Inside Asian Gaming

inside asian gaming October 2016 24 regulatory and legal constraints. In Vietnam and Cambodia it must be an all foreigner field as locals, unless they have a foreign passport, can’t play. In China and Japan and many other counties playing poker where cash is involved is illegal. Poker rooms and tournaments are running in these countries with operators skirting round or adapting to the “legality” issues but in these grey areas the APT is just not interested. BB: How has the game grown in Asia since you started? JM: The country that has grown and matured the most in terms of poker is the Philippines. I think the boom is over but the market now is steady and active. Every major casino has a poker room and there are a number of stand-alone rooms operating, but I feel the market is now nearing saturation point in terms of both the number of poker rooms and the number of poker tournaments on offer. BB: How about in Macau specifically? Of course, the APT is returning to Macau this month after a three-year hiatus which is great but is Macau in general still reluctant to embrace poker? JM: It is good to be returning this year and really we would like to stage at least two events a year in Macau every year. It is not for the want of trying. We need a host casino with an operating poker room but given the small number of poker rooms operating it is not easy. When you think of Macau as the gambling hub of the world and then realize that there is one independent poker room in Manila operating more tables nightly than the entire number on offer throughout Macau, it puts things clearly in perspective! The root cause is the imposed table cap for all casinos in Macau. The quickest way for a casino executive to get fired would be if he replaced a profitable baccarat table with a poker table. Over the years it has been suggested that the exemption of poker tables Industry profile from this cap was under consideration by the regulator. If this happened then the poker scene in Macau would change overnight and would, I feel, fuel the next boom in poker throughout Asia. BB: Let’s talk food. What’s your favorite cuisine? JM: I really don’t have a favorite cuisine, I just enjoy food in general ... and wine! I enjoy Sauvignon Blanc for white wine, normally from New Zealand. If it’s on the list it would be Craggy Range. For red, lately I’ve been into Spanish wine – most Reserva/Gran Reserva Tempranillo’s from Rioja or Ribera del Duero are pretty good. BB: Do you have a favorite restaurant either in the Philippines or further abroad? JM: There are a few. In Hong Kong I like Carbone, Maxims at City Hall, Red Pepper and Ruth’s Steakhouse. In Manila there is Sala, Sala Bistro, Blackbird and El Circulo. And Macau I like Morton’s, Tromba Rija and a few family run Chinese and Portuguese restaurants in the back streets that I can’t remember the names of but know where they are! “I distinctly remember agreeing to a short term contract of three or four months and no more … come 15 March 2017 I will have been with the Group for 10 years!” The APT Poker Room in Manila – the APT would love to set up shop in Macau.