CHAIRMAN AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Tak Chun Group
CO-CHAIRMAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND CEO
Macau Legend Development Ltd
POWER SCORE: 972
POSITION LAST YEAR: 23
CLAIMS TO FAME
- A Macau junket veteran, having started in the 1990s before liberalization
- Opened first VIP room in StarWorld, the StarWorld Tak Chun VIP Club, in 2007
CHINESE GOVERNMENT pressure and pandemic impacts on major junket operators continue to depress the VIP market, but Levo Chan’s Tak Chun Group is doing a fine job defending its market share as overall junket numbers retreat. But Tak Chun has felt the pressure, too. Currently it advertises 10 VIP clubs in Macau, down from 16 this time last year, in addition to overseas junket operations.
Meanwhile, Chan’s takeover of Macau Legend Development, the former empire of David Chow and his wife Melinda Chan, has had mixed results. Now the largest individual shareholder with a 33.2% stake in Macau Legend, co-chairman and CEO Chan nurtured 64% year-on-year growth in GGR in the first half of 2021, well ahead of the market, but not enough to avoid reporting a loss greater than the company’s revenue. Operations in Laos, where Macau Legend bought the Savan Legend Resorts hotel casino, and plans for new properties in Laos and Cape Verde, remain seriously disrupted.
The jury is still out on the prospects for Chan’s diversification into land-based gaming, real estate and financing, but he is off to a good start by successfully navigating the Legend acquisition and the veteran has the capacity to hold the line amid multiple threats to the industry. Chan has shrewdly done a good job at laying low during this recent period of strong headwinds for the junket industry. He has had membership of political advisory organizations in mainland China – and keeps a plate with the image of President Xi Jinping in his office.
For the full list of 2021 Asian Gaming Power 50 winners, click here.
