Inside Asian Gaming

IAG NOV 2020年11月 亞博匯 34 2020 POWER 50 50 list is very dynamic, as people move up, and down, and on, for a multitude of reasons. A phenomenon that repeatedly presents during the making of the list each year is the “My business has grown therefore I should move up the list” fallacy. The truth is everyone lifts in a rising tide. As a general rule, the majority of people on the list are managing businesses that grow each year, and just to maintain a spot on the list requires annual growth. Someone doing the same thing year after year and achieving similar results will slowly slip down the list as the years roll by and they get overtaken by more dynamic players. DILEMMAS Although we have become quite adept at putting this list together, the task seems to get more complex each year as the Asian gaming industry matures and becomes more nuanced. How on earth does one compare the sole owner of a smaller property to the brand new “hired help” COO of a much larger one? How about comparing a large property that is still in pre-opening to a smaller one that has been active for years? A junket operator in Macau versus the CEO of the Hong Kong Jockey Club? Or the head of a smallish casino company about to go public to the President of a casino chain in Korea that doesn’t have locals gaming? These are the types of tough questions the selection panel of the Asian Gaming Power 50 wrestles with. As with any such ranked list, there are always criticisms and objections, usually from those who feel slighted. We often hear claims of not reading the list or not caring about it, but we are often contacted 行了徹底改革，為了令榜單更加科學而客觀，我們為每個候選人 引入了「權能指數」（Power Score）。這種方式被證明公平而有 效，因此一直延用至今。 「權能指數」綜合考慮了多種因素，包括該候選人所屬機構 的博彩收入(或有效比較替代)、對該機構的關鍵政策有決定權 的高級管理人員之間的原始分數進行加權「劃分」、就該候選人 是否仍就職於或持有相當股權、任期、該候選人 在過去12個月 的商業活躍程度、其與博彩業的長期關係、及所在司法管轄區 等。一些主觀因素無可避免，但評審組引入一些分值指標以盡量 保持客觀，包括沒有預先設定是否有人應該或不應該出現在排 行榜上。 歸根結底，在我們這個行業中，「強」（Power）的概念通常歸 結為對金錢的直接或間接控制。所能控制的博彩收入越高，則權 能指數越大。但究竟什麼是控制？它其實關於影響力、關乎誰是 最終決策者，但有時可能只關乎屋子裡所有人想向其求取答案 的那個人。正如一國之所以是一國，是因為其他國家的承認，而 一個人之所以強大，是因為其他人的認可。 評選過程中，我們還遇到了如下問題： 哪些國家算亞洲 ? 西至印度，南至新西蘭，東至塞班島，北至蒙古。 那些在博彩業內擁有相當影響力的非營運商，例如監管機構、媒 體評論員、分析師、學者、供應商、顧問、博彩律師等， 是否將他 們計入？ 評審團研究了所有人的權能，但經過慎重考慮後得出的結 論是，不可能將監管機構包括在內(PAGCOR的Andrea Domingo 之所以出現在榜單上是因為純粹將其視為營運商而非監管機構) 。在考慮了所有其他領域代表的權能之後， 只有直接的營運商 才能進入50強。 如何在公司的所有者/首席執行官和首席運營官之間進行選擇？ 許多博彩公司都有一位富有魅力和創業精神的所有者/創 始人/行政總裁，以及一位或許更加老練和冷靜的博彩專業人士