Who we are
Our senior management team has 60+ combined years of experience in casino and integrated resorts in the largest gaming jurisdictions around the world: Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Macao, Manila, plus Korea, Vietnam, Saipan and the Bahamas.
Alidad TASH
Managing Director
alidad@2nt8.com
Macao mobile: +853 6538 2242
Alidad Tash has been in the gaming industry since the year 2000. He is currently the Managing Director of Benchmark Solutions Limited in Macao, and Managing Director of 2NT8 Limited, a consultancy in Hong Kong. His most recent position as an operator was the Senior Vice President of Gaming Operations & Strategy at Melco Crown Entertainment from 2010 to late 2016. Reporting to the COO, he oversaw 5,000+ employees in the Table Games and Gaming Machines departments at three Macao properties (City of Dreams, Studio City and Altira) as well as the Analytics and Revenue Management departments. He guided the company into becoming the ultimate premium mass destination in Macao since 2012, posting the highest win per table figures and featuring the highest table minimums. He also increased City of Dream's mass tables hold percentage from an industry-average 21% when he joined, to an industry-leading 36% when he left.
Alidad's first experience in the gaming industry was at Venetian Las Vegas in 2000, overseeing casino marketing analysis and gaming machines optimization. After 5+ years in Las Vegas, he moved to Macao in early 2006 to explore the new gaming frontier. He started the gaming analytics and strategic marketing departments at Sands Macao, and was there for the opening of the Venetian Macao in 2007 and The Plaza Casino in 2008. After ten years in the Las Vegas Sands Corporation (five each in Las Vegas and Macao), he joined Melco Crown Entertainment in 2010 as the Senior Vice President of Strategic Marketing. Two years later, he added Gaming Operations to his set of responsibilities.
Prior to joining the casino industry, Alidad worked in the medical statistics and credit card fields in the United States.
Alidad has obtained two master’s degrees in the US. The first in Mechanical Engineering (Dynamic Systems, Control & Robotics) from University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), and the second in Statistics from University of Southern California (USC).
Lu Hou TSAI
Former Senior Advisor of Gaming Marketing
Lu Hou Tsai has been in Asia since 2010, working in many key regions as a full-time employee (City of Dreams, Galaxy Macau, StarWorld and MegStar), and as a consultant (Japan, Korea, Vietnam and Saipan)
Prior to joining Benchmark Solutions, Lu was the Chief Operating Officer of Meg-Star International, a major VIP room operator in Macao, and other regions in Asia. Lu moved to Macao in 2010 joining Melco Crown Entertainment and helped transform their premium mass program into the best in Macao. In 2013, Lu moved on to Galaxy Entertainment, expanding his role to include all of casino marketing. Later, Lu added brand marketing to his casino marketing responsibilities when he joined the Grand Ho Tram in Vietnam
Lu started his career in the gaming industry with Monte Carlo Las Vegas in 1997. He joined Harrah's Entertainment, now Caesars Entertainment, from 2000 to 2010, working in Las Vegas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and some tribal casinos. His roles includes domestic casino marketing, as well as Asian marketing.
Lu has obtained master's degree in Hotel Administrations from University of Las Vegas (UNLV) and Bachelor of Arts in Business Administrations from University of California Riverside (UCR).
Joe VALDES
Former Director
Joe Valdes is a 25-year veteran of the gaming industry. He began his career at the Trump Taj Mahal, the MGM Grand, and New York-New York Hotel & Casino. He was also Gaming Analyst for the accounting & consulting firm of Arthur Andersen, LLP. Later, as Director of Development, Joe worked at Boyd Gaming’s first large-scale mega-resort, The Borgata in Atlantic City. Joe would later join Las Vegas Sands, Inc., reporting to the CFO and overseeing labor cost control and operational efficiencies for the Venetian n Las Vegas. Joe moved on to its Corporate Development team, and was involved in the development of its resorts in Macao, China including Sands Macao, Venetian Macao and the development of the Cotai Strip. After five years at LVS, Joe worked for the $3 billion Fontainebleau Las Vegas and the $1 billion Fontainebleau Miami.
In 2009, Joe joined the pre-opening team of the $2.4 billion resort Galaxy Macau as AVP of Corporate Financial Planning & Analysis (pre-opening) and Hotel Revenue Management and Digital Marketing departments (post opening). Global Gaming Asset Management (“GGAM”) recruited Joe for the Solaire Resort & Casino in Manila, Philippines as Vice President of Development & Planning which included all pre-opening planning from design development to finance activities, as well as work on its IPO.
Joe joined Baha Mar as its Vice President of Development & Planning, later being promoted to VP of Strategic Marketing & Revenue Management. Joe then created Benchmark Solutions, a gaming consultancy firm providing services to C-level management across Macao, Las Vegas, Korea and Bahamas.