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G2E Asia 2009 offers a wealth of industry knowledge
Day One Conference—Other Sessions
The Global Markets Forum held on Tuesday 2nd June will cover a range of strategic issues.
Asian Operations: Gaming Across the Pacific Rim looks at how provision of land-based gaming has increased in the region and how consumers and operators have responded to the changes. Experts from jurisdictions such as Macau, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Cambodia, the Philippines, India and South Korea will discuss the many opportunities and challenges for operating in the Pacific Rim.
Asian Opportunities: The Potential of New Gaming Jurisdictions presents an opportunity for delegates to hear speakers including Michael Chen, President, Asia-Pacific Region, Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc. and Paul Steelman, President, Steelman Partners, the leading casino design consultancy, give their take on the regional market, where several countries are either considering or are in the process of legalising casino gambling. Taiwan recently sanctioned gaming on several offshore islands. Japan has flirted with the gaming industry for a few years. Thailand may choose to respond to the growth of gaming in Southeast Asia. Vietnam is preparing for an experiment with gaming resorts in Ho Tram. Guam and other Pacific Islands also are considering using gaming as a tourist attraction. During this session, Mr Chen will discuss the political and business realities, legal hurdles and market concerns that come hand-in-hand with the introduction of gaming in these markets.
Frank Fahrenkopf Jr, President & CEO, American Gaming Association will act as moderator for the session. The other contributors are Lloyd Nathan, President, MGM MIRAGE Global Gaming Development, and Takahiro Usui, Manager, Aruze Gaming America Inc., Macau.
Lessons Learned: Re-making Macau, as the title suggests, will cover the challenges facing the local market, where a number of economic and political factors have slowed the explosive growth seen up to the third quarter of 2008. One of the questions under discussion is whether in future the Macau market will grow in a more controlled, less frantic way, and whether in the long run that might lead to more success for all the players. The speakers include Dr Fanny Vong, President, Macau Institute For Tourism Studies.
Cooperation and Conflict: An Overview of Asia’s Regulatory Environment will bring together representatives from several jurisdictions to discuss how each approaches regulatory oversight, integrity and technology as well as operator compliance. Panellists, including: Jorge Godinho, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Macau; Fred Gushin, Managing Director, Spectrum Gaming Group; and
Sam Basile, VP, Legal & Compliance and General Counsel, Aruze Gaming America, will also discuss how regulators and operators are working together today in light of current economic constraints.
Day Two Conference—Other Sessions
In the conference track Casino Design, experts explain how architecture and engineering of resort properties helps not only to realise investors’ and operators’ visions, but also to support the bottom line by building in efficiency.
Going Green: Sustainable Construction for Casino Projects covers energy efficiency schemes that actively support the bottom line as well as enhance the public image of the resort operator. Building Excitement: Asian Style will review some of the projects planned, under construction, or scheduled to open in 2010 and beyond in the Asia Pacific region. The session, including contributions from Paul Steelman, President of Steelman Partners, the leading casino design consultancy, will discuss how the design segment of the casino industry has responded to the recent economic downturn and what it means for the integrated resort concept. The Integrated Resort: Scaled Down? will look at the challenges posed by the economic downturn to the funding, construction and marketing model for integrated resorts in Asia. Experts led by Michael Smith, Managing Director, Head of Asian Real Estate, Investment Banking Division, Goldman, Sachs & Co. will give their opinions on how the integrated resort can still work, whether in a smaller version or by being built in self-funding modules.
The Gaming Floor track covers table games and slot technology applications, operations and IT.
The topics include Standard Procedure: GSA’s Protocol Certification Program presented by Peter DeRaedt, President, Gaming Standards Association. He will outline how GSA’s communication standards, developed for system, gaming and peripheral devices, are being implemented by the world’s leading gaming manufacturers. Mr DeRaedt will also lead discussion on how the standards will enhance interoperability and plug-and-play capabilities in back office systems, on the casino floor, across properties and elsewhere. Giving practical industry insights into the standards will be a panel consisting of: Ian Hughes, Senior Director of Engineering & Client Services, Gaming Laboratories International (GLI), World Headquarters; Adrian Marcu, Chief Architect, Engineering, International Game Technology (IGT); Manson Yip, Senior Client Project Manager, Bally Technologies, Inc.; and Kent Young, General Manager, Executive Vice President, Aruze Gaming America, Inc.
Turning the Tables: How to Increase Revenue and Profitability, will demonstrate how technology, customer service and dealer training can maximise the revenue and profits flowing through the pits on a casino floor. Experts including Gabe Hunterton, Senior Vice President, Casino Operations, MGM GRAND Macau and
Andrew Macaulay, Executive Vice President, Asia, Shuffle Master Inc. will explain how new gaming systems and upgraded RFID elements can track players and maintain the integrity of games. The session will also cover marketing, staff training and evaluation of results.
On the afternoon of day two of the conference, Making a Hand: Poker in Asia
will examine the state of the sport in Asia, the success of poker tournaments, the similarity of poker to other casino games popular in Asia and suggest ways to market poker to casino players in Asia. John Raczka, General Manager of Entertainment & Advertising, Macao Studio City, will be moderator for the session. Tom Hall, CEO and Executive Vice Chairman, AsianLogic, a leading developer, operator and manager of online casinos, online poker, multiplayer P2P and Asian games, and an operator of land based casino games including poker, will be a speaker.
