Inside Asian Gaming

June 2016 inside asian gaming 13 Industry profile a rather unnatural transition into IT and ran IT at the property level and then for corporate. From IT, well computers are a lot like slot machines so the company said, “Maybe you should take a run at slot machines.” So he started to look after slot machines at the corporate level for Harrah’s across more than 20 properties. IAG: How did you end up working with Aristocrat? CR: It’s actually a really funny story. As I mentioned, I was working in a Country Club and got to know some of the members there. A member who happened to work with Aristocrat was one of the guys I was close to and he also knew my father. I was away at school at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City and was looking for an internship. It so happened that this member of the Country Club was sitting at a table with my father at a mutual friend’s wedding. He said to my Dad, “Hey Bruce, long time no see. What’s Chris doing this summer? Is he going to come visit us at the Country club?” My Dad said, “You know I think he’s actually looking for an internship” and the guy said, “Tell him to stop looking and come work for me.” So I took my first internship with Aristocrat in 2004. I did a summer study program – three months at Aristocrat – then went back to Uni. I did another three months at Aristocrat in 2005 and then started full-time on their graduate program in 2006. That was an unbelievable program and at the end of the program Aristocrat sent me to Sydney, Australia as a graduate exchange student and I got to spend some time with Global Marketing at corporate headquarters in Sydney. It was a great experience and really paved the way for where I am today. IAG: So how did the move to Macau come about? CR: Macau is probably a place I never imagined myself, my family or my career but what an amazing opportunity. I spent quite a long time in product development and it was at G2E a couple of years ago when I was sitting on the stand and looking at this great product that we were producing. I We were about to have a daughter – my wife was three months pregnant and had to get her head around moving internationally so Sydney seemed an easy transition … then I came home one day and said, “How do you feel about Macau?”