insid e asian gaming N ovember 2015 4 EDITORIAL AndrewW Scott We crave your feedback. Please email your comments to
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[email protected] or call +853 6328 7737 www.asgam.com ISSN 2070-7681 Chief Executive Officer Andrew W Scott Founder and Adviser Kareem Jalal Chief Operating Officer Michael Mariakis Chief Marketing Officer Derrick Tran Director João Costeira Varela Administrator Cynthia Cheang Administrative Assistant Suie Ng Editor at Large Muhammad Cohen Contributors Muhammad Cohen, Paul Doocey, Kareem Jalal, I Nelson Rose, Andrew W Scott Graphic Designer Rui Gomes Photography Ike, Gary Wong, James Leong, Wong Kei Cheong End of an era – and the start of a new one I t is with a desire to honor the past but also a sense of anticipation and excitement for the future that I put pen to paper (well, fingers to keyboard) to write this, my first ever Editorial for Inside Asian Gaming . Over the last ten years this page has been reserved for the IAG Editor of the day to wax lyrical, analyzing a particularly relevant aspect of the Asian gaming industry. But just this once I hope you’ll forgive a little introspection about this very magazine you hold in your hands. World Gaming Group acquired Must Read Publications Ltd, the company that publishes IAG, effective from May 1st this year, from its founder Kareem Jalal. As CEO of World Gaming Group and our own Macau-based gaming magazine WGM (formerly World Gaming magazine), I’ve long admired what Kareem has done with IAG since he founded the magazine way back in 2005, four years before we established WGM. Asian gaming was a very different industry back then. Macau consisted of the old Lisboa property and a few SJM satellite casinos along with Waldo casino and Sands Macao, respectively the only properties open for Galaxy Entertainment Group and the company which would eventually become Sands China. Wynn, MGM and Melco Crown didn’t even have open properties. Grand Lisboa was still a couple of years away. Casinos in the Philippines were essentially PAGCOR operated affairs, with Resorts World Manila still four years away. Nagaworld in Phnom Penh didn’t even have hotel rooms! Since those early days of the “new” Asian gaming industry, IAG has been a constant presence, documenting every twist and turn. IAG went monthly in January 2007 and hasn’t missed an issue since. IAG is now approaching its 120th edition. Over those nearly 120 editions IAG has built up an impressive list of advertising clients. IAG has become the magazine of record for the Asian gaming industry and like many premier B2B industry magazines, a company needs to advertise in it or be written about in its pages to be considered an important player in the industry. This premier industry leadership is all down to Kareem’s hard work driving IAG over the last decade. So what changes will WGG make to IAG? The answer is almost none. Why would we change a winning formula? That would be a bit like marrying someone and then trying to change them – why did you marry them in the first place? Whatever changes we might make will be will be very minor and for the better. As part of the terms of the acquisition, Kareem will remain on the IAG senior management team for years to come and now sports the rather dashing title of “Founder and Adviser”. We are very mindful that IAG has been Kareem’s baby for the last decade, so any small changes we might consider will only be implemented with his blessing. Its important we honor the magazine Kareem has created and not stray too much from his vision. Kareem will also be maintaining contact with IAG’s clients and other industry contacts. What we will be able to offer to IAG are the resources of the wider World Gaming Group. WGG has three arms: media (including WGM and WGM Daily), consulting (under our World Gaming Consultants brand) and operations (essentially third party revenue share arrangements under our World Players Entertainment brand). Bringing IAG in to this wider group means more staff and more resources will be at IAG’s disposal, which gives us the chance to bring you even more of the great industry stories you’ve come to know and love. Over the years IAG has had a number of Managing Editors, all of whom have contributed in their own ways to making IAG what it is today. In particular I would like to acknowledge both Michael Grimes and James Rutherford, both of whom had extended periods as Editor of IAG, and of course Kareem himself who has acted in the role on many occasions, including right up to last month. It’s time for Kareem to take a very well earned rest though and I’m acting as a temporary editor – but only for a few editions after which we will be passing the baton to a new Managing Editor (who both Kareem and I will approve and guide). Kareem’s a very likeable and popular fellow, and has become good friends with many IAG clients. He’s been a pleasure to deal with during the acquisition process. So while this is not exactly goodbye, since we’ll be working closely together on IAG for years to come, it is a very big thank you Kareem for the contribution you have made to the Asian gaming industry in the last decade. While it is the end of an era in one way, it is the beginning of a new one in others. This year has seen the opening of Galaxy phase II and late last month Studio City – which is the subject of our cover story this month. The next two to three years will see the openings of Wynn Palace, Parisian, MGM Cotai, Lisboa Palace and the much anticipated Louis XIII. Of course all this is in the wake of 17 consecutive months of year-on-year GGR contraction. As they say, “May you live in interesting times.” Just as Kareem navigated IAG as the Asian gaming industry’s magazine of record through the “interesting times” of the last decade, we at WGG intend to do the same through the next decade at least, and no doubt those times will be just as interesting!