Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | September 2013 50 The Asian Gaming 50 – 2013 Paul Steelman likes light. Lots of light. He lavishes it on his spacious hotel lobbies and the archly contemporary restaurants he designs, it fills his wide, bright corridors, even his gaming rooms, where the windows can stretch from floor to ceiling. The architect behind Sands Macao, Four Seasons Hotel Macao, Harrah’s Atlantic City, MGM Grand at Foxwoods, the Hard Rock at City of Dreams, Galaxy Macau, Solaire Resort & Casino in Manila and Vietnam’s newly opened The Grand – Ho Tram Strip probably has done more than anyone to lift casinos out of the dark ages—literally. The impact of this has been profound. Mr Steelman talked a little about it earlier this year at the announcement of his most magnificent opportunity to date— Genting’s multibillion-dollar Resorts World Las Vegas, slated to open in 2016. Casinos “ought to be a sketch of a journey,” he said. “We’re all homesick for places we’ve never been, and we want to Albert Yeung is the businessman who built the “casino paved with gold”. The lobby of the Grand Emperor Hotel & Casino in downtown Macau features a “Golden Pathway” with 78 gold bars, each weighing one kilogram, recessed in the floor under glass panels. The feature aptly sums up Mr Yeung’s personality as a showman and showbusiness entrepreneur. He counts Hong Kong and Hollywood actor Jackie Chan among his friends, with Mr Chan named as a minority shareholder in the Grand Emperor when it opened in January 2006. The casino operates under a gaming license provided by Sociedade de Jogos de Macau. Gaming revenue in the 12 months ended 31st Marchwas up 14%year on year to HK$1.86 billion (US$238 million), accounting for 91.5% of the revenue of Hong Kong-listed 41 Paul Steelman Founder and Principal Steelman Partners 42 Albert Yeung Founder and Chairman Emperor Group deliver our guests to that place.” The seeds of this were planted in the late ’80s before he struck out on his own, through his work with Golden Nugget and Mirage Resorts, and the influence of Steve Wynn, one of the great iconoclasts of casino design, is evident in his approach even now. At various times he’s enunciated this as a set of “rules” that can be summarized by what he terms the “cocooning effect”—the layering of structures within structures, subdividing interior space in ways that makes it seem smaller and more personal. Curved pathways are integral to the effect, as is lighting and the employment of “art as light,” as he puts it, and the modular design of conference and meeting areas, function rooms, entertainment arenas and VIP salons. All have been widely emulated since, and with Las Vegas-based Steelman Partners having designed resorts in more than 30 countries—the firm currently is working on some 85 projects around the world—the effect has been to revolutionize the look of the modern gaming resort and how it functions as public space, how people move in and through it, how building and guest interact with their surroundings, inside and out. It has changed the way casinos feel and has gifted them in the process with an emotional range beyond what most of us would have thought possible even a decade ago. Emperor Entertainment Hotel. The Emperor Group, based in Hong Kong, has become a regional player in entertainment and leisure, with ventures in Macau, China, Taiwan, Thailand and Indonesia, employing some 7,000 staff. It also notably operates a hotel and casino in the North Korean special economic zone of Rason, bordering China and Russia. The property, which according to the company was opened in 1999, was one of the first foreign businesses to make inroads in the isolated nation. Not much current information is available on the Rason casino, though it supposedly caters to Chinese and Russian contractors working in the area who pay a hefty entry fee to get in. Mr Yeung’s official biography recounts that he started in business as a jewelry retailer with a single shop. From that foundation he expanded into property development and investment, financial services, entertainment and movies, hotels, publishing, catering and retailing. No stranger to controversy, he has endured allegations of corruption and organized crime links to retain his position as one of the region’s wealthiest and most influential businessmen. He’s connected to a lot of powerful people, top officials in Beijing reputed to be among them. Born in southern China’s Chiu Chow region, an area renowned for breeding “tough guys,” he collects luxury cars and proudly displays his wealth on expensive “lucky” number plates. He is also a high-profile philanthropist, supporting manymainland Chinese causes.