If you didn't catch the short video acceptance speech from this year's G2E Asia Visionary Award recipient, Dr. Stanley Ho, I don't think you missed much. And if you didn't make it half way around the world to the Cotai Strip for the yearly event, I hear you didn't miss much either. Word on the street? Attendance was down, operators were no where to be found, and financial problems still persist.
Now, I can't tell you this from first-hand experience so please, correct me if I am wrong. Since our travel budget is pretty slim, I had to stay back and prepare the next issue (oh yeah, and you see this massive new website we built? I had to be here to help with that, too! I L-O-V-E it BTW). But, that doesn't change the fact that this Midwestern American girl wants to see some first-hand Asian gaming action!
I've been watching the news for updates on how the event went, waiting for some juicy bites to surface about the Pansy Ho and MGM meltdown--but nothing, yet. I've been waiting to hear about how the grand opening of City of Dreams faired, and I've been dying to know if LVS finally received an offer on its retail mall. But, the only thing I've found so far is this short, to-the-point acceptance speech from Mr. Ho. Now, since I wasn't there I don't know if this was recorded at the event or pre-recorded (I'm guessing the later), but either way it leaves much to be desired.
When I found the video online, I was hoping for a long, elaborate speech of Mr. Ho refuting the alleged criminal connections he seems to be known for. Or, at the very least, to see some part of his true personality. Instead when I pressed play, I witnessed a bland, precisely spoken, practiced short speech. If you attended the event and ceremony, I hope for your sake you got much more than what I've found. I also hope that the video above isn't indicative of what the entire event was like.
I'm sure there were fantastic deals made amidst the low attendance, and I'm certain that some of you fellow industry insiders lived it up at more than one hot nightspot. But, please, let me in on what value you found at the event. Reed Expo does a stand-up job producing its conferences and expos and I'm sure the organizers did everything in their power to generate excitement and ROI for G2E Asia attendees. Let me know what you saw, or didn't see. I'd love to get a bit of vicarious Asian gaming action headed my way ...
--Krista
Comments
G2E Asia Update
Since I wrote this blog two weeks ago, much more has surfaced about the event. I found an excellent news article online that goes into more detail about Ho's presence at G2E Asia. Read the story here: http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China_Business/KF18Cb03.html It sounds like those in attendance enjoyed a nice, long speech by the master of Macau gaming himself--and that makes me relieved (the video above was prerecorded)! I've also been told that while the Macau market has been suffering, its outlook is far from dismal. Marcus Prater, AGEM's executive director, wrote a great review/recap of the event for our July issue, which will be posted online in the next few weeks, explaining the ins and outs of the market. Be on the lookout for it. In the meantime, if anyone has anything else to add about the event, I'd love to hear about it.
---Krista
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