and “the entire Seven Luck casino experience is auto- mated, from the entrance to real-time track- ing of gaming win or loss,” points out Mr Park. “Guests can check their reward credits any time using a card-reading kiosk at the entrance.” Not content with simply using an off- the-shelf solution, Seven Luck has also devel- oped its own proprietary technology to track guests’preferences and offer customized ser- vices in order to raise the level of customer satisfaction and loyalty. Clean feet Mr Park firmly believes that customers can only be satisfied by happy employees, re- ferring to the “Service-Profit Chain” concept detailed in a well-known Harvard Business Review article. True to Seven Luck’s incor- poration of Korean cultural elements with modern business practices, and with a view to creating awareness among employees of its long-term vision and service philosophy, the company held a “2015 Vision Statement Announcement Ceremony” in March, dur- ing which company executives washed the hands of dealers and feet of casino hosts. Again, the contrast in management style be- tween Seven Luck and Vegas-based opera- tors expanding vigorously in Asia is clear, and Mr Park believes the offering of “irresistible Korean charm” will win customer loyalty and help Seven Luck towards its goal of becom- ing an “entertainment Kingdom.” 100 Lions and Wild Panda are the first in the exciting new range of 100 Line games. Following on from the success of the 50 Line game category, the 100 Line category utilises the same popular 1 credit buys 1 line philosophy and also incorporates a new patented line indicator to make it easy for players to understand. Aristocrat is proud to bring you the latest addition to our Game Range, to entertain your players and to compliment your existing “Proven Performing Aristocrat Games”. For further information please contact the Aristocrat (Macau) Office 335-341, Alameda Dr. Carlos d’ Assumpcao. 17th Floor, Hotline Centre, Macau Telephone: +853 28 722 777 • Fax: +853 28 722 783 • Web: www.aristocratgaming.com © 2007 Aristocrat Technologies Australia Pty Limited. Aristocrat, it’s all in the game, 100 Lions, Wild Panda and the Aristocrat logo are trade marks or registered trade marks of Aristocrat Technologies Australia Pty Limited . AS07AD03