The 2023 Asian Gaming Power 50: Ones to watch

Aside from the 50 people that made our final list and the many others we considered, a handful stood out as particularly worthy of mention. These are usually people whose star is on the rise or who are in a company worth keeping an eye on, however in some cases they are people worth watching simply because they are in the news and attracting media attention – not always for the right reasons!

 

GEOFF ANDRES

Property President

City of Dreams Manila

HAVING PREVIOUSLY run City of Dreams Manila as Property President from November 2015 to February 2018, Geoff Andres returned to his previous role in early 2021 in a swap deal with fellow Melco Resorts executive Kevin Benning, who is now at Macau’s Studio City. That placed him smack bank in the middle of the pandemic, but with the Philippines riding a post-COVID tourism boom, CoD Manila has been Melco’s most reliable earner with quarterly gaming revenues edging towards US$150 million.

ALFREDO “ALBEE” BENITEZ

Founder

DigiPlus

Alfredo Abelardo B. Benitez – more commonly known as “Albee” – doesn’t officially have any day-to-day say in the running of the company he founded, DigiPlus. But that didn’t stop him from speaking on the company’s behalf in October when he publicly called on Macau’s Galaxy Entertainment Group to re-engaged over a previously planned US$500 million joint venture casino resort development on the Philippines island of Boracay. Galaxy responded by saying it is now fully focused on Macau, while DigiPlus issued a statement insisting it wants to focus on developing its technological innovations. That should leave Benitez free to focus on his current role as Bacolod City Mayor, but majority owners are rarely silent.

KEVIN BENNING

SVP and General Manager

Studio City

It’s been an initiation of fire for Kevin Benning ever since returning to the helm of Studio City in 2021 after a brief sojourn with another Melco Resorts property, City of Dreams Manila. Benning is closing in on 20 years in the industry including stints with Sands China and in Singapore with Resorts World Sentosa, but there are few more interesting assignments in Asia than Macau’s Studio City. The past year has seen the opening of Studio City Phase 2, providing two new hotels, an indoor-outdoor water park and more gaming space just in time for the long-awaited return of tourists.

ED BOWERS

President and CEO

MGM Resorts Japan

Holding the dual roles of President of Global Development for MGM Resorts and President and CEO of its subsidiary MGM Resorts Japan, it has been Japan where much of Ed Bowers’ focus has been in 2023. Thanks largely to the work Bowers has done over the past decade, MGM in April was awarded Japan’s first and at this stage only license to develop an integrated resort, with a US$9 billion project now set to break ground on Osaka’s Yumeshima Island. Any doubts over MGM’s commitment were laid to rest when the company inked an Implementation Agreement with Osaka officials in September although the final product won’t be ready until 2030 at the earliest.

TED CHAN

Chief Operating Officer

Galaxy Entertainment Group

A veteran of the Macau gaming scene, Ted Chan was in February announced as the man to replace long-time Chief Financial Officer Robert Drake as Galaxy Entertainment Group’s new CFO. That brought to an end a stint spent leading Galaxy’s push to win an IR license in Japan – a stint that proved fruitless when it became clear how few locations would be putting their hand up. As it stands, Chan may well be more useful back in Macau anyway where his past experience includes roles as Property President of Melco Crown’s Altira Macau between 2008 and 2010 and as Melco Crown Group COO between 2010 and 2016.

 

JAY CHUN

Chairman and Managing Director

Paradise Entertainment Ltd

Changes to Macau’s gaming law have presented come challenges for Jay Chun’s Paradise Entertainment, although the company did ink a new agreement with SJM Resorts late last year to continue managing satellite casino Kam Pek Paradise. A reduction in the number of gaming tables Kam Pek is allowed to operate under the table cap from 49 to 30 will reduce revenue generation, while the company’s gaming supply arm LT Game faces ever increasing competition for market share. On a positive note, Chun’s MGS Entertainment Show has returned in full force in 2023 for the first time in four years – another sign that the market itself is on the way back.

