Lawrence Ho, trim, energetic and 40-something, is establishing himself as a new thinker in the casino sector. Talk to Ho about the future of his company, Melco International, and he keeps coming back to the need for something to be “cool”, in the mould of his cinematic heroes: James Bond, or anything by Sylvester Stallone.
Melco International did not get seriously involved in the casino business until 2004, when Ho partnered with Australian billionaire and casino operator James Packer. After Crown suffered debts from ill-timed investments, Ho had the chance to buy up Packer’s shares, and rename the business Melco Resorts.
Ho now talks about the need to bring more technology and digital savvy into the operations of a casino. In the next one to two years, he plans to unveil a new virtual butler system (named Melvis) that will help guests book tickets and plan trips, even before arriving at a Melco property.
“I like new ideas.,” Ho said in an interview with The Peak magazine. “When we started [in the gaming business], it was dominated by very traditional thinking. I understood that we need certain expertise and experiences. But at the same time, we wanted to try new things.”
The break with the traditional mores of his industry animates Ho. “Our industry tends to be very old … as a young company, we are trying to change that,” he said.
And Ho’s desire for newness, particularly extravagant shows, has led to consternation among his more conservative board members. He loves to bring up the House of Dancing Water, created by Franco Dragone: “We spent US$300 million on it during the global financial crisis. I had board members asking me, ‘are you insane?’”
