Inside Asian Gaming

inside asian gaming December 2016 34 US$16 million for leading the new casino REIT, Gaming & Leisure Properties. James Murren with MGM Resorts International (US$13.2 million), Mark Fissora, the new CEO at Caesars (US$12.8 million) and Sheldon Adelson at Las Vegas Sands (US$12 million) rounded out the top five paid CEOs. In total, 24 of the 35 CEOs made more than US$1 million in total compensation. The average CEO pay check in 2015 was US$4.9 million, up US$200,000 from 2014. Although the pay packages of these top- Features Lawrence Ho earning CEOs were significant, it appears that they generally deserved them. All five of them had an AETHOS Value Index (AVI) near 100, indicating that their pay was appropriate relative to their company performance. Interestingly, the top performing CEOs based on our AVI were all running small cap companies. It appears that the large cap companies are doing a good job at paying their CEO correctly, even though the pay checks can be very substantial. The best CEO on a pay-for-performance basis was Erwin Haitzmann at Century Casinos. Haitzmann’s pay check could have doubled and he still would have been worth it. Two of the top performers left their jobs recently – Gavin Isaacs at Scientific Games and David Baazov at Amaya. Baazov’s departure has been particularly controversial, due to insider trading allegations. Fourteen CEOs in the gaming industry received a base salary of US$1 million or more. Steve Wynn topped the list this year with US$4 million, while Melco Crown Entertainment and MGM Resorts gave their CEOs a US$2.8 million and US$2 million salary, respectively. The average base salary for 2015 was US$890,000, rising US$50,000 from last year’s average. BONUS SITUATIONS As most bonus programs are tied to base pay, it also comes as no surprise that many of the most highly paid CEOs also received “Who are the richest CEOs in the gaming industry based on their company stock ownership? Three billionaires include Lawrence Ho at Melco Crown, Dr Lui Che Woo at Galaxy Entertainment Group and Sheldon Adelson at LVS.”