Entertainment Gaming Asia is this month unveiling its first casino development project, Dreamworld Casino, in Pailin, Cambodia. It is a landmark moment for the company, which in recent years has begun to fulfil its ambition of becoming a major player within the Asian gaming marke­t.

Clarence Chung Clarence Chung

The company, which was formerly known as Elixir Gaming Technologies, has been a pioneer in the field of gaming participation operations, providing electronic gaming machines on a revenue sharing basis to the region’s growing and emerging markets.

Having firmly established itself in this particular arena, attention has now turned to the expansion of its gaming operations and the development of several regional casino properties under the Dreamworld brand.

Leading Entertainment Gaming Asia is CEO Clarence Chung, who, in 2008, took over a company in need of new direction. Chung had started out in gaming five years earlier when he joined Melco International Development, a company that holds a stake in both Macau casino operator Melco Crown Entertainment and Entertainment Gaming Asia.

“It was an exciting time for gaming given Macau had recently issued four new casino licences, breaking the long-standing previous monopoly,” he recalls. “It soon became evident that Macau was to become the Las Vegas of the East.”

As an accountant by profession, Chung says he enjoys the value creation process associated with mergers and acquisitions. Attracted by not only the Macau market’s growth potential but the prospect for Melco to play a central role in its development, Chung assisted Melco CEO Lawrence Ho with his Mocha gaming machine participation operations and the development of the company’s Crown Macau casino property, which was recently renamed Altira. He was also involved in the negotiations with Australian operator Crown to form a new joint venture, Melco Crown, and its subsequent acquisition of the last Macau casino licence from Wynn Resorts.

Describing his involvement in the development of Melco Crown’s City of Dreams resort as an important period in his career, Chung says another milestone he is particularly proud of is the successful turnaround of his current company.

“In October 2008 I was appointed CEO and since then we have made dramatic progress in improving the company’s financial performance and operations,” he said.

This feature can be read in full in the May 2012 issue of InterGaming magazine