Internet Companies Investing Huge Sums in Asian Markets

The Internet companies may be investing huge sums in addressing the Asian market... but in the United States it is the land casinos that have the booming market at the moment.

Foxwoods and nearby rival Mohegan Sun combine to send more than 100 buses every day to predominantly Asian neighborhoods in Boston and New York, according to the article by Associated Press. On the Chinese New Year, Thanksgiving and Christmas, which many Asians don’t celebrate, the number of buses doubles.

Based on gambling floor space Foxwoods is the biggest casino in the world. They estimate that at least one-third of their 40,000 customers per day are Asian. Mohegan Sun says that Asian spending makes up a fifth of its business and has increased 12% during the first half of this year alone.

Between the years 2000 and 2004 the number of Asians in the United States increased by 17 percent, which is the fastest recorded growth of any ethnic group in that period. Few industries have catered to the Asian boom with the cultural competency of the U.S. land gaming industry. 

The two casinos seek to attract Asian customers by placing ads in ethnic media, providing restaurants that serve Asian food and sponsoring Asian community activities. Ernie Wu, director of Asian marketing at Foxwoods, says, “Our Asian blood loves to feel the luck. But we call it entertainment, not gambling.”

The buses are the key to the marketing strategy. Customers pay $10 for a round-trip bus fare and the casino throws in a $12 food coupon and a $40 gambling coupon at no additional cost. Gambling doesn’t require language skills and casinos have set up tables featuring favorite Asian games such as Pai Gow poker and dominoes, Sic Bo and Baccarat. The entrance to the massive “Asian Pit” at Foxwoods is adorned with carved wooden panels. The room teems with Asian customers, both playing and watching.

There are Asian concerts and shows to keep non-players occupied and Mohegan Sun has brought Asian superstar singers to perform at its 10,000-seat arena.

Asians make up roughly a fifth of the 13,000-person staff at Foxwoods and dealers take care not to invoke Asian superstitions.

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