Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | September 2013 26 The Asian Gaming 50 – 2013 to four times greater than on VIP. A big part of Mr Mecca’s job, as he saw it, was to take the strong customer service standards established at StarWorld, the company’s previous flagship property, and transplant them to the much larger Galaxy Macau. “StarWorld has always been one of the most prominent VIP casinos anywhere in the world,” he says, “and our responsibility at Galaxy Macau was to ensure we gave that same level of welcome and memorable experience as our VIPs have always enjoyed with us to our mass players and premium- direct players.” Mr Mecca and his team have succeeded in doing just that. As a result, Galaxy Macau’s steady gains in the mass market have outstripped those of its local rivals. In the first half of 2013, its mass table gaming revenue soared 45% year on year to HK$4.8 billion, while machine gaming revenue jumped 30% to $742 million. The property’s VIP business fared less well, with revenue up just 4% to $11.9 billion in the first half. Mr Mecca stresses that in order to provide all guests with the coveted “World Class, Asian Heart” experience promised in its marketing campaigns, Galaxy Macau depends crucially on its 8,000 team members—the people who, in his words, “breathe life into the facility”. “We spend a great deal of time and energy training our people, not just when they first join us—we have the dealers’ school and training classes when they join— but then on a regular, ongoing basis,” he says. “We have dedicated people in every department who spend their entire time on the floor, and there are impactful behaviors that we monitor that are all geared towards providing the required level of service. You’ll see that every one of the security guards, as you enter, they’ll make a motion of welcome. And the dealers, after each hand, they’ll look up at the customers and make sure everything is okay. Every department in the property participates in the program, and our goal is to provide a level of service second to none in the industry.” Also integral to keeping Galaxy Macau’s employees motivated is the hands-on approach of GEG’s senior management. Mr Mecca is a fixture around the property. “It’s about all of us being present,” he notes, “all of us participating with these young people, being out here supporting them every day and being on site with them. So they know that we’re out there too. We’re not hidden up there [in corporate offices], we’re out here with all of them, greeting the guests, supporting them and making sure they have all the tools that they need to get the job done.” With the appointment in November of Gabriel Hunterton as deputy COO of Galaxy Macau, Mr Mecca has been able to focus more on the property’s second- phase expansion, the budget for which was recently raised by HK$3.6 billion to HK$19.6 billion (US$2.5 billion). The expansion, which is under way and slated for completion in 2015, will double the size of the resort, adding as many as 500 gaming tables and JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels with a total of 1,300 rooms. Prior to joining GEG, Mr Mecca had served as president and CEO of Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas and held senior executive roles at Mandalay Resort Group, Caesars World, Crown and Las Vegas locals giant Station Casinos. He has more than 30 years of experience in the hotel and gaming industries. It’s been a challenging year for Wynn Macau, one that’s provided Linda Chen with ample opportunity to show why she’s one of the ablest managers in the market. With gaming volumes down across the board in the first half and renovations under way on 600 rooms she’s had to run a tight ship at the only Mobil Five-Star resort in town. The happy result was a profit of HK$3.69 billion (US$473 million) for the six months ended 30th June, and the property’s Hong Kong-listed parent was able to declare a 50-cent dividend. This was achieved in the face of a decline in VIP turnover of almost 9%. Mass-market drop calculated in terms of chips purchased at the tables was down 5%. Slot handle was down almost 13%. It helped that the casino played luckier year on year both in the private rooms and on the main floor—total gaming revenues actually ended the period up 3.2% on H1 2012— but due weight must be given to some 15 Linda Chen Executive Director and COO Wynn Macau substantial increases that were realized in non-gaming revenues, 5.2% in aggregate, driven by a surge in hotel occupancy (+400 basis points) and a HK$50 million jump in retail revenue. What’s most striking about all this, though, is that it was achieved even as the property pulled back on promotional allowances and other sales costs by more than $40 million, shaved 6% off its advertising spend and even found a way to raise salaries across the property. But then Ms Chen’s confidence in her ability to leverage the brand rather than give in to the temptation to overpay for business has always been one of her defining characteristics. And she’s as adept as they come at managing risk. Casino receivables came in at 6% under where they stood in the first six months of 2012. The provision for doubtful accounts was up, but only by 2.2%. Those in the know locally hold her in high regard as one of the principal reasons for this kind of keen competitiveness, especially at the high end of the market, a quiet force operating behind the scenes to skillfully manage key relationships and maintain corporate credibility. She’s been similarly effective as an ambassador for the company in the region, serving as a member of the Nanjing Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (Macau) and personally representing Steve Wynn in Beijing. She’s even been suggested at times as his possible successor.