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A close family friend had set up a position for David in a
prominent private equity firmwhich he was to take up a few
months after his resignation. But after taking somewell-earned
timeoffDavidrealisedhehadanunquenchedpassion forworking
in the gaming industry, so he set about unearthing the right
project.Hewasapproachedbyotheronlinepokersitestodevelop
their Asian operations, “But when you’veworked at the number
onecompany,whywouldyouwork foranyoneelse?”David toyed
with the idea of goingback toPokerStars but hewas looking to
dosomethinghedescribesas,“more impossible, something truly
epic inbusiness.”
Hisepicdreamturnouttobethemassivechallengeofstarting
twonewonlinegamingbrandssimultaneously–one formahjong
and the other for poker. As fate would have it, in August 2010
a private fund contactedDavid to consult for them, examining
worldwideonlinegaming legislation for a feasibility study.While
the funddidn’tendup investing intheircurrentprojectprospects,
they asked David to start his own gaming brands with their
funding. After a fewmonths of hardwork, both HeroMahjong.
comandHeroPoker.comwere launched inearly2011.
Mahjong was the perfect place to start. David wanted
to create a skill-based product that didn’t require the level of
education that poker did. That led him to the door of Mahjong
Logic, a company that develops Mahjong software for online
gamingoperators.
“TheMahjongLogicclient iscleanandprofessional, not like
thecartoonyandflashy localproducts. Frompoker Ihave learned
thatwhenplaying forrealmoney,playersaremoreconcernedwith
aproduct that issmoothandstablemore thanflashygraphics, so
workingwithMahjongLogicwas the ideal choice.”
While Mahjong Logic is licensed in the Isle of Man, it is
fundamentally a Swedish company. It was a straightforward
process to launch HeroMahjong.comwith them. Mahjong is a
game that is extremelywell known in theAsianmarket and it is
surprising ithas taken so long to startmakingan impactonline.
Thepoker sideofDavid’soperationwas insomewayseasier
but in others an incredible challenge. David’s understanding of
the industry,especially inAsia, isbetter thananyone’sbutstarting
anewpoker site in this saturatedenvironmentwasalwaysgoing
to be fraught with difficulty. All poker industry heavyweights
understand thatAsia is thefinal frontierand that therearepotsof
goldwaiting tobe found.Manyhave tried,butmosthavealready
failedduetoapoorunderstandingofpokerandmore importantly
ofAsiangamingculture.
“When the investorsfirstaskedmeabout theviabilityof this
poker project, I told them that unlesswewere prepared to take
the exact opposite course of themost successful sites, thenwe
wouldn’t havea chance. Themain component of theHeroPoker
brand is toprovidenewplayerswitha site theycan trustandone
where theycangrowasaplayer.”
David is pushing HeroPoker.com as the “World’s Premier
Online Boutique Poker Room”. Through his work with Merge
Gaming he has acquired some big name pros including Gavin
Griffin (poker’s first triple crownwinner) and Terrence Chan to
support the brand. David also feels that his site caters to new
playerdevelopmentmainly throughguarantee tournamentsand
a special seven-division300-levelVIPprogram.
David isoneof those individualswhoexudeconfidence. He
isaconsummateprofessionalwhoworkstirelesslyand isprepared
tomake toughdecisions.Hispath isone that fewhaveever taken
in the gaming industry. In David’s own words, “The odds are
completely stacked againstme, but that’s whatmakes a hero a
hero–onewhohas thecourage todo the impossible.”
Allpoker
industry
heavyweights
understand
thatAsia
is thefinal
frontierand
that thereare
potsofgold
waiting tobe
found.
所有的扑
克业巨头
都明白亚
洲是终极
前线，有
很多桶金
在等待挖
掘。
第十期
2011
年
5
月
/6
月
|
ISSUENO.10MAY/JUN2011
