The sixth annual ranking of the industry’s most influential people sponsored by:
It is our pleasure each year to be able to dedicate one issue of Inside Asian Gaming to the business men and women who are leading the way for this most dynamic of the world’s gaming regions as it marches toward the future. A rapid march it’s been, too. Much has changed since we published our last Asian Gaming 50.
Twelve months ago, casino legalization in Japan, the third largest economy in the world, the second-largest in Asia, was a desire expressed by a coalition of national lawmakers. — Today, legalization is on the verge of reality, perhaps no more than the next legislative session away.
Twelve months ago, the government of South Korea had entertained proposals by foreign investors for two large-scale resorts and rejected them both. — Today, three large-scale resorts could be starting construction within months, and it’s a strong possibility more are on the way. Twelve months ago, Crown Resorts was lobbying the government of Queensland for a casino to compete with Echo Entertainment’s small and aging venue in Brisbane. — Today, the state is in the throes of the largest expansion of resort gaming in Australian history. Multibillion-dollar destinations have been approved in Gold Coast and on the Great Barrier Reef, and not only is the Crown-Echo rivalry hotter than ever, but now major Chinese investors are in the fray.
Twelve months ago, Vietnam’s first destination resort was brand new and struggling to overcome a ban on domestic play that looks unshakeable as ever. — Today, new regulations are headed to the prime minister to finally open the massive home market, and if that happens, big, big money will be looking to get in.
Twelve months ago, the high-profile management at Manila’s Solaire Resort & Casino had just been fired after two quarters of disappointing returns. — Today, Solaire is expanding, its operational legs firmly under it, Melco Crown is opening a giant gaming resort next door, and the Philippines is shaping up as the regional force its supporters have always believed it could be.
Twelve months ago, Macau gaming revenue was growing by double digits toward a US$45 billion year. The market looked unstoppable. — Today, headwinds are blowing strong out of China, year-on-year returns are falling for the first time since the global financial crisis, and on the eve of Cotai’s much-anticipated second wave, worker discontent has spilled into the streets.
Perhaps there is no better way to explore these breathtaking developments than through the lives of the movers and shakers in the thick of them. That’s our intention in the pages that follow. It led us to identify nine entirely new individuals you’ll want to know more about. — In fact, over the last two years, almost half the lineup has changed.
It’s a challenge, it always is, to try to capture some glimmer of the vision, the daring, the acumen that distinguish the Asian Gaming 50. At best we can acknowledge their impact, and trust you’ll find their stories as compelling as we do.
About the Title Sponsor
Bally Technologies Inc. is a diversified, worldwide gaming company that designs, manufactures, distributes, and operates gaming devices and computerized monitoring, accounting and player-tracking systems for gaming devices. Bally maintains more than 25 offices around the world and employs around 3,400 people. In 1975, Bally (BYI) became the first gaming company to be publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Now based in Las Vegas, Bally strives to lead the industry in innovation, having won more than 80 innovation awards over the past six years.
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