An apartment in Macau’s central Taipa district is home to Niall and Bolor Murray who set down roots here twenty years ago and have become well known and respected fixtures in the local business community
Veteran gaming expert and consultant Niall Murray arrived in Macau 2004, coming from the Venetian in Las Vegas to join the opening team for Sands as their Senior Director. The first casino in Macau to be operated by an American concessionaire since the liberalization of the gaming industry Sands took Macau by storm. For those visitors who had never been to Vegas it was a wonder to behold; the shining gold building, the many new and exciting innovations in décor, food, beverage and gaming, all setting the bar for what was to come over the following years on the peninsula and on the newly constructed Cotai strip. The story goes that the USD260 million investment in Sands Macau was paid off from gaming revenues within 10 months!
Born in Dublin, Ireland, Niall trained as a hotelier gaining a joint degree in hotel, restaurant and catering management and then a BSc in management from Trinity College. “From college I went to Disney Paris for 4 years as a management trainee for their opening. Then in 1994 I was off to New York as Hotel Duty Manager for the Ritz Carlton Central Park and then the Four Seasons. I made the move to Las Vegas in 1997 for Caesars Palace and shortly after to the Venetian where I found what I’d learned from Disney, their consistency and their systems, to be invaluable.” Today Niall holds the prestigious Senior Professional in Human Resource Management designation from SHRM, is a Certified Management Consultant with the Institute of Management Consultants, and a member of the Project Management Institute.
In 2006 serendipity played her hand in Niall’s life; when attending a conference in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia he was met at the Chinggis Khan airport by the hosts together with a translator, Bolormaa Ganbold. Taking a break from the conference Niall asked if there was an Irish bar nearby. As luck would have it there was; he and Bolor went for coffee where Bolor, wanting to be polite and reciprocate a cultural experience, tried her first Irish coffee. “Within a few minutes the whiskey went straight to my head, my face was all red” she laughs. The two fell in love and two months later Bolor followed Niall to Macau and the rest is history as they say. Today they are proud parents of two handsome young boys, Sean aged 2, Niall aged 1 and an adopted teenage daughter from Mongolia, Egshiglen.
Founder and Chairman of Murray International Group, a strategic and operations development consulting company, and with over 30 years’ experience under his belt Niall has built a reputation as one of the leading experts in designing, developing, opening and operating the world’s largest and most successful integrated resorts and multi-use properties. He worked on the successful Gaming License Application process for Sands in Macau and Singapore and led the pre-opening, critical path and on-going operations development process at a number of properties in Macau as a Strategic Consultant and Director of Operations Development. “At Murray International we specialize in three key areas” he explains, “strategic development, operations development and project management and in optimization of financial results, operational performance and guest and team member satisfaction though customized solutions based on industry best practices, processes, procedures, systems and standards. Over the past 20 years we have seen Macau’s gaming industry become quite mature but looking further afield we are excited and upbeat about business opportunities with expanding casino businesses within Asia particularly in Thailand, the Philippines and Singapore.”
A self-confessed action-oriented person, Niall thrives on a busy life, he’s always on the go. In addition to his ‘day job’, which in itself involves both work and a lot of socializing, he and Bolor are owners of Prem1er Bar & Tasting Room, a popular watering hole in Old Taipa Village, which they opened on Niall’s birthday in September 2015. Serving gastro-pub food and a wide range, some exclusive imports of spirits, infusions, wines, beers and cocktails, it’s a cozy gathering place for locals, expats and tourists exploring the backstreets of the village.
As if all this was not busy enough, plus raising a young family, Niall is studying for his MBA in International Management and Bolor, having recently completed her Masters in International Integrated Resort Management is now applying for her PhD.
And in their spare time? Niall is the Founder and Chairman of the Irish Chamber of Commerce of Macau and is a member of the Irish Chambers of Commerce of Hong Kong and Singapore. He is a Founding Member of the Macau European Chamber of Commerce and the Irish Whiskey Society of Hong Kong and Macau. Niall is the Honorary Representative of The Mongolian National Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Macau. He and Bolor are active members of Chaine des Rotisseurs, SKAL, L’Ordre des Coteaux de Champagne and the Wine Society of Macau.
