CASINO COMMUNICATIONS
Q &
A
Michael Silberling
CEO , Metropolitan Gaming
Few gaming executives in the world today have had a wider range of commercial , tribal , domestic and international experience than Michael Silberling , CEO of Metropolitan Gaming . In 2021 , when Silver Point Capital took over Caesars ’ European , Middle Eastern and African operations to form Metropolitan , Silberling was tapped to take the reins , and he and his team are looking to take Metro to the top of a U . K . market that finds itself very much in flux . He spoke to GGB Managing Editor Jess Marquez from his London office in July .
GGB : Your experience touches every sector of the gaming industry — U . S ., international , commercial , tribal . Could you summarize these experiences and what led you to this point ?
Silberling : I ’ ve worked in New Zealand , Australia , Africa , the Middle East , Asia , Canada , throughout the United States and South America . If you ’ re familiar with the gaming industry , you could imagine the licensing burden , be it Missouri or the U . K . or Nevada , any of these places . So , I ’ ve worked for , as you say , private and public companies . I ’ ve worked for family businesses , private equity and tribal government . And through that , it ’ s always been casino-centric , but I ’ ve had zoos and game parks and hotels and restaurants and nightclubs and golf courses and marinas , and you name it , I ’ ve done it . I ’ ve always asked myself with these different jobs , can I do the job and contribute ? Will I learn and grow my skill set and will it be interesting and fun ? And answering those questions in the affirmative has literally led me all over the world .
I have to imagine that even for you , the last two years in this role ( as Metro CEO ) has been sort of a whirlwind . What ’ s it been like for you and the team since taking over ?
It ’ s almost like starting a new business . There were so many employees that had been furloughed . All the businesses were shut . So you ’ re really deciding how much money to deploy into this business . How many people do you hire back ? How quickly do you hire them back ? How much capital do you put into the business ? In the last two years , I have to admit that throughout the world there have been some macroeconomic headwinds . But despite that , we purchased a new casino , Park Lane . We sold our South Africa business and we launched a new brand . We rebranded , refurbished and relaunched Metropolitan Mayfair . We built a new loyalty program . We have a new app , we have a new online site . But when I look back at the 24 months that I ’ ve been here , we ’ ve done a lot .
You are heavily invested in the London market — what is the state of the London gaming scene in 2023 ?
We have five licenses deployed across four venues with a spare license to deploy as well . London is such a dynamic place . I think Samuel Johnson said , “ When you ’ re tired of London , you ’ re tired of life .” But on the other hand , you have very fierce competition for the leisure dollar when you are here , between sports and West End shows and all the rest . So you really need to be on top of your game . London , I think , has several micro-markets . Mayfair has some of the top high-end , particularly table game play in the world with some domestic U . K . folks , but largely international visitors from the Middle East , from Asia , from India , etc . So the level of play in London is equal to anything that I ’ ve seen in Las Vegas .
The recent publication of the gambling white paper has sent shockwaves through the U . K . market . How has it affected your business , if at all ?
Unfortunately , it ’ s all vaporware right now . They ’ re in what ’ s called consultation now , which means they ’ re consulting with the various interest groups , some of which have questions and concerns . What we ’ ve seen is very positive , and I like to take a customer-centric point of view . I ’ m loath to put a £ 5 blackjack table there because I have to pay for the electricity and the cost of a dealer and everything else . But if it ’ s just an electronic table game , I can put a £ 1 or a £ 5 blackjack offering out there and have customers having greater price flexibility .
Cashless is also being discussed . We ’ re not allowed to go currently into a cashless environment , which was in the white paper . The last topic I ’ ll mention is credit . As a casino , you have this economic importation of foreign currency and the economic multiplier effect of money coming across a border . And yet we can ’ t give credit to someone from overseas . So these are just a few of the items — more machines , random number generator , cashless , credit . There ’ s a few items that are under consultation that will all be positive for the business .
Speaking of expanding offerings , Metro just went live with its iGaming platform , Metgaming . com . How has that been going ?
We were the largest land-based casino operator in the U . K . that did not have an online offering , and we have a large inactive database of players that we know empirically are gambling with online products . We ’ re with a great partner , Aspire , that has a platform with us . We think we have a nice product for people that are gambling online who aren ’ t brick-and-mortar customers . They can get this omnichannel relationship where we can take care of you when you come in . So , we have solid but manageable aspirations . We ’ re not looking for world domination in marketing spend or spend on tech , but it goes back to being customer-centric . This is an expanded offer for our customers that we think will be win-win .
58 Global Gaming Business SEPTEMBER 2023