Manscape - William Hill Home

AN AUSSIE VISIT WH US: VEGAS “I WILL KEEP MOST OF WHAT I DID LAST MONTH TO MYSELF”
HOME
TOM
&
Away
WATERHOUSE
NEW WH AUSTRALIA
CEO “WE NEED TO
AIM TO BE THE BEST”
MASTERCHEF
CHALLENGE!
Meet the winners of
Masterchef Challenge from the
Marketing day out
WHY WARNIE
MADE MICK MOLLOY
‘Manscape’
2014 Newsletter, 3rd Edition
INTERNATIONAL COLLEAGUE FORUM IN GIBRALTAR: THE FOCUS IS ON HEALTH AND WELLBEING AT WORK
In this Issue
July- August 2014
HOME & Away Newsletter
Third Edition, July 2014
Editorial Team
Tom Waterhouse
Andrew Brown
Georgina Puli
Jessie-Lee Cagney
Nick Tedeschi
Mark Anderson
Mattew Brinckley
Stephanie Avery
Catalina Millan
Azrah Oswald
Brad Gray
Alan Alderson
Ideas, Suggestions?
If you have any new ideas
for our newsletter or would
you like to list your team just
write us an email to:
staffnews@williamhill.com.au
An Aussie visit WH US
Masterchef Challenge
Content Is King
Spring Cleanup
Meet the Team: IT Service Desk
Tom Waterhouse: New CEO of WH Australia
60 seconds with Ando: Matt Brinckley
Mick Molloy Manscaped!
Troppo Topics: Traveling to the UK
Save & Raise: Charity Update
Jeans for Genes
Speak up! The Colleagues Forum
Birthday Wishes
An Aussie
visits WH US
By Andrew Brown
L V
Las
Vegas. Si
Sin Cit
City. B
Bright
i ht li
light
ht city.
iit
ity
The gambling capital of the world.
By Andrew Brown
It’s the desert metropolis in the US State of Nevada
that proudly promotes “What happens in Vegas,
stays in Vegas” as its tourism slogan.
For those of you that are yet to visit, the hit-movie
The Hangover is actually a pretty accurate example
of how out of control things can become, minus Mike
Tyson and that tiger in the hotel suite.
While I will obey Vegas’ slogan and keep most of what
I did there last month to myself, I am happy to share
that I paid a visit to our William Hill US colleagues
on Rainbow Boulevard, about 20 minutes away from
The Strip.
After presenting them with a signed Sportingbet
Brisbane Broncos ‘rugby’ ball and receiving a William
Hill US World Cup Soccer shirt in return, it was great
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share the same passion for sport and punting that
we do in Australia.
I’m hoping that my NFL betting might improve this
year after making a couple of football-mad contacts
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September 4.
Thanks to Dan Shapiro (not the US ambassador to
Israel Dan Shapiro but the William US Director of
Business Development Dan Shapiro) and Michael
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couple of sports books in the casinos.
The sports books are well worth a visit if any of you
are heading to Vegas any time soon.
Masterch
CHALLENGE!
MEET THE WINNERS OF MASTERCHEF CHALLENGE FROM THE
MARKETING DAY OUT
hef
“Smells like team spirit”
was the Winning Team
By Azrah Oswald
As part of the marketing team’s off-site planning
day in June, our clever marketers turned into
clever chefs in a Masterchef inspired, team
building cook-off.
After a lesson in fancy knife skills, the team
were divided into smaller groups and set about
preparing a gourmet feast which was enjoyed by
all at dinnertime.
The activity was a great way to conclude
an insightful day of half yearly reporting and
planning and proved to develop stronger working
relationships and encourage creativity.
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concoction of spiced black cherries with sponge,
chocolate, and cream were the winning dishes of
the day.
Congratulations to Team ‘Smells Like Team Spirit’
Trent Daft, Angus Barwick, Wendy Allen, Angus
Pragnell and Azrah Oswald on their delicious,
winning creations!
Content
!
g
n
i
K
e
h
is t
By Nick Tedeschi
TomWaterhouse.com has always placed a strong
value on editorial content and the integration of the
business to William Hill Australia, along to the shift to
the new Responsive Design site, has seen its direct
value to the business more accurately measured.
“We certainly believe very strongly in the value
of quality content,” TomWaterhouse.com Head of
Editorial Nick Tedeschi said.
Tom Waterhouse has been the industry leader with its
blog for a long time and that is really starting to reap
its rewards.
The form of our resident tipster-du-jour The
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particularly on the racing and greyhounds.
Having worked hard to establish a reputation as
a reliable source for betting advice, information
and tips, we are now starting to reap the rewards.
Around 3% of turnover at TW.com comes directly
from editorial content, a number that is well and
owing.
truly growing.
Punters want insightful information. They want tipsters
they can trust. They want reliable previews.
“Punters want
insightful information”
Spring Clean Up
By Brad Gray
Spring is just around the corner and TomWaterhouse.
com Racing Editor Brad Gray has pulled out the
crystal ball and named the horses to follow this
spring.
Brad has been in red-hot form for most of 2014
so punters will be getting the right kind of leg-up
following these in.
Our Voodoo Prince
“Undefeated in three Australian runs for Chris Waller.
Would be surprised if he didn’t at least replicate the
deeds of Waller’s better-performed imports such as
Foreteller.”
La Amistad
“Three-quarter sister to Makybe Diva who despite
smashing her rivals in her latest two starts, still has
plenty of upside. One of the early favourites for the
Melbourne Cup.”
Go Indy Go
“After winning the G1 Champagne Stakes, Leon
McDonald declared that she is potentially the best
horse he has ever trained. The VRC Oaks looks
to be at her mercy.”
