Lawrence, a British national, was a guest of the media forum “Talk Widus” at the Widus Hotel and Casino’s Prism Lounge here organized by the Pampanga Press Club where he presented his plans for the casino.
Lawrence, a veteran in the gaming industry, said he intends to develop the casino as a major entertainment hub for both north Luzon and also north of Metro Manila.
Lawrence said there is a big market in Clark so that even on weekdays, the casino has over 500 clients which double to more than a thousand during weekends with clients mostly coming from north of Manila, north Luzon as well as other outlying provinces in Central Luzon.
“They see Clark as a good place to relax since there is no traffic here and they can easily come here rather than go south of Metro Manila because of the traffic,” he said.
Despite a number of casinos operating in this freeport, Lawrence said Widus has the best casino.
“I think it is good to have competitors within the area but I think Widus is the best casino,” he said.
Lawrence said Widus boasts of the “latest equipment and latest machines” which edges the other casinos.
Lawrence, who is married to a Filipina, is in charge of managing the daily operations of the 4,500 square meters Las Vegas style gaming space which features 250 slot machines and 52 gaming tables.
“I am excited to be part of the Widus team and I look forward to being involved in developing the entertainment offerings available to our guests, continuing our focus on making Widus the premiere venue of choice for relaxation and leisure in Clark,” he said.
Lawrence has over 30 years of gaming operations experience from countries as diverse as the United Kingdom and South Africa and territories such as the West Indies and Macau as well as cruise ships operating across Asia.
Prior to joining Widus, Lawrence was the assistant director of Gaming at resorts World Sentosa, Singapore where he was involved in numerous projects and committees covering all aspects of operations including staff development.
With Widus Casino being a world-class gaming facility, Lawrence also aims to strengthen the company’s campaign on responsible gaming with its new partnership with Life Change Recovery Center (LCRC), a professional counselling and treatment facilityfor individuals with psychiatric or psychological problems.
“I believe this is very important,” he said.
With his expertise and strong management skills, Lawrence will also oversee proposed plans for casino expansion to ensure Widus maintains its position as the top-notch leisure facility in Northern Luzon.
“We are now planning to expand the casino and add more tables,” he said.
