Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | September 2011 48 34 (-) Lam Man Pou Chairman Asia Entertainment & Resources Ltd 35 (34) Larry Mullin CEO and Managing Director Echo Entertainment Group Asia Entertainment & Resources Ltd (AERL) is one of Macau’s new generation of stock market-listed junket investors. The company has expanded its business rapidly both by acquisition and organic growth since it entered the market in 2009. AERL was formerly known as CS China Acquisition Corp. It acquired Hong Kong company Asia Gaming & Resort Limited (AGRL) in February 2010. The reason for that acquisition is that AGRL is a holding company for Macau VIP gaming promoters. After injecting those assets into the AERL vehicle, AERL then achieved listing on Nasdaq in New York in July 2010. AERL operates—via AGRL and its subsidiaries—VIP rooms on a commission basis at Galaxy’s StarWorld Hotel & Casino, The Venetian Macao, and since mid-May, Galaxy Macau on Cotai. AERL now has a total of 29 high roller tables in the world’s hottest VIP market. Lam Man Pou is the founder, and has been the chairman, chief marketing officer and a director of AGRL since its inception Macau, S.A. Overlapping that period—from July 2004 to May 2006—he also took on a role as junket agent for Waldo Casino. From May 2006 to early July 2007, Mr Lam was the sole proprietor of the Sang Heng and Spring VIP Gaming rooms in Macau. Not surprisingly, after such extensive experience of the Macau high roller segment, Mr Lam is acknowledged by his peers as an expert. He’s a member of the Macau Gaming Industry General Association of Administrators and VIP Gaming Promoters. After a 20-year career in casino operations in the United States, Larry Mullin was appointed to head up Echo Entertainment Group, formerly Tabcorp’s Casinos Division, in February 2009. When Tabcorp separated its casino properties from its wagering, gaming and keno businesses in June 2011, Mr Mullin became CEO and Managing Director of Echo Entertainment Group, a new standalone company. Comprised of four businesses— hospitality, dining, nightlife and gaming—Echo Entertainment is one of Australia’s largest publicly-listed gaming companies. The group operates four hotel and casino complexes, including its flagship Star City casino in Sydney. Under Mr Mullin, the casinos operation has been aggressively pursuing business from Asian high rollers visiting Australia. Previously in Australia, non-resident Asian VIPs were most likely to take their business to Crown Melbourne. There have been repeated though unconfirmed rumours that James Packer, the Chairman of Crown Ltd, would like to take over some or all of Echo Entertainment’s casino assets. Some analysts have read this as Crown’s tacit acknowledgement of Echo Entertainment’s success under Mr Mullin’s guidance. Back in the world of business facts rather than business speculation, Mr Mullin is responsible for overseeing a period of significant change for the Echo casinos.That includes theUS$860million redevelopment of Sydney’s Star City and the expansion and refurbishment of Jupiters Gold Coast, Treasury Brisbane and Jupiters Townsville at a cost of US$625 million. Mr Mullin has had an influential role in developing the non-gambling offer of the casino industry in the United States. Prior to taking up his position with Echo Entertainment Group in Australia, he served as President and Chief Operating Officer with The Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa, originally a joint venture between Boyd Gaming Corporation and the then MGM MIRAGE, in Atlantic City. Starting in the casino industry as a concierge, Mr Mullin climbed the ranks at Harrah’s in Las Vegas and worked closely with Donald Trump at various Trump resorts. When he received an offer to take the helm at Borgata, Mr Mullin jumped at the opportunity. Prior to the opening of Borgata, Atlantic City had not welcomed a new casino for 13 years. In the run up to The Borgata’s opening in 2003, Mr Mullin led the marketing of the new property as Executive Vice President. In that role, he was responsible for everything from casino operations marketing to brand management, while playing a pioneering role in bringing high-calibre entertainment to Atlantic City. Mr Mullin sums up his business philosophy as being about building personal relationships and providing the best customer service. That, he says, is the way to create world-class venues with a comprehensive offering of entertainment. in May 2007. Since 2010, he has also been chairman of AERL. He is responsible for the overall direction and development of AGRL, its subsidiaries and VIP gaming promoters. He is also in charge of developing AGRL’s and its VIP gaming promoters’ marketing programmes. Mr Lam is a Macau permanent resident and has been involved in the gaming industry in the territory for more than 20 years. He had served as a junket agent for various VIP gaming rooms in SJM casinos and Galaxy’s Waldo Casino before setting up his own gaming promotion business in May 2006. After starting to work for himself, Mr Lam made a steady ascent of the Macau VIP room career ladder—the top of that ladder being generally to become either a junket consolidator or a stock market-listed junket investor. From March 1990 to May 2002, Mr Lam was a junket agent for the casinos of Sociedade de Turismo e Diversoes de Macau, S.A.—the Macau entity that ran Dr Stanley Ho’s Macau casino monopoly until market liberalisation in 2002. At the start of June 2002 through to May 2005, Mr Lam was a junket agent for Casino New Century in Taipa—a casino licensed by Dr Ho’s post- monopoly company Sociedade de Jogos de