When he first arrived in Macau Niall rented in Orchid and then Begonia courts in Ocean Gardens. In 2008 he bought a 4-bedroom, 3-bathroom, 2100 sq ft. apartment in the then brand-new Supreme Flower City. Block 1 is situated at the southern end of Macau’s “Golden Rectangle”, otherwise known as Central Park. Some modifications were needed before moving in. Part of the primary bedroom was shaved off and incorporated into the ensuite bathroom making room for a large shower while still keeping the bath, and a double vanity. The little balcony off the kitchen was closed in so as to accommodate a laundry. The kitchen was opened up by removing the wall and door separating it from the dining room and installing a bar with a beautiful live-edge wood top. Three oversized wood stools from China tuck up to the bar – “we often sit here and have a meal when it’s just the two of us.”
When it comes to home-life, the Murrays value their creature comforts; good food, good wine, good conversation over a leisurely meal. Visitors are welcomed and put immediately at ease with a sense of warmth, relaxation and coziness; deep sink-in comfy sofa and armchairs, cushioned bay window sills, wood flooring, large flat screen TV in a built-in wall cabinet and floor to ceiling book-lined shelves. A voracious book collector and reader Niall explains that “these shelves came in from our previous home in Ocean Gardens and we were pleased they fitted in so well. But it meant that we needed to relocate the two living room ACs so that one is between the living-dining, facing and helping cool the kitchen and the other is nearer the entrance, so cooling the dining room. In the bedrooms we installed built in wardrobes with mirrored sliders.” Of the 4 bedrooms, three are located off the corridor from the living-dining room, the primary bedroom is at the far end, then next to it is the boys’ nursery, the third bedroom is set up as a study and the fourth nearest the kitchen with its own bathroom is Egshiglen’s.
For the Murrays, Covid was a double-edged sword – while ‘trapped’ in Mongolia for over two years, it firstly meant that Niall could spend quality time with Bolor’s family there, exploring the amazing countryside. “Macau can feel a bit small at times” he says. “I love driving and I hate feeling that in 30 minutes I’ve done the whole loop. In Mongolia we can get in the car and 23 hours later we get to our destination! But I occasionally get to pop over to Hong Kong to join the Irish community events there.” Then when they were able to travel, they spent time with Niall’s eldest daughter Cara and family in Ireland. And importantly it meant they had time to focus on having their two sons.
What else about Macau do the couple feel? “Weatherwise I don’t like Macau’s humid weather” stresses Niall, “I loved Vegas; sunny, hot, dry every day. In Mongolia the weather is deceptive – you wake up, look out the window, see blue skies and sunshine, but three quarters of the year its freezing outside!” “Ah, I like the humid weather, it’s good for the skin!” laughs Bolor. “I hate that there’s no bookshops, I’m a book addict” says Niall.
“I love everything about Macau” enthuses Bolor, “the village lifestyle, the safety. This is home. I love this building, this location. I can walk out the door, and there are what, 7 supermarkets within a minute’s walk, there’s the parks for the kids, the restaurants, takeaways. We are only 5 minutes’ drive to the Kid’s Club at the Venetian”. “Cheap taxis” Niall adds and “good and inexpensive restaurants”. And it’s easy to get home help with two boisterous young boys! “We decided to send the boys to the nearby kindergarten run in Chinese and then have them do the first few years of schooling in Chinese, then switch to English.” That way they can enjoy the best of both cultures in this cultural melting pot of Macau.
Text and photographs by Suzanne Watkinson for the Macau Closer magazine
Murray International Group, Niall Murray can be reached at: Direct Line: +853 2881 1000 Mobile: +853 6613 8133 WeChat ID: Niallsmurray E: [email protected] W: www.MurrayInternationalGroup.com