CLARENCE CHUNG

Executive Director

Melco International Development

A FORMER investment banker and M&A specialist, Clarence Chung has been part of the Melco team for almost 20 years. Joining Melco International Development in 2003 before becoming a director in 2006, he is also a director of Melco Resorts, Melco Resorts (Philippines) and Studio City International. Previously Chairman and President of the company’s Philippines entity overseeing City of Dreams Manila, he was earlier this year re-elected to the Melco International Board – continuing his long run in the role. He won’t, however, have to worry about a multi-billion-dollar, mixed-use residential, entertainment and hospitality complex in Zhongshan, Guangdong Province he was tasked with overseeing after Melco recently revealed it had pulled out of the project.

HAKAN DAGTAS

Chief Operating Officer

Newport World Resorts

Veteran Newport World Resorts (NWR) executive Hakan Dagtas first joined the gaming and hospitality industry during his college years, working in various casinos in Turkey before taking up a position with Star Cruises in 1996. He moved to Newport World Resorts, then known as Resorts World Manila (RWM), in 2008 where he was part of the pre-opening team. From 2013, he began working with RWM’s marketing teams as well as overseeing all gaming across the property. He was named COO earlier this year – continuing his steady rise through the ranks. NWR’s parent company Alliance Global group bought out its former joint venture partner, Genting Hong Kong, this year, further cementing Hakan’s central role in driving the company forward.

ANDREW LO

Chairman

LET Group Holdings

ANDREW LO has risen to become the number one man of Hong Kong-listed LET Group Holdings, formerly Suncity Group, since the arrest of his boss Alvin Chau in November 2021. Lo, previously the company’s Chief Investment Officer, also acquired Chau’s shareholding, although LET remains in considerable debt as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and has been actively selling off non-core assets to stay afloat. While a 34% stake in Vietnam integrated resort Hoiana and controlling interest in Tigre de Cristal in Russia remain important holdings, Lo and LET are banking their long-term futures on a US$1.1 billion casino-hotel development in Manila’s Entertainment City, due to open in 2024. Provided they can get to the finish line, it may well prove to be the cash cow they need.

EILEEN LUI

Human Resources and Administration Director

Galaxy Entertainment Group

GALAXY’S Human Resources and Administration Director Eileen Lui is also the daughter of GEG Chairman Lui Che Woo and sister of Vice Chairman Francis Lui. An accomplished businesswoman in her own right, her portfolio is wide-ranging and Ms Lui would often find herself the most senior family member in the building – important for a business which is ultimately a family affair. She is also a member of the Zhuhai Committee of the 7th Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. Ms Lui holds an Executive MBA from Richard Ivey School of Business, The University of Western Ontario and a Bachelor of Arts from University of California, Los Angeles.

SANTIAGO MARTIN

Founding Chairman

Martin Group of Companies

Known as India’s “Lottery King”, Santiago Martin made his fortune printing and selling lottery tickets in Tamil Nadu in 1988, gradually expanding to Karnataka and Kerala and then further afield. After forging lottery deals with local governments, he expanded further to Bhutan and Nepal, winning a monopoly over lottery ticket distribution. His lottery success, built under the Martin Lottery brand, ultimately saw him establish the Martin Group of Companies, with interests in real estate, construction, agriculture, building materials, textiles, hospitality and media.

DHAMMIKA PERERA

Chairman and Managing Director

Vallibel One

One of Sri Lanka’s most successful businessmen, Dhammika Perera’s Vallibel One boasts 54 subsidiaries across six industry sectors, with interests in everything from manufacturing to finance, leisure, packaging, lifestyle and healthcare. But Perera may be best known for his casino empire, holding three of Sri Lanka’s five casino licenses and operating Bally’s Colombo, Bellagio Colombo and The Ritz Club. More recently he has made the move into politics, being sworn into the Sri Lankan cabinet last year with a mandate to use his business skills to help attract foreign investment into the country and grow its struggling economy. He has now expressed interest in running for President in next year’s election.