Happy Trails
“We’re a little thin on proven WFA horses at the
moment so if the perennially underrated Happy
Trails can rediscover his form from last spring,
he’ll be a player in all the G1 features.”
Meursault
“You won’t go wrong following Darley’s three-yearold cavalry this spring. Meursault was a brilliant
winner on debut. Also watch out for Earthquake,
Ghibellines, Sarajevo and Shaumari.”
HAVE YOU MET?
Our IT Service Desk Team
By Alan Alderson
Andrew
Francis
Welcome to the William Hill Australia Service
Desk.
The Service Desk in Australia are the focal point
for all IT related issues whether that’s a problem
with the Websites, Mobile Apps or a problem
with your desktop equipment. Often seen as
the hub of information, if they don’t know the
answer they know where to get it, here 7 days
a week and are the last point of escalation
facilitation of all IT related matters. In short, no
job too big or too small.
Managed by Francis Barreira, more commonly
known as Speedy. Francis is WHA’s little ray
of Brazilian sunshine and has been living in
Australia for 25 years now with the last 5 of
those working here at WHA. (Don’t mention the
World Cup)
Andy Tomlinson has been with us almost a year
now starting off as part of the Sumix team
Cameron
but has chosen to join us as s permanent
recruit. As I am sure you are all aware Andy’s
enthusiasm for life is contagious, always has a
smile on his face and happy to help out whatever
the problem. Andy is from the Uk and sports
an unusual hairstyle, hence the nickname
Pineapple Head.
Cameron Reedy is our newest recruit joining
us about 6 weeks ago from Mission Australia
bringing with him a lot of knowledge and
experience. Cameron is quickly becoming a
valued member of the team and loves his Rugby
and also enjoy the occasional ‘wee dram’ of
single malt Scotch Whisky
We currently have a vacancy with in the team in
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TOM WAT
NEW CEO OF WILLIAM HILL A
It was a great honour to be appointed the
new CEO of William Hill Australia by James
Henderson and the PLC board.
This is just the start of the journey but it is one
I am excited about and eager to be taking on
together with the WHA team.
We have a unique business here in Australia
trong local brands – Sportingbet,
with three strong
nd TomWaterhouse.com and unlike
Centrebet and
ors we have a sizable high roller
our competitors
e possess our own platform and
business, we
ked by the world’s biggest betting
we are backed
company in William Hill.
he future for us as a business in
So what is the
e need to harness our strengths and
Australia? We
hallenge to double in size over the
rise to the challenge
rs. We want to be the fastest growing
next four years.
ess in Australia and on our way to
betting business
mber one player in the country.
being the number
“We need to be
innovative,
responsive,
we need to
aim to be
the best”
A key element from my perspective is that we
as a business have a clear pursuit of excellence
in whatever we take on and do. We need to be
innovative, we need to be responsive, we need
to aim to be the best.
And I know you want to be part of the most
p
respected
and successful team in the business
TERHOUSE
AUSTRALIA
GET TO KNOW
because that’s what I want and that’s why you’re
part of the William Hill Australia team.
That way, no matter how strong the head winds
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face are, we can keep our course and outperform
the market.
We want the rest
r
of the industry to sit up, take
notice and say
sa “what are those guys doing
differently?” “Why
“W are they succeeding” THIS is
what really driv
drives me.
We have the tools and the team to make it
happen. And we
w will.
I could not be more excited and honoured to be
on this journey with you.
Wife: Hoda
Children: Rose
Favourite Team: Brisbane Broncos
Favourite Athlete: Michael Jordan
Favourite Horse: Dance Hero
Biggest Win: Shocking in the 2011
Melbourne Cup
Biggest Loss: 2008 Derby Day
Favourite TV Show: Game of
Thrones
Best Piece of Betting Advice:
Never chase your losses
Favourite Food: Italian Food
Executive Assistant: Lisa Czipri
x
n
i
r
B
Matthew Brinckley
Seconds
with Ando
60
In every HOME & Away edition, Mark “Ando” Anderson will sit
down one on one with one of our colleagues to get to know them
a little better and give you an insight in to their lives. This month’s
colleague is Marketing & Centrebet Stalwart Matthew Brinckley.
Ando: Matt, tell me a bit about your job role at William Hill Australia?
Matt: I head up the CRM and VIP Teams and am currently responsible for
the overall operations and P&L of the Centrebet brand, a great challenge!
Ando: How many years have you been employed at WHA?
Matt: 9 years, I started out at Centrebet back in 2005 with the online casino
& poker department! Good times!
Ando: What is your nickname?
Matt: Most people call me Brinx, although the ‘Bonus Bet Nazi’ is starting to
gain some momentum!
Ando: What do you love most about being head of CRM and VIP at WHA?
Matt: Mate, I have a great team who are committed and work hard for each
other. It makes my job a lot easier and allows me to keep abreast of the
always changing world in CRM technology. I enjoy the challenge maximising
our share of wallet in a very competitive industry and seeing results of
shaping a client’s behaviour following a campaign, that’s the most satisfying
I suppose, whether it’s pushing them onto mobile, a new sport, product or
simply increasing their average deposit – the best part is seeing if it worked
or not!
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Matt: I worked for the TAB as an operator in retail outlets throughout Sydney.
Started off cutting cheese and cabanossi for the punters and have been
servicing them ever since, haha.
Ando: Are there any interesting facts that people
don’t know about you?
Matt: Yes, I’d assume so.
Ando: I know one…you can deadset talk under
water!
Ando: Away from work….how do you relax?
Matt: I’m pretty lucky to live so close to the beach
so I don’t mind getting down there for a run & swim
to wind down.
Ando: What is your signature dish?
Matt: There’s no signature dish in my repertoire to
be honest, but Steak, Rice