Casino operator Melco Crown Entertainment (MCE) has shaken up its senior management ranks following the resignation of its chief operating officer.
On Tuesday, MCE announced that COO Ted Chan had resigned “for personal reasons” after nearly five years in the role. The company said it doesn’t intend to appoint a replacement for Chan, using his departure as an opportunity to “transform its leadership structure in a manner designed to streamline operations.”
Sanford C. Bernstein analysts reported that MCE’s senior VP of gaming operations and strategy Alidad Tash had also resigned. The pair’s exit follows September’s skedaddle of JD Clayton, former president of MCE’s newest Macau property Studio City. Clayton’s role was filled by former Sands China exec David Sisk.
MCE CEO Lawrence Ho says he’s personally taking on day-to-day operational leadership. The shakeup coincides with MCE’s active evaluation of its operations “to optimize financial performance with a focus on improving its marketing initiatives and creating a more efficient reporting structure.” Ho has previously pinned much of the blame for Studio City’s disappointing results on MCE’s marketing team.
Ho said the new organizational structure would allow for “quicker decision making and reactions to a fast-changing market, which should make the company even more competitive in this challenging period of time.” Ho said MCE’s recent performance had improved, but he believes “we have many more near-term opportunities to drive growth and profitability.”
Last week, MCE reported a 22% rise in its Q3 revenue but that was largely due to a full quarter’s contributions from Studio City, which opened on October 27, 2015. Studio City’s failure to live up to expectations led MCE to reverse its previous no-VIP tables stance last weekend via the launch of two junket-run VIP rooms.
In other Studio City news, Japanese pachinko and video game outfit Sega Sammy Creation Inc. just announced that it has installed its first electronic gaming machine Sicbo Bonus Jackpot at the resort as of last month. The game has been active in Macau for a year now.