STEPHEN SCHWARZMAN

Chairman, CEO and Co-founder

The Blackstone Group

Stephen Schwarzman co-founded The Blackstone Group in 1985 – a company originally focussed on mergers and acquisitions but that has since grown to become one of the world’s leading investment firms with US$1 trillion Assets Under Management. Among its more prominent assets have been Blackstone’s investments into the casino space, having bought and sold The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas and still holding partial stakes in Bellagio, Mandalay Bay and MGM Grand. Last year it acquired 100% of the equity interest in Australia’s Crown Resorts in a US$6.5 billion deal. A push into Asia in the future wouldn’t surprise. Schwarzman holds a B.A. from Yale University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

CHEN SI

President

Mohegan Inspire

A veteran of the Macau gaming industry, having spent much of the past decade with Sands China and later Macau Legend, Chen Si stepped into the role of Chief Operating Officer of Mohegan’s new Korean integrated resort Inspire in mid-2022. More recently he was promoted to President, just in time for the property’s planned December opening, with a mandate to guide strategic planning, oversee budget and business plans, and lead the company’s external relationships with government agencies and business partners. Mohegan Inspire will become the second integrated resort to open in Incheon after Paradise City.

ED TRACY

Chief Executive Officer

Hard Rock Asia

THE FORMER Sands China CEO and President became Hard Rock International’s CEO of Asia in 2017, tasked with expanding the company’s regional portfolio including the No.1 target of Japan. That opportunity looks lost for now given the direction Japan’s IR dream has taken, although Hard Rock has maintained its interest in the hope that the industry might gain a second wind in the years ahead. The company was previously focused on Hokkaido, and recent rumors suggest the northern prefecture may soon rekindle its IR interest as a means to boost the economy.

RAVI WIJERATNE

Chairman

Rank Holdings

BORN IN SRI LANKA and educated in the UK, Ravi Wijeratne entered the casino business in 1993 when he purchased Stardust, however he cemented his standing as one of the nation’s casino kings by establishing Casino Marina, Sri Lanka’s largest casino, in 2013. He holds two of the country’s five licenses, with the other three being held by Dhammika Perera. His company Rank Holdings also operates nine casinos in five African countries: Madagascar, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Rank Holdings’ other business segments include dry-land ports, hospitality, pharmaceuticals, construction, agri-business and energy.

 

KIM WONG

Owner

Oriental Group

THE CHINESE-FILIPINO MOGUL has his stamp all over the Philippine gaming industry, particularly in junket operations at the Midas casino and counting offshore-facing online operators such as Oriental Game among his Eastern Hawaii group of companies. Testament to his influence is his avoidance of serious fallout from Chinese media scrutiny of Oriental Game’s operations, and from the Bangladesh central bank e-heist at the New York Federal Reserve. Some US$81 million was channeled to VIP rooms in Manila, including Wong’s. He later returned millions to the government, staring down probes by the Senate and the AML council.

ALBERT YEUNG

Chairman

Emperor Group

Albert Yeung’s business career began when he took the two small Hong Kong watch shops his father owned and turned them into an empire boasting six listed companies making everything from films to furniture. Casino operations have formed part of that empire, having utilized his friendship with Stanley Ho to run satellite casino Grand Emperor, located on the Macau peninsula, under license from Ho’s SJM. Grand Emperor is famous for the Coldstream Guards who grace its entryway, although Emperor Group’s involvement looked set to end last year when it reached an agreement for SJM to take over full control. However, in January Emperor announced it had signed a new deal to resume operations for at least the next three years.

SONNY YEUNG

Chairman and Executive Director

Success Universe

SONNY YEUNG is founder and Chairman of Success Universe Group but is perhaps best known for his role as CEO of Pier 16 – Management Ltd, the operating entity of Macau’s inner harbour casino resort, Ponte 16. Success Universe holds a 49% stake in Pier 16 – Management Ltd, with the other 51% owned by SJM Resorts. For its part, Success Universe focuses on the day-to-day operations and the marketing of Ponte 16, while SJM looks after the finances, however they will work together on their latest plan to help redevelop the surrounding area, including development of outdoor areas to take full advantage of the property’s unique Inner Harbour waterfront location.

ALLAN ZEMAN

Chairman

Wynn Macau Ltd

LEGENDARY Hong Kong-based businessman Allan Zeman, best known for building the famous Lan Kwai Fong entertainment district from the ground up, stepped into the void left by Steve Wynn’s departure to be appointed Chairman of Wynn Macau Ltd in early 2018. A director of the company since its inception, he holds sway with officials in Macau, Hong Kong and mainland China but particularly in Hong Kong where he is a member or advisor to multiple business and economic groups, including the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce. Zeman is also a naturalized citizen of China and holds a Chinese passport.

For the full list of 2023 Asian Gaming Power 50 winners, click here.