Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | September 2009 16 Asian Gaming 50 – 2009 11 (14) Pansy Ho Chui-king Managing Director, MGM Grand Paradise Managing Director, Shun Tak Holdings 12 (-) Linda Chen Chief Operating Officer Wynn Resorts (Macau), S.A. The first half of 2009 has certainly been interesting for Pansy Ho in the gaming and property development fields. The effects of the global credit crunch caused financial challenges in the gaming sector, where her 50:50 partner in Macau, MGM MIRAGE, was for a while left dangerously exposed and looking over-borrowed on its US$8 billion CityCenter project in Las Vegas. A relatively lacklustre performance in VIP revenue from their joint venture Macau property, MGM Grand Macau, despite the bull market that lasted up to the end of the first half of 2008, did little to dispel the gloom. Ms Ho was also under some pressure in her other role as managing director of Shun Tak Holdings, the Macau-focused shipping and property conglomerate chaired by her father Dr Stanley Ho. Shun Tak’s ambitious residential project, One Central, next door required extended hospital treatment due to a reported fall at home. Regardless of the SJM succession issue, Ms Ho’s public profile is likely to grow in the coming years if, as expected, she clears the regulatory hurdle related to her partnership with MGM MIRAGE. to MGM Grand Macau suffered from the international crisis. In one case, an Icelandic insurance company that had an option on a whole tower at One Central was forced to pull out of the deal because of its own liquidity crisis. If Ms Ho thought she was having an exciting year, it got even more exciting in May. State attorneys in New Jersey indicated they would advise the New Jersey Gaming Commission that Ms Ho was ‘unsuitable’ to be a partner for MGM MIRAGE. The claim of unsuitability is thought to relate to unproven allegations made by US Federal Authorities about triad criminal involvement in VIP rooms at casinos operated by her father, Dr Stanley Ho. This stance matters to MGM MIRAGE because it jointly operates with Boyd Gaming a successful casino property in Atlantic City New Jersey. In theory at least, the state authorities have the right to suspend or withdraw MGM MIRAGE’s gaming licence. Ms Ho’s role as a potential heir to her father’s business empire was thrown into sharper focus during August, after Dr Ho background as a native of Shanghai plus a rigorous academic education at Cornell and then Stanford—two of the best universities in the United States—helped to forge one of the most precious of commodities in global business. That is, a highly intelligent and motivated executive who can think and communicate ideas to customers and employees in both a ‘Chinese’ and ‘Western’ way. The result has been that despite Wynn Macau’s modest footprint in the market and a rapid growth of property supply, Wynn has managed to maintain a Macau share in the mid to high teens of percent of gross gaming revenue. Ms Chen has been credited with two major successes. The first was efficient and cost-effective leadership in building Wynn Macauphasesoneandtwoandthesuccessful implementation of Encore, the extension to VIP capacity currently under construction. The second was her understanding of the need to have in place an effective network of high roller agents well in advance ofWynn Macau’s phase one opening in September 2006. This understanding allowed Wynn Macautograbmarketsharefromtheopening day, rather than having to play the catch up game facing those Western operators who learned the hard way that direct players are hard to come by and that the mass market won’t yet fill the revenue gap. MGM MIRAGE, which has a 50% interest in MGM GRAND Macau next door to Wynn Macau, is probably kicking itself that it didn’t hold on to Ms Chen’s talents. If it had, then MGM GRAND Macau’s performance might have been much better. Ms Chen was Executive Vice President of International Marketing for MGM MIRAGE from June 2000 through May 2002, based in the United States. In that capacity, she was responsible for international marketing operations for MGM Gran Las Vegas, Bellagio and Mirage. MGM MIRAGE’s loss has clearly been Wynn Resorts’gain. In 2007, in recognition of her achievements, Ms Chen was appointed to the Wynn Resorts board. There she works alongsideAllanZeman,theHongKong-based entertainment industry entrepreneur, and Kazuo Okada, the pachinko manufacturer- turned-slot king who also gets an entry on this year’s Asian Gaming 50 – 2009 list. Prior to MGM MIRAGE, Ms Chen served in various senior positions with the Mirage, MGM Grand and Bellagio Hotels and opened each of the three properties in 1989, 1993, and 1998, respectively. Linda Chen is distinctive not only for being one of the world’s highest paid female business executives, but also for her ability to maintain a high level of credibility with gaming industry peers in the East andWest. Steve Wynn’s decision to appoint Ms Chen as Chief Operating Officer of Wynn Resorts (Macau), S.A., in 2002 was all about pragmatism, not tokenism. Her