Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | September 2011 44 Kelvin Tan is regarded as one of Macau’s best marketing and relationship builders in the crucial VIP baccarat segment. Market- wide, high-limit baccarat accounted for 75% of the casino gross in the second quarter of this year. Mr Tan’s efforts on behalf of his current employer played a major role in helping Melco Crown Entertainment (MPEL) finally overtakeWynn Macau last year to take third place in the gross revenue league table. Since then, MPEL has consolidated its hold in the market and maintained that spot. MPEL’s competitor, Las Vegas Sands Corp (LVS), first recruited 27 (28) Ken Jolly Vice President – Asia Shuffle Master 28 (19) Kelvin Tan Senior Vice-President, International Marketing Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd Asian Gaming 50 – 2011 Manager Asia Pacific from 2003 to July 2009. He also had a stint as Executive Vice President & General Manager for Aruze, assisting the company in building up its market presence and market share in the region almost from a standing start. Mr Jolly is now using all that experience to help Shuffle Master build on its existing strong reputation, while also shifting market perceptions about what the company actually does and is capable of. Shuffle Master’s live gaming table products, such as Shufflers, Shoes and Chippers, are industry- leading products known for their levels of accuracy and security. It’s testament to Mr Jolly’s skills that he has an understanding of Shuffle Master’s entire suite of products, which cover both electronic, an area he has previous experience with, and also live gaming. The next stage of the company’s development is to reposition itself in Asia and globally as a supplier of floor-wide suites of products, rather than as a niche supplier, and thereby drive not just one-off sales but also recurring revenues—somethingMr Jolly has a proven past record of achievement in. Earlier this year in Macau, Mr Jolly spearheaded an action-packed launch function for Shuffle Master’s Equinox slot cabinet in Asia. The Equinox is a versatile platform that can run as either a slot or multi-terminal station for an electronic table game. Mr Jolly’s deep knowledge of the operational needs of his casino customers through a global career which has seen him in management roles in Europe, the US, New Zealand and Australia, combined with an understanding of his own suites of products and the company business model, gives him a strong platform to help his company to greater success in the region. Shuffle Master appointed Ken Jolly as Vice President for Asia at the turn of the year. Previously, Mr Jolly had been working in a consultancy role on the company’s regional sales. Soon after the permanent post was announced, Adrian Halpenny, President of Australia for Shuffle Master, described Mr Jolly as having “a wealth of knowledge on the Asian markets” and being “forward thinking about what the market needs”. Mr Halpenny might also have added that as a result of those qualities, he’s also one of the most successful salespeople in the regional gaming industry. Mr Jolly has gained that track record through listening very carefully to customer needs, then not only giving it to them, but also pointing out how to make the product work even better in their property. That ability comes from more than 32 years of experience in the business—17 of them in international markets. Previously, Mr Jolly played a key role in establishing Aristocrat Technologies as the biggest supplier in the Macau and Asian slots markets. He was Aristocrat’s General Mr Tan in 2005 as Vice President of Business Development at its local unit, Venetian Macau Ltd. He led the first business development team charged with expanding the premium (i.e., directly recruited by the casino) trade and also the overseas player junket businesses for Sands Macao. During his time with LVS, Mr Tan was also part of the bid team that helped the company secure its Singapore casino licence. Kelvin Tan joined MPEL in January 2009. There he is responsible for the company’s entire International Marketing business, which includes overseeing the VIP Services operations, managing an International Marketing network with five branches, and managing more than 50 junkets operating at both City of Dreams (COD) and Altira Macau. Mr Tan spent the earlier years of his gaming career in the Philippines and has worked for companies including Genting International Inc. and Waterfront Properties Inc. Before arriving in Macau, he founded and ran a consultancy offering strategic planning, feasibility studies, valuations and junket development programs for casinos across Asia. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration and an MBA in Finance from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in the United States. He is also a graduate of the Executive Development Program of the University of Nevada, Reno.