Inside Asian Gaming

september 2016 inside asian gaming 19 On the surface at least, there appears to be somewhat of a logjam of power inside the MGM bubble, with MGM Resorts boss Jim Murren wielding ultimate control and key shareholder Pansy Ho also voicing her well-earned opinion. But on the ground there is no doubt it is MGM China CEO Grant Bowie making the day to day decisions that truly impact the company’s direction in Macau. And while MGM may comprise the smallest piece of the puzzle when it comes to Macau’s six concessionaires, it’s no mean feat that Bowie stands tall and proud as the ranking non-Chinese among them – owners aside. The respect the 58-year-old commands comes on the back of his two decades of experience in the casino industry in Australia. An Adjunct Professor in Tourism and Leisure Management at the University of Queensland, he has also played a key role in Macau’s development. He first arrived in 2003 where he spent five years as President of Wynn Macau – overseeing Wynn’s opening in September 2006 before eventually joining MGM China in 2008. Bowie’s tourism background has been there for all to see in the wake of declining Macau revenues. While some of his industry peers have, at various stages, expressed exasperation at the government’s push for diversification, MGM’s intrepid leader has long taken a different tack. “This change in market conditions is the best thing that could have happened to Macau,” he said last year. “It’s going to create the greatest opportunity we’re ever going to have to actually be able to respond to the changing nature of the Chinese consumer and therefore be price setters rather than just order takers.” At the time, Bowie noted that Macau’s current retail offerings had grown stale, suggesting the company’s under-construction MGM Cotai resort – due to open in 2Q17 – would look for alternatives to the same old luxury brands found in pretty much every other Macau property. That proposal seems in line with last month’s revelation that MGM Cotai would me mass only. “We’ve already made the decision that we’re … opening with only mass tables and that’s obviously the basis of where we see the future of Macau. That’s the decision we’ve taken at this time and we’re going to walk forward as being a mass-only property,” he told reporters in early August. Yet for all of Bowie’s business acumen, MGM remains stifled by its size and space limitations with the company’s Peninsula property boasting just 582 rooms. Its cause hasn’t been helped by twice having been forced to push back the launch date for MGM Cotai from late 2016 to 1Q17 and now 2Q. MGM China’s revenue for the first six months of this year fell 22% year-on-year despite a hotel occupancy rate of 95%. At least MGM Cotai will quadruple the number of rooms, however the figure that really matters will likely be the property’s table allocation. Bowie has certainly been saying all the right things by positioning MGM Cotai as mass market only. If the government likes what they see, that might be enough to match the 250 new tables offered Galaxy Phase 2 and Melco Crown’s Studio last year. If not, the 150 tables recently allocated to Wynn Palace and the Parisian is likely to be the mark. Until then, breath will remain bated. Grant Bowie EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND CEO MGM China Power 2,335 last – Score year Claims to fame The ranking non-Chinese Macau-based casino executive Has a strong track record in mass market sector Oversaw opening of Wynn Macau in 2006 7 Asian Gaming POWER 50 2 0 1 6