Allan Zeman Entrepreneur | ‘The numbers in Macau were great but not real’

‘The numbers in Macau were great but not real’

Allan Zeman, known as the “Father of Lan Kwai Fong,” is a Hong Kong business magnate who sits on the board of Wynn in Las Vegas and also serves as Wynn Macau’s vice chairman. In his opinion, Macau needs to continuously develop its non-gaming market, and he emphasized that the city’s recent economic downturn will teach young entrepreneurs to be “better business people.” The Times interviewed Mr Zeman yesterday on the sidelines of the G2E Asia Conference, which concludes today.

Macau Daily Times – This year’s G2E Asia has put more emphasis on the non-gaming market. Is Macau capable of being like Las Vegas where it could effectively offer both gaming and non-gaming entertainment?
Allan Zeman – I think if Macau does not do that, it will never grow. If we just stick with the gaming alone, I think the crazy years from before when China was booming with a lot of corruption and a lot of problems… the numbers in Macau were great but not real. What we have today is a new norm and I think that will continue. And I think it’s very important that Macau looks at the non-gaming part because that’s what really drove Las Vegas’s growth. Now non-gaming accounts for 60 percent of the business in Las Vegas. I think that is something that is very important for Macau – we need to break out of just the retail, restaurant and gaming sectors. I think we have to move beyond […] with different shows and different forms of entertainment, like Las Vegas did. […] Macau has the ability, they’ve got the money, the government has the money, the operators certainly have the money, I think this is time for companies to slowly change their product […] especially with gaming. It’s a business regulated by concessions, but those who have them need to differentiate themselves from one another. […] I think the non-gaming things are more important than the gaming because in gaming, they’re all the same. The non-gaming drives the gaming and it will make the gaming stronger and stronger.

MDT – What do you think Macau can learn from the recent gaming downturn?
AZ – I think that the recent gaming downturn was actually strong; it’ll make Macau stronger. In the old days, the way businesses were in Macau… it was just too easy. It was attracting wrong elements, [which is] not good for Macau people. I think now you have to go back to running a business through providing a good service, through thinking how you could be better than your competitors. Before you didn’t have to think, you just opened your doors and the crowd would just come in. Now you really have to run your business well, which will teach the young generation in Macau how to be better businesspeople, how to be better operators. It will improve the youth in Macau, and I think that’s much better. In the long term, Macau will become stronger and stronger.

MDT – What impact could the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-
Macau bridge have on the three cities?
AZ – I think that will change dramatically. […] The cities will become bigger, in essence. It has created a bond, a family of cities under one umbrella […] If we use it and if we market it right, it’ll be able to attract more people from all over the world, not just from China. […] Macau is unique in offering gaming, shows, entertainment and restaurants. Hong Kong has its theme parks. […] So the integration will be much closer […] This changes everything. You’ll have an integration of people coming and going and it will just change the whole dynamic of the Pearl River Delta.

MDT – In terms of the cocktail and bar culture in Macau, it’s not as strong as it is in Hong Kong, but new bars are emerging in the city. How do you think Macau could learn from Hong Kong?
AZ – When we talk about bars and that kind of thing, I always say it’s the people that make the place, that make the party. You need the right people and energy to create that atmosphere, and I think that’s something really important. Macau right now is still quite scattered. You don’t have an area where high-class people [hang out]. Some of the clubs in Macau attract the “wrong element,” which is a remnant of the old days. It resembles the old days of clubbing. […] Clubbing today is much more sophisticated. It’s not just a DJ and loud music. Today the millennials want a much more relaxed atmosphere, a place where they can talk and enjoy themselves. You know that will change as well, but it takes time because what you have now is a new culture that has just evolved here, but I think it has to change.

MDT – Macau has allegedly spent MOP6 million on the Rubber Duck and some people are not so happy with it. According to organizers the project aims to “promote art and culture”…
AZ – The rubber duck is known all over the world. I think it’s not a bad thing. I think at the end of the day, it just shows that Macau can also be one of those cities that appreciates culture. […] Unhappiness of the masses [occurs when] they have a harder life, so they think it’s too much money being spent.  But I think at the end of the day, you need more of this, it’ll educate people and make them more appreciative of culture. Staff reporter