WGM#38 NOV/DEC 2015
The Macau gaming industry is synonymous with junkets. First started by none other than Stanley Ho in the 1960s, these junkets and the VIP gamblers they provide have played a vital role in Macau’s rise over the past decade. However, the recent downturn has changed the landscape in this unique part of the world with the junket business suffering more than any other and a number of VIP rooms being forced to close in Macau over the past 12 months. So what does the future hold? In this issue of WGM, we speak exclusively to the Chairman of one of Macau’s biggest junket operators Tak Chun Group, Mr Levo Chan, about the current gaming climate, his expectations for the coming years and why Tak Chun has expanded while other junkets have slowed right down. Poker fans will enjoy our lengthy and intriguing interview with World Series of Poker (WSOP) Tournament Director Jack Effel who explains just how much goes into organizing the world’s biggest tournament series each and every year as well as regaling us with some of his favorite stories from the past. We tackle the smoking debate as Macau’s legislators decide whether to allow smoking in specially designated smoking lounges or ban the habit altogether, while our responsible gambling series sees us visit one of Macau’s main problem gambling treatment centres. In sport, we look at Manchester United’s big gamble on teen star Anthony Martial as well as examining which of the world’s major sports would benefit most from cracking the lucrative Chinese market. And our resident party animal tells us all about one of Macau’s newest trendy nightspots – Ritz-Carlton Bar & Lounge.
The Macau gaming industry is synonymous with junkets. First started by none other than Stanley Ho in the 1960s, these junkets and the VIP gamblers they provide have played a vital role in Macau’s rise over the past decade.
However, the recent downturn has changed the landscape in this unique part of the world with the junket business suffering more than any other and a number of VIP rooms being forced to close in Macau over the past 12 months. So what does the future hold? In this issue of WGM, we speak exclusively to the Chairman of one of Macau’s biggest junket operators Tak Chun Group, Mr Levo Chan, about the current gaming climate, his expectations for the coming years and why Tak Chun has expanded while other junkets have slowed right down.
Poker fans will enjoy our lengthy and intriguing interview with World Series of Poker (WSOP) Tournament Director Jack Effel who explains just how much goes into organizing the world’s biggest tournament series each and every year as well as regaling us with some of his favorite stories from the past.
We tackle the smoking debate as Macau’s legislators decide whether to allow smoking in specially designated smoking lounges or ban the habit altogether, while our responsible gambling series sees us visit one of Macau’s main problem gambling treatment centres.
In sport, we look at Manchester United’s big gamble on teen star Anthony Martial as well as examining which of the world’s major sports would benefit most from cracking the lucrative Chinese market.
And our resident party animal tells us all about one of Macau’s newest trendy nightspots – Ritz-Carlton Bar & Lounge.
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撰 稿 by:<br />
Ben Blaschke<br />
图 片 Images:<br />
WSOP/Giron<br />
Photography<br />
Since joining the World Series of Poker in 2005 – the same year it moved to the Rio after 35 years<br />
at Binion’s Horseshoe Casino – Jack Effel has established himself among poker’s elite tournament<br />
directors and is the main man in charge of the world’s biggest and most prestigious tournament<br />
– the WSOP Main Event. He also has the daunting task of overseeing a 1,500-strong team of staff<br />
across the two months the WSOP runs each year, his responsibilities including staffing, event<br />
structuring, payout calculations and all tournament operations. With the <strong>2015</strong> November Nine just<br />
around the corner, Effel sat down with WGM Managing Editor Ben Blaschke to discuss his career<br />
and all things poker.<br />
Ben Blaschke: 很 高 兴 能 跟 您 聊 天 , 杰 克 。2005 年 WSOP 从<br />
比 尼 恩 搬 至 Rio 时 , 您 就 开 始 参 与 WSOP 的 工 作 , 但 在 谈 到 那<br />
个 时 期 之 前 , 能 先 讲 讲 您 的 扑 克 生 涯 是 如 何 开 始 的 吗 ?<br />
Jack Effel: 当 然 。 这 是 我 在 扑 克 界 的 第 19 个 年 头 了 , 起 点<br />
是 21 岁 时 我 在 密 西 西 比 做 荷 官 。 我 在 德 州 的 达 拉 斯 长 大 ,90<br />
年 代 还 是 青 少 年 的 我 就 踌 躇 满 志 地 想 要 有 一 天 去 加 利 福 尼<br />
亚 。 你 懂 的 ,“ 年 轻 人 , 去 西 部 ”, 成 为 一 名 荷 官 和 牌 手 。<br />
刚 满 21 岁 时 我 到 了 加 利 福 尼 亚 并 得 到 一 份 工 作 。<br />
还 是 青 少 年 时 , 我 常 徘 徊 在 台 球 馆 , 新 年 前 夕 会 给 一 些<br />
私 人 扑 克 游 戏 和 21 点 做 荷 官 - 等 等 之 类 的 。 我 想 在 娱 乐 场<br />
工 作 并 且 玩 扑 克 。 当 时 我 并 不 知 道 , 我 父 亲 实 际 上 二 战 时 在<br />
军 队 中 组 织 过 扑 克 游 戏 ! 他 比 我 母 亲 大 27 岁 , 我 出 生 时 他 已<br />
经 63 岁 了 。 我 的 外 公 以 前 在 周 五 晚 上 也 会 组 织 扑 克 游 戏 。<br />
就 这 样 , 我 一 边 在 大 学 读 学 位 , 一 边 就 在 娱 乐 场 业 中 工<br />
作 了 。 然 后 在 那 段 时 间 的 尾 声 , 扑 克 热 开 始 了 , 让 我 有 机 会<br />
通 过 扑 克 巡 回 赛 在 全 球 各 地 穿 梭 。2005 年 我 来 到 拉 斯 维 加 斯<br />
首 次 协 助 WSOP 的 工 作 , 然 后 哈 拉 斯 (Harrah’s) 给 了 我 更<br />
Ben Blaschke: It’s great to chat to you Jack. You’ve been working with the<br />
WSOP since it first moved from Binion’s to the Rio in 2005, but before we get to<br />
any of that can you tell us a bit about how your poker journey began?<br />
Jack Effel: Sure. This is my 19th year in poker. I started when I was 21 as a dealer<br />
in Mississippi. I grew up in Dallas, Texas and had aspirations as a teenager in the<br />
90s to move to California one day. You know, “Go west young man” and become<br />
a poker dealer and a card player. I went out to California when I first turned 21<br />
and was offered a job.<br />
When I was a teenager I was around pool halls and I dealt some private<br />
card games and blackjack on New Year’s Eve – stuff like that. I wanted to work<br />
in a casino and play poker. Now, I didn’t know this at the time but my father<br />
actually ran poker games back in the army in World War II! He was 27 years older<br />
than my mother and 63 when I was born. My mother’s father also used to run a<br />
poker game on Friday nights.<br />
So I ended up in the casino business while I was going to college and<br />
working on my degree, then towards the tail end of all of that the poker boom<br />
happened which led to an opportunity for me to travel the world through the<br />
poker circuit. In 2005 I came to Las Vegas to assist with the WSOP for the first<br />
time and was then given a higher position by Harrah’s which has built into the<br />
position I hold today.<br />
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