As a fresh Cornell University graduate, Linda Chen Chih-ling was by her then-boss Steve Wynn’s side when he opened the Mirage in Las Vegas in 1989 – the biggest hotel in the world at the time complete with a boxing ring and a magic show featuring a white tiger.
Thirty years later, while her mentor has quit the casino scene after sexual misconduct charges, the 52-year-old has continued her rise as one of the most influential businesswomen in Macau, the world’s biggest gambling hub. Top of her agenda as vice chairman of Wynn Macau is to revive the fortunes of the special administrative region – and her company – by making it more like, well, Las Vegas.
Although Macau has sixfold gaming revenues compared to its US counterpart, pure gambling activity accounts for 90 percent of its gaming sector’s revenue – a reliance that’s hurting the casino operators as an economic slowdown, exacerbated by the China-US trade war and ongoing protests in Hong Kong, keeps high rollers away.
Wynn Macau’s then executive director Linda Chen Chih-ling talks to reporters at Wynn Macau in Nape in April 2016. Photo: Monica Leong
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