Paradise Entertainment Limited is the parent of a group of companies that engages in the development, supply and sale of electronic gaming systems and the provision of casino management services. Jay Chun has been the company’s chairman since 1999 and the managing director since 2002.
Born in Shanghai 50 years ago, he has lived most of his life in Canada and in Hong Kong – and, since 2004, in Macau. Working from Monday to Saturday and occasionally holding informal meetings on Sunday, he has little time off, but when he does, he likes to spend it with his wife and six children.
With a bachelor degree in Computer Sciences from the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, his favourite hobby is playing with high-tech toys with his children.
“I have been playing with drones for about three years, and now we play with the J-engine, which are the engines speedboats have,” he says.
At home, he has his own workshop where he can assembly his toys. Some of the pieces he assembles by himself, while for others like the G-Engine he prefers to hire someone.
“I bought it [G-Engine] to build a boat, but I hired someone to assemble it. G-Engine technology is different and it’s very expensive.”
Unlike his children, his boyhood toys were much more basic.
“When I was a boy, these high-tech toys didn’t exist. There were no remote controls and we didn’t have the distance and speed we have now. Now, you can do things by yourself, you can even make your engine bigger.”
Even though LT Game – a subsidiary of Paradise Entertainment Limited – is one of the major gaming and casino system providers in Macau and Asia Pacific region, Mr Chun does not like gambling himself.
“Personally, not really. I don’t gamble in Macau. It’s very rare, only if new games come out. And if I’m abroad, I just choose something I have never played before.”
For sport he likes to play golf and, occasionally, hockey, in his free time.
“I have been playing golf for more than 20 years, but my handicap is still not really good,” he says, smiling. “I play for fun, for exercise.”
He left Shanghai at the age of 22 and has lived in Canada, Hong Kong and Macau.
“Compared to Hong Kong, business is very different in Macau. Hong Kong is more about finances and here business is more about entertainment,” he says.
He believes LT Game has grown together with Macau. Reflecting on the city he has come to call home, he says Macau is “still good for living”. Even though the number of visitors is high, “you don’t feel it. Maybe they’re inside the casinos,” he adds. He sees a “bit more traffic”, but, overall, he believes life is still “easy going” in the territory. “Macau is small. Especially on the Macau side, everything is basically within walking distance.”
He lives in the NAPE area, near his office. “During weekdays, staying in Macau is very convenient,” he says. On the weekend, he sometimes goes for a walk with his family but admits that the old Macau seems to be disappearing.
“There are not so many unique stores anymore. They’re all pawnshops. Even here, at Rua de Pequim [NAPE], you don’t see pancake or cookie shops, only pawnshops,” he says.
For holidays he likes to travel to Japan, Taiwan or the US. He particularly enjoys skiing in Japan and Korea, and when he needs some beach and sunshine he occasionally heads off to the Maldives with the family.
Jay knows how to cook, but he admits that its usually the domain of his wife.
“I have many gatherings at my house,” he says.
At home, the basic food is Shanghainese, while for some dishes they’ve adopted a Cantonese style.
“I quite like Cantonese food, it’s light. For instance, the way we cook fish [at home] is the Cantonese way. For Shanghainese style, we put a lot of soy sauce in the fish, while for Cantonese style the fish is steamed.”
Whether or not his children will follow in his footsteps in the gaming industry is still difficult for him to tell.
“One is already working in Macau and one is studying Business Information in Hong Kong. The rest are still studying in Macau,” he says, adding: “The one who has graduated already is working in the marketing department in my company.”
Either way, Mr Chun is not concerned.
“My elder daughter likes ice cream shops or cafes and will maybe set up her own business,” he says, adding: “As students, they have to find their own way. It’s not really important to look at the family business. Besides, we’re a listed company [on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange], so we will have no problem finding someone to manage it.”
Targeting the US
With its Live Multi Game terminals, LT Game has taken a large share of the Macau electronic table games market. Recently, it has gained product approvals from regulators in Nevada in the United States, and is exploring European markets. At the Macao Gaming Show, held last November, the company revealed its latest product: a robotic baccarat dealer that will be introduced in the US.
Despite the decrease in Macau gaming revenues over the past year and a half, Mr Chun still believes in the growth potential of the market.
“Mass market is getting more customers and even the government is encouraging it,” he says, adding: “For us it means we have two choices; one is mass table and the other one is slot or ETG [multi-seat electronic table game]. So, there’s an opportunity to push the ETG.”
This year, LT Game will focus on expanding its overseas market, especially in the US.
“In Macau, more than 30 percent is ETG, compared to slot machines, but in the US, ETG is less than one percent, so there is a huge growth potential,” he says.
Macau has new casinos in the pipeline, but the overall number is still limited, considering the size of the territory.
“In Macau, you have 15,000 unit slots for casinos, while there are one million in the US. There are almost 1,000 casinos there.”
Looking at the current economic situation in Macau, Mr Chun says it is difficult to predict whether the gaming industry will fully recover.
“The mass market expansion depends on the number of visitors. Secondly, it depends on the Chinese economy. Obviously, more than 80 percent of visitors come from Mainland China and if they have money in their pockets, it will be good,” he adds. He believes that it will be necessary to increase the number of visitors by 10 percent in order to keep the economy going over the short term.
