The Thailand Entertainment Complex Roundtable (TECR) – a unique and important Asian industry event – is on today.
Taking place at the prestigious Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok, TECR will see leading international integrated resort operators Galaxy Entertainment Group, Melco Resorts & Entertainment and Wynn Resorts join prominent opposing voices of Thailand’s efforts to legalize casino gaming to discuss in a reasoned and respectful manner the opportunities and the pitfalls that a legal entertainment complex industry could bring to Thailand. It is hoped the event will educate, inform, and create new insights for all participants.
The event – which will be fully bilingual in Thai and English – has drawn great interest from local media in Thailand and will be well attended by the country’s largest mainstream media outlets who will be providing extensive coverage of the day’s proceedings. Such coverage could go a long way towards shaping public opinion as the Entertainment Complex Bill moves forward over the coming months.
Also in attendance will be a select 50-person audience made up of some of the most influential people representing a cross-section of Thai society, such as captains of industry, academics, bureaucrats, NGO leaders and politicians. These include potential EC investors, representatives of the legal and banking communities and members of the Senate committees that are currently examining the government’s Entertainment Complex Bill.
TECR follows an official Press Briefing hosted by the Thai government on Wednesday at which Suksit Srichomkwan, Deputy Secretary-General to the Prime Minister, made special mention of TECR and encouraged the Thai media to follow the day’s proceedings closely.
“There will be a roundtable event organized by the private sector – TECR – wherein operators from abroad will come to share their perspective,” Suksit said during the Press Briefing.
“Today is the government’s perspective. If possible, I would like to invite everyone to attend and listen to this event to see what kind of investment vision each operator sees for Thailand. What are the specifics and what kinds of measures do they have in mind? You can reach out to them if you want more details but we’re already using that input to help shape the draft law.”
TECR is a full-day event that will be divided into two halves. The morning sessions will feature four short presentations by eminent industry leaders who have held C-level positions for decades, each providing background on the real-world operations of entertainment complexes with a view to informing the afternoon’s proceedings.
The afternoon proceedings will take the form of two roundtable sessions, each comprising 45 minutes of discussion between the participating operators and opposing voices plus 15 minutes of audience questions.
The event’s participants are:
CHAIRPERSONS
- Andrew W Scott, Vice Chairman and CEO, Inside Asian Gaming
- Veenarat Laohapakakul, Prominent Thai news program host
PRESENTERS
- George Tanasijevich, Former President and CEO, Marina Bay Sands; Former Managing Director Global Development, Las Vegas Sands
- George Choi, Head of Global Gaming Research, Citi Research
- LAU Kok Keng, Head of Intellectual Property, Sports and Gaming, Rajah & Tann Singapore
ROUNDTABLE
- Kevin Clayton, Chief Brand Officer, Thailand, Galaxy Entertainment Group
- Geoffrey Davis, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited
- Christopher Gordon, President, Wynn Development
- Thanakorn Khomkrit, Secretary-General, Stop Gambling Foundation
- Verapat Pariyawong, Lawyer; Advisor to the House Committee on Finance and Financial Institutions; Founder and Legal Advisor, VLA
- Atawit Suwanpakdee, Chairman, Committee for Industrial Reform Legislation; United Thai Nation Party
- Parit Wacharasindhu, Member of Parliament (Party-list); Spokesperson, Prachachon Party
- Narongchai Yaisawang, PhD, University Lecturer, Research Scholar in Economics
IAG, which has organized the event, will act as a facilitator and honest broker throughout today’s proceedings with no agenda and no particular “horse in the race”. The day will be moderated by Andrew W Scott alongside Veenarat Laohapakakul – a respected Thai journalist with an over 20 year-long career including stints at Nation TV and Channel One. She currently hosts three weekly international affairs programs on online news platform The Standard and PPTV news station.
For more information on TECR, including a full rundown of the day’s schedule, visit www.iagtecr.com.
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