PETER NOLAN INTERVIEW
the casino sector with the Genting Highlands Resort, opened in 1971, and has since expanded into a number of other industries, including plantations and energy production, with the group’s ?ve parent companies achieving a combined market cap of $43bn as of February 2012. The group’s UK arm is the largest casino operator in the country, with its market-leading status set to be preserved after rival casino operator Rank Group shelved its plans to acquire Gala Coral’s 24 land-based venues. Genting also remains London’s leading casino operator with venues such as Colony Club, Maxims Casino Club, The Palm Beach, Cromwell Mint and the Fox Poker Club, acquired in November last year. Crockfords Casino, where eGR met Nolan, remains the group’s most pro?table venue, attracting high-roller, high-pro?le customers, where it can be almost certain of turning a pro?t with only a handful of customers each day. Crockfords claims to be the oldest gaming club in the world, and was acquired, along with the other UK venues, by Genting Malaysia
Top of the pile: Nolan on the roof terrace of Genting’s Crockfords Casino in Mayfair
in October 2010, taking over the running of the casinos from Genting Singapore. Working for such a large Asian ?rm, Nolan says, made it necessary to adapt to a different culture of working: “An Asianled business has a different approach to a UK-led company, which is something you have to get used to, and understand the DNA of the business.” Alongside Genting’s ?ve London casinos, the group operates around 40 venues across the country, including the Star City “supercasino” in Birmingham. “The provincial casinos in areas like Birmingham and Stoke provide the volume, while the London casinos give us the value,” he explains. Unlike the land-based venues, the group only has one online brand, which is designed to attract both casual and high-depositing players, and therefore requires Nolan to work with the land-based venues to develop a marketing strategy ?exible enough to attract both types of players: “Essentially we go for a two-pronged approach to our player recruitment for land-based, so provincial and high roller customers are propping up the online business. The central piece is that we want to be a multi-channel operator, which is able to offer customers the ability to enjoy what they have enjoyed in a landbased casino when they go home, as this increases customer retention, share of wallet and loyalty. “In terms of how we implement that, it differs between the provincial and the London casinos. In the provincial casinos, it’s more about direct marketing, integrating databases and being able to market across databases, and it’s also about having a range of product that appeal to that kind of customer. Here in London, it’s more about personal relationships, and building these in the estate with the managers, and also with the customers. This is just about having people on the ground talking to customers as and when they are in the casino.” Around a year after joining Genting, Nolan received the devastating news that he had an aggressive form of lymphoma which had spread to his organs. Fortunately, he has since made a full recovery, and even helped organise and lead a charity cycle ride across the Pennines, from Morecambe to Bridlington, covering 200 miles in just over two days with 13 friends to raise money for Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research, a charity he jovially describes as supporting “a cause very close to my heart – and at one time my liver, kidney, diaphragm and chest!” Unfortunate timing In order to ensure Genting’s online offering has a strong enough product to attract and retain its customers, Nolan was required to seek out a service provider able to offer a quality product, which led to the ?rm’s exclusive deal with Playtech, signed in 2009. Playtech supplies Genting with casino, bingo and poker software, and despite rumours of the supplier’s iPoker Network being split in two with liquidity for major sportsbooks segregated while other smaller licensees are left with the remaining
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