Inside Asian Gaming

19 Vendor Spotlight listed company with a casino monopoly within 200 kilometers of Phnom Penh. If aproduct belongs ona casinofloor or slot parlour floor,thenWell Entertainment can supply it—from conventional or radio frequency identification (RFID) enabled gaming tables to multi-player roulette (a very popular product in Indo-China) through to electronic deck checkers, shufflers, chip washers and linked and stand-alone slot machines. Strong support The exhibition attracted interest from companies across the region, with senior representatives from NagaCorp, Star Cruises, and border casinos, including Winn Casino Resort in Bavet, among the VIP guests. “We aim to achieve US$3 million in revenue in the first year of operation,” says Antonio Fong, Well Entertainment’s Managing Director. Nashville Koit, Assistant Vice President, Club Operations, for Malaysia’s Star Cruises, told Inside Asian Gaming at the event: “Indo- China is a growing and dynamic market, and we’re always interested to know about new developments. Well Entertainment’s business model looks very interesting.” Business model That business model involves either sale or lease of equipment with after sales service contracts also available. Mr Fong says he expects 50% of the company’s margin to come from sales, 20% from leasing and 30% from maintenance and support. The leasing option would mainly be offered to companies with the potential for listing, adds Mr Fong. “Within the next 12 months we are targeting US$3 million in revenue and aim to double the number of employees from 15 to at least 30, and possibly more,”he states. One stop shop The company can act as a one-stop shop kitting out whole gaming floors with tables for baccarat, sic bo and other table games popular in Asia. Table equipment is available in basic or high tech format, suiting the wide range of venues and price points found in the local gaming market. Electronic table inventory formats include on-table computer management with RFID enabled chips and chip readers installed in the tables. Electronic security equipment from Chinese suppliers, such as BaiWei’s high-speed card shuffler, offers high standard technology at extremely competitive prices. Club plan Well Entertainment’s ambitionsdon’t stopwithequipment supply. It says it has a deal with a potential partner it describes as a “major company in the casino industry” to operate a slot club in Phnom Penh, using a licence the company acquired from the Cambodian government more than three years ago. The company says it will give more details about the project nearer to the time of launch.Well Entertainment also has ambitions to launch on the Cambodian stock market when market conditions are right. In terms of venue numbers rather than gross gaming revenue, Cambodia is the largest casino market in the Asia Pacific region outside Macau. Growing market There are currently 29 licensed casinos in the kingdom,according to government sources—mostly in resort towns bordering Thailand and Vietnam and serving players mainly from those nations. The government estimates the venues will bring in US$18 million in taxes and licence fees in 2008, a 12.5% increase on 2007. There have also been around 70 licences issued for slot parlours, mostly for use in Phnom Penh. It all adds up to a big and growing market for the sort of high quality sophisticated equipment found in major markets such as Macau. Well Entertainment’s plans also extend beyond Cambodia’s borders. Round-the-clock “We looked around the Southeast Asia market and realised what great potential Cambodia has and what a good opportunity it presents.We also plan to offer our service throughout Indo-China, in countries like Laos and Vietnam,” explains Mr Fong. A key selling point of Well Entertainment’s service is the offer of 24-hour cross-bordermaintenance support fromengineerswho have attended training courses approved by the equipment suppliers. “The idea is we would send technicians over at the time of installation to be on standby in case any technical issues arise. Our