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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Before<br />
after<br />
It’s not every day you can honestly say you’ve<br />
made a difference in someone’s life, but thanks<br />
to WGM, Ho Tram Resort Casino and the Asian<br />
Poker Tour (APT) there are a few more kids<br />
smiling widely today.<br />
In May this year, the inaugural APT Vietnam<br />
at Ho Tram kicked off with a special Charity Event<br />
which attracted a field of 47 players and raised<br />
US$2,350 for local charity Operation Smile<br />
Vietnam. The APT rounded that figure up to<br />
US$3,000 with WGM matching it dollar for dollar<br />
for a total donation of US$6,000.<br />
Operation Smile Vietnam provides free<br />
surgical treatment for disfigured Vietnamese<br />
children and young adults with facial deformities<br />
– most commonly cleft lips and cleft palates.<br />
Their incredible work transforms lives all across<br />
the country.<br />
Around one in 700 kids worldwide is born<br />
with a cleft lip or palate and although not a life<br />
threatening condition, it can nevertheless lead<br />
to various health and emotional problems.<br />
Children with cleft deformities commonly suffer<br />
from ear infections, malnutrition, respiratory<br />
ailments, dental problems and difficulties with<br />
speech development.<br />
They are also regularly teased at school<br />
which can leave them ostracized – many of them<br />
quitting school as a result and therefore failing to<br />
complete their education or develop adequate<br />
social skills.<br />
Both cleft lips and cleft palates can be<br />
repaired with surgery but many sufferers in<br />
Vietnam don’t have the financial means to do so,<br />
which is where Operation Smile comes in.<br />
Between 13 and 19 June <strong>2015</strong>, Operation<br />
Smile Vietnam held its 15th medical mission in<br />
Ho Chi Minh City using the funds donated by<br />
WGM and APT Vietnam plus further donations<br />
from the Bank of China, ILA, CGV Cinemas and<br />
Diplomatic Golf Club & Consular Club.<br />
A total of 70 patients were examined<br />
on the screening day with 55 receiving their<br />
life-changing corrective surgeries over the<br />
ensuing days. The lucky patients had their<br />
food, transportation and accommodation costs<br />
covered for the duration of their stay as well as all<br />
medical costs from the surgery itself to hospital<br />
charges and medication.<br />
The week proved to be an incredibly<br />
successful one with Operation Smile’s<br />
dedicated team working tirelessly throughout.<br />
It was calculated that the charity’s medical<br />
professionals contributed a total of 2,176 hours<br />
combined while non-medical volunteers added<br />
another 384!<br />
Thanks to their efforts there are 55<br />
Vietnamese children who can now look forward<br />
to a full and normal life – a prospect they could<br />
have only dreamed of without the help of<br />
Operation Smile Vietnam.<br />
If you or your corporation would like to donate<br />
to Operation Smile Vietnam and help fund their<br />
next medical mission, simply visit http://www.<br />
operationsmile.org.vn/ and follow the links.<br />
Visit our website www.wgm8.com to read and comment on every<br />
article ever published by WGM.<br />
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