Inside Asian Gaming

inside asian gaming September 2014 28 or no hotel room product being made available to non-high-end customers, we would consider the property’s growth rates to be impressive and indicative that the various initiatives put in place are paying dividends.” The company was looking forward to a rebound through the balance of the summer. On the second quarter earnings call, which Mr Wynn hosted from his office in Macau at the end of July, he said Wynn Macau and Encore were enjoying a record month, and going forward, Ms Chen will have a lot more to work with. The renovations slated for completion early in 2015 will result in “two really spectacular spaces,” as Mr Wynn put it, totaling 27,000 square feet. Then there’s Wynn Palace, on track and on budget to open early in 2016 as the resort Mr Wynn says will be his greatest achievement, the sum total in one fabulous space of everything he and his vaunted team have learned over the years. As for Ms Chen, she’s devoted a stellar career to preparing for it. She was involved in the debut of the MGM Grand, which opened on the Las Vegas Strip in 1993 as the largest hotel in the world, and later was appointed executive vice president of international marketing at Bellagio when Mirage Resorts was bought by MGM Grand (now MGM Resorts International). She also headed up international marketing for MGM Mirage, as the merged companies were known at the time. She rejoined Mr Wynn during the run-up to Wynn Resorts’ Nasdaq listing and the opening of Wynn Las Vegas. She came to Macau in 2002 after Wynn won its casino concession, assuming the role she holds today. She took on the same title with Wynn Macau when it went public on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2009. She also serves as president of Wynn Resorts’ Wynn International Marketing subsidiary. She’s confident Wynn Palace will exert an impact on Macau similar to what she saw at The Mirage all those years ago. “Macau is about starting from the basics,” she has said. “In Vegas, it’s no longer about gaming. It’s about the entertainment. It’s where you would consider the best shows in the world, the best shopping and the best restaurants. It’s about the whole experience, and that’s what we wanted to do [in Macau]. … When we first came to Macau the scene was more about gaming. And the aspiration for Macau, the reason we wanted to be there, is taking it to the next level.” GentingMalaysia , listed on the BursaMalaysia with approximately 24.3 billion ringgit (US$7.6 billion) in market capitalization, is one of the leading leisure and hospitality corporations in the world. Its portfolio includes Resorts World Genting in Malaysia, Resorts World New York City and the UK’s largest casino operation. Lee Choong Yan is responsible not only for Genting Malaysia’s corporate development but also for overall operations at its flagship Resorts World Genting, situated an hour’s drive from Kuala Lumpur. His steady hand is credited with having kept the home market solid in the face of mounting regional competition as the company pursues expansion opportunities abroad. Genting Malaysia has some of the deepest experience among Asian operators. Resorts World Genting, previously known as Genting Highlands, opened in 1971 at a time when gaming was virtually unknown in East Asia outside Macau. The mountaintop location has since grown into a leisure megalopolis of sorts, with some 8,000 rooms in five hotels, a business that generated US$1.8 billion in revenue last year. According to a company presentation released earlier this year, its 2013 EBITDA margins were the second- highest in Asia, behind only Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands. Nevertheless, the operating environment has grown challenging. The critical mass and convenience of Macau, the competitive tax rate and VIP commissions of Cambodia and the overall attractiveness of Singapore are drawing away many of its customers and hitting Lee Choong Yan President and COO Genting Malaysia growth. The company’s five-year CAGR through 2014 was only 5%, and revenue was up only 4% in 2013 over 2012. The company is responding with a 5 billion ringgit (US$1.85 billion) “Integrated Tourism Plan” that is remaking and expanding the resort with new hotels, a 20th Century Fox theme park and a 10,000-seat arena. Expansion overseas has been promising as well. Genting Malaysia operates 41 casinos in the UK. Resorts World New York City is the most lucrative machine gaming operation in the US. Its Bahamas casino, opened last year, is expanding. And there’s a lot more to come in the shape of a US$4 billion megaresort scheduled to open on the Las Vegas Strip by 2017 under the umbrella of parent Genting Berhad. Mr Lee trained as a chartered accountant in London and worked as an investment banker in Hong Kong prior to joining Genting Group in January 1997 and rising up the ranks to his current position, which he has held since 2006. He also holds various directorships in other companies within the group.