The Marketing track explains developments in this young but growing discipline in the Asian gaming market.
Players’ Clubs, Part 1: A Value Proposition looks at why the slot club cards found in many jurisdictions are not currently as popular with Asian players. Issues include the reluctance on the part of many consumers to identify themselves as well as a general unfamiliarity with the technology and its procedures. The session will explain why players’ clubs offer as much value to the consumer as they do to a casino marketing department. The discussion will consider the finer points of establishing a player tracking programme and offer solutions for overcoming the challenges of doing so in the Asian market.
Players’ Clubs, Part 2: The Evolution of Player Tracking looks at the importance of this methodology and its associated technology, offering delegates ways of determining the best set up for their operations. Speakers for the session include Jay Bertsch, Director, Systems Sales, Konami Gaming, Inc., and Stephen Karoul, Senior Vice President, Strategic Casino Marketing Asia, Marina Bay Sands Pte Ltd and Tony Tong, Co-founder, JIBO Technology Ltd.
Players’ Clubs, Part 3: Creating Loyalty and Player Reinvestment, considers the role of returning some of the money gambled by a player to that player in the form of comps and discounts in an effort to create loyalty. The session will examine marketing expenditures that are forms of player reinvestment, define the player reinvestment rate and ranges found in a variety of competitive markets, and discuss the value of player reinvestment during a financial downturn.
The Alternatives: Web and Mobile Marketing will discuss how to use cell phones and other portable wireless communication technology to spread marketing messages. The panel, led by moderator Dr Andy Nazarechuk, Dean, University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) Singapore Campus, and including Victor Tong, CEO & President, PacificNet, Inc.will also look at the role of website design.
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Mass Marketing: Who is the Asian Player and How to Market to Them focuses on the techniques and tools that can be used to bring players of all levels to a casino. Dr Desmond Lam, Visiting Senior Research Fellow, University of South Australia, will also talk about campaigns that have proved successful with Asian players and look at research into why they work.
Another important topic in maintaining game integrity and operator profitability is Security & Surveillance, which is also given its own track on day two.
Technology & Techniques: Trends in Security & Surveillance considers how even with current general budget constraints, security and surveillance executives are coping, and how to implement technological upgrades when money is tight. The panel also looks at how to anticipate technology trends and also stay ahead of the cheats during an economic downturn.
Video Views: Using Cutting Edge Technology in Surveillance explains how video content can be applied to policy enforcement and evidence collection to protect the business, as well as how it accelerates verification and dispute resolution. Other topics for debate include how to ensure operators adopt technological developments that are practical in the casino environment.
Interviews and the Investigation: Techniques and Practices covers best practice and culturally appropriate techniques when interviewing people during casino-related disputes.
Shape Up Your Staff: Security and Surveillance Workshop, aims to help delegates get the maximum performance from their security team. Brian Kelly, CEO of ATMAAC INTERNATIONAL will identify what he describes as current deficiencies in casino security training and how to overcome them, thus reducing risk, decreasing costs and increasing staff effectiveness.
The Wild Card track on day two of G2E Asia 2009 covers important topics not encompassed by other major industry themes
NCRG at G2E: Common Cause: Best Practices in CSR. The National Center for Responsible Gaming, based in the United States, has initiated this session on corporate social responsibility. CSR leaders from gaming jurisdictions around the world—including: John Catt, Vice President of Public Relations, SJM Joint Ventures and Business Developments and Kate Spilde Contreras, Chair, Sycuan Institute on Tribal Gaming, San Diego State University, will discuss responsible gaming, diversity, sustainability and community reinvestment programs. Judy Patterson, Senior Vice President & Executive Director, American Gaming Association will lead the discussion.
The Labor of Labor: Building a Quality Team considers the variety of labour markets, training programmes and cultural differences to be found in Asian gaming jurisdictions, and how to achieve the goal of a cohesive and service-oriented workforce. Speakers for the session include: Michael Mecca, President & Chief Operating Officer, Galaxy Entertainment Group; and Lizette Mortel, Assistant Vice President for Human Resources, Philippine Amusement & Gaming Corporation.
On With the Show: Entertainment in Asian Casinos brings together a panel of experts including Marcus John, Senior Vice President / Managing Director, IMG Consulting Asia Pacific, to discuss what kind of shows, promotions and production work in Asian markets.
Online All the Time: iGaming in Asia discusses the current state of online gaming in Asia and how it can be regulated, taxed and responsibly operated. The speakers include: Jamie Nettleton, Partner, Addisons; and I. Nelson Rose, Professor of Law, University of Macau, Whittier Law School.
Day Three Conference—Other Sesssions
Last but by no means least, Hold Steady: Maintaining Your Market Share allows experts including Andy Jeon, Marketing Consultant, Kangwon Land, explain how to maintain and even increase service to loyal customers, and say why it’s important to continue to market to all players even in an economic downturn. The discussion will also examine the most successful types of marketing in this environment, be it advertising, direct mail, e-mail, player reinvestment or other techniques.
Global appeal
The huge variety of equipment on display in the exhibition halls at G2E Asia 2009 and the wide range of topics up for discussion at the accompanying conference and educational event show that regardless of the economic challenges facing the industry globally, the international interest in the Asian gaming scene is undimmed. Inside Asian Gaming magazine wishes all the exhibitors and delegates at G2E Asia 2009 an enjoyable and successful show.
