Lewis Pek Editor
Comment
January 2020
I started writing this column with the intention of discussing Brexit... but I started it and became so dejectedly bored and frustrated by the subject that I gave up. I can’t find anything positive to say - so I’m not going to try.
Instead, my attention this month was drawn to the continued shambolic intrigue surrounding two former casino giants, Steve Wynn and Kazuo Okada.
I remember writing my first story about the two moguls back in 2002, when they were collaborators in Las Vegas building Integrated Resorts that would form a blueprint for expansion, not just on the Strip, but in global markets. A decade later, Wynn forceavbly removed Okada from the his company’s board, worried by impending divorce and the potential loss of control of his company, Okada was thrown under the bus. It would take six years for the mess to be disentangled and for Wynn resorts to drop all claims against Okada.
Steve Wynn would subsequently walk into a mess of his own making with claims of sexual harassment levelled against the tycoon, which would prove unrecoverable. In the meantime, Okada has been fighting his own battles.
The founder of Universal Entertainment, a company that he started in 1969 and from which the Japanese business tycoon grew into a US2.4bn gaming empire, has embraced blogging and social media in a way that is surprising, inspiring, entertaining and more than a bit perplexing.
OKADA HAS EMBRACED BLOGGING AND SOCIAL MEDIA IN A WAY THAT IS SURPRISING, ENTERTAINING AND A LITTLE BIT PERPLEXING
Having launched his foraying into social media in the summer with a bizarre YouTube video announcing a million dollar prize for followers to his twitter account, which showed Mr. Okada guest starring in progressively bizarre home-video presentations, the 77 year old has since been posting prolifically.
Now with his own website -
kazuo-okada.com - the social profile of one of the industry’s greatest exponents is a fascinating descent into conspiracy theories and accusations that chronicle Mr. Okada’s public and private trials and tribulations. He charts what he calls a coup d’etat with Universal Entertainment, Okada Manila and his eldest son’s betrayal. He continues to make accusations against Wynn and claims that his personal vehicles have been fitted with tracking and bugging devices.
He has also appeared in a video with a hamster.
Forget the gloom of January and Brexit - visit
kazuo-okada.com. It’s fascinating, intriguing, and you might just win a million dollars.
EDITORIAL
G3 Magazine Editor Lewis Pek
lewis@gamingpublishing.co.uk +44 (0) 1942 879291
G3Newswire Editor Phil Martin
phil@gamingpublishing.co.uk +44 (0)7801 967714
Features Editor Karen Southall
karensouthall@gmail.com
International Reporter James Marrison Staff Reporter William Bolton
william@gamingpublishing.com Contributors
Yiannis Gangas, Lyle Wraxall, Paul Witten, Milosz Szczgielski, Ivan Rozic, Domagoj Maric, Jeremy Taylor, Keith O’Loughlin
P4 NEWSWIRE / INTERACTIVE / MARKET DATA ADVERTISING
Commercial Director John Slattery
john@gamingpublishing.co.uk +44 (0)7917 166471
Business Development Manager James Slattery
james@gamingpublishing.co.uk +44 (0)7814227219
Advertising Executive Alison Dronfield
alison@gamingpublishing.co.uk +44 (0)1204 410771
PRODUCTION
Senior Designer Gareth Irwin
Production Manager Paul Jolleys
Subscriptions Manager Jennifer Pek
Commercial Administrator Lisa Nichols
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