LOOKING BACK, MOVING FORWARD

Asia Gaming Brief is publishing this special December edition as our way of sharing in the celebration of an important historical landmark in the development of Macau, both politically and socio-economically.

Macau, as a Special Administrative Region of China, is celebrating its 20th Anniversary. It’s an opportunity to review how far, or not, Macau has come in these two decades. Amazement seems to be the common denominator when discussing Macau’s stellar growth. Despite an overall ineptitude to cope with “too much of a success” on all sides - industry, government, and public society - what Macau has achieved in these last two decades has been nothing short of extraordinary.

Macau has surpassed anyone’s wildest expectations, including those of the Central Government in Beijing and the international operators.

Some made their calculations and subtracted that Macau wouldn’t be worth it. Others gambled, gambled big, and won. Sheldon Adelson raised the stakes twice, if not trice: first with Sands Macao, which despite the trembling chandeliers and rocking escalators on the opening night, carved the way for everything else that came after, changing the outlook of Macau forever; and buying his own company out of bankruptcy during the financial crisis to rise up from the ashes.

It’s important to remember the old days. The challenges, and triumphs, particularly now, at the end of an era, the term of the first concessions - and sub concessions - of the Macau SAR.

It wasn’t long ago that after breaking up one of the three original concessions with LVS that Galaxy, the newcomer to gaming, struggled to the extent it was deemed necessary to sell part of the company to a financier. It had one of the hardest investor relations jobs ever, but now operates one of the most profitable properties in the world.

How MGM was awarded SJM’s sub-concession. then lost Pansy Ho as a majority partner. Or that Steve Wynn was onto something when he initially ‘expressed’ his need for the government to allow operators to issue direct credit to clients and cut the middle man out of the mix - before anyone in the international industry truly understood what the word “Junket” meant.

How Lawrence Ho partnered with Packer and scooped up Macau’s last sub-concession from Wynn at a ‘measly’ $700 million and now has the strength, plus the balance sheet, to vie for a license in Japan. In these pages we take an in-depth look at each operator, their commitments and contributions to the industry and the local community.

Asia Gaming Brief has repeatedly attested that this industry is its people. Without their personal contributions, today would look quite different. We have invited a number of executives to recall their early experiences.

Looking back is the exercise, moving forward is key. Hence we invite you to peruse what the people who helped make Macau have envisioned for the future.

To all our friends and supporters who have believed in Asia Gaming Brief, developing relevant, engaging, projects for the industry in the Region, we take this opportunity to Thank You for your unwavering support!

Until next year, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

On behalf of Asia Gaming Brief

Rosalind Wade & Luis Pereira

Publishers