Name Andrew Scott | Education University of Tasmania | |
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Born 1969 Mackay, Queensland Occupation Journalist, media commentator, magazine publisher, gaming industry executive, poker player, social activist Awards Macau Person of the Year 2014 | ||
Andrew W Scott (born 1969) is an Australian-born journalist, commentator, magazine publisher, gaming industry executive, high stakes poker player, social activist and former professional blackjack player and educator. He began gambling in 1986, but since the mid 2000s has concentrated more on journalism, the Asian gaming industry and social activism in his adopted home of Macau. He was named Macau Person of the Year for 2014.
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Early life
He was born in Mackay, Queensland, Australia in 1969. He then moved to Brisbane and Auckland before settling in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, in 1979. He moved to Melbourne in 1993 followed by some years in the 2000s as a perpetual traveller between Las Vegas, Hong Kong, Melbourne, Sydney and Macau before settling in Macau in 2009.
Accounting career
His first profession was accounting. He worked in Chartered Accounting firms from 1986 to 1992. During this time he attended the University of Tasmania, graduating with a Bachelor of Commerce in 1994. Although Scott no longer practices as an accountant, he does have an investment company, Awston Holdings, through which he manages his investments. Scott founded Awston Holdings in 1993.
Gambling activities
Scott first attended Wrest Point Hotel Casino in 1986. He was immediately drawn to the game of Blackjack. However, in his early career he had no knowledge of techniques to hide his abilities, and was quickly identified by casino owners as a skilled player, with casinos accusing him of advantage play. Many casinos, including but not limited to all Australian casinos, have frustrated his efforts to win at the game. Despite these measures by the casinos, it is rumoured that Scott has won over $15 million playing Blackjack in over 100 casinos around the world.
BlackJack teaching career
In 1993 Scott founded Blackjack Masters, an Australian-based private school teaching techniques for winning at Blackjack. He operated the school until early 2006, when he handed effective control of the school to one of his Blackjack proteges, Chris S Martin. He remains a consultant to the school. Many of his greatest proteges have gone on to enter into Blackjack profit sharing arrangements with Scott.
Journalism
In the late 1990s Scott began writing articles, mostly on gambling related topics. In recent years, his scope has widened to poker, business, lifestyle and social commentary. Scott has written for (since closed) Bluff Australasia, MSNBC, Crikey, Smartgambler, Punting Ace and World Gaming Magazine (of which he is CEO).
Publishing
In 2009, Scott founded World Gaming Magazine (now simply named WGM) and is currently its CEO. Based in Macau, WGM is Asia's only gaming magazine for consumers covering all forms of betting such as casinos, poker and sports betting. In early 2015, WGM's parent company, World Gaming Group, acquired Must Read Publications, the publishers of Inside Asian Gaming, which covers the Asian gaming industry from the industry standpoint. This left Scott in effective control of Asia’s two predominant gaming magazines - one for the players and one for the industry.
Poker playing
In 2007 Scott began playing in poker tournaments. His most notable achievement was finishing second to Nam Le in the 2008 Asian Pacific Poker Tour Macau High Rollers event, collecting HKD 2.1 million. This result was discussed on the Bluff Australasia Radio Show on Melbourne radio station SEN. His total poker career earnings to date are $392,110.
Poker operations
On 18 April 2015 Scott expanded into conducting poker operations with the opening of the Ho Tram Poker Room, a joint venture between World Gaming Group and The Grand Ho Tram. Almost immediately the Ho Tram Poker Room was announced as the Vietnam stop on the Asian Poker Tour to take place 6 to 13 May 2015. Shortly after, Scott announced the creation of the Vietnam Poker Cup at the Ho Tram Poker Room, with the inaugural event running 21 to 23 August 2015.
Macau Taxi Passengers Association
Scott is the President and a member of the founding board of directors of the Macau Taxi Passenger's Association, which was founded in 2014. This community organisation was established in response to endemic and serious problems and even violence between Macau taxi drivers and their passengers. The Macau taxi industry was claimed to be possibly the worst in Asia at that time.
The MTPA's Facebook group "Macau Taxi Driver Shame" accumulated almost 5,000 members in less than six months and became a major Macau-based community organisation, receiving extensive media exposure in Macau and elsewhere. Scott appeared as spokesman of the MTPA in the media on numerous occasions, lobbying the Macau government to clean up the Macau taxi industry.
Scott authored a detailed Macau Taxi industry analysis and submitted it on behalf of the MTPA to the Macau government's public consultation process on the Macau taxi industry. In three weeks the MTPA organised a petition of 5,470 signatures which was presented to the Macau Transport Bureau.
On 1 January 2015 the Macau government announced a major about face in its handling of taxi driver enforcement, and as a result the Macau taxi driver problem reduced dramatically very quickly.
Macau Person of the Year 2014
On 31 December 2014 Scott was name the Macau Daily Times Macau Person of the Year for 2014 for his activism as the President of the Macau Taxi Passengers Association and Administrator of the Macau Taxi Driver Shame Facebook group. In naming him Person of the Year, the MDT stated, "If a person stands out in this year of 2014, for his courage and dedication, that person is indeed Andrew W. Scott".
Media appearances
Scott has appeared in the media on numerous occasions, as a blackjack player, poker player, gaming industry commentator and President of the MTPA.
From 1993 onwards, frustrated by what he described as his harassment by casinos in Australia, Vanuatu and New Caledonia, Scott appeared on a number of Australian national TV shows, exposing his treatment by the casinos (see above). These included Four Corners, A Current Affair, Today Tonight, The Midday Show and the Today show. He has also been the subject of numerous newspaper, magazine and internet articles regarding his blackjack activities, including Card Player, the Daily Telegraph, the Herald Sun, Melbourne Express, the New Zealand Herald, Ralph, The Age, the Australian, the Canberra Times, the Examiner and the Waikato Times.
From the late 1990s Scott started appearing in the media as a poker player and commentating on the gaming industry generally. He has also appeared in his capacity as a gaming industry executive.
After the formation of the Macau Taxi Passengers Association, Scott appeared on Macau television and radio and in newspapers regularly discussing the Macau taxi issue.