In this regular feature in IAG to celebrate 18 years covering the Asian gaming and leisure industry, we look back at our cover story from exactly 10 years ago, “The Asian Gaming 50”, to rediscover what was making the news in September 2013!
We’re just two months away from naming our 2023 Asian Gaming Power 50, but back in 2013 we named our “Big 50” in September.
With our September 2013 cover featuring a who’s who of the Asian gaming industry, taking top spot that year was none other than Las Vegas Sands Corp founder Sheldon Adelson – edging out strong challenges from Galaxy Entertainment Group’s Francis Lui (2nd) and Genting Group’s Lim Kok Thay (3rd).
As IAG wrote at the time, “The casino empire Mr Adelson has built is arguably the most profitable in the world, certainly the most lucrative … The US$22 billion worth of assets (at that time) that comprise it have no peer when you combine the scale of their offerings, their geographical diversity and the depth and potential of their markets.”
While Asia’s integrated resort industry has grown substantially over the past decade, even in 2013 Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands was expansive, with Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands having opened three years earlier and Macau boasting Sands Macao, The Venetian Macao and The Plaza Macao. It was also rumored at the time that Adelson was exploring potential opportunities everywhere from India to Vietnam, although neither became a reality before his passing in January 2021.
There were plenty of familiar faces sitting inside the top 10 of our Asian Gaming Power 50 in 2013, with Lawrence Ho and Steve Wynn rounding out the top 5 ahead of the likes of SJM’s Ambrose So, Suncity supremo Alvin Chau and former Crown Resorts majority owner James Packer.
Those to have since fallen off the list include long-time Marina Bay Sands President George Tanasijevich, Galaxy’s Michael Mecca, William Weidner, Kazuo Okada and Jimei Group Chairman Jack Lam.
Of interest is the presence of Stephen Hung at No 39 – the man who envisioned the failed Macau uber-luxury resort The 13 – and at No 50 Hong Kong businessman Tony Fung.
Fung, who recently sold Casino Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory, had in 2013 envisioned a massive integrated resort development near Cairns in Queensland, comprising eight hotels at full build-out along with luxury residences, an 18-hole golf course, a water park with a man-made lake and lagoon, shopping, dining and entertainment and convention facilities, a sports stadium, and a casino targeting Asian high-rollers, mainly VIPs from China, with 750 table games and 1,500 machine games.
The ambitious 300-hectare project never came to fruition and Fung dropped out of the Power 50 after 2015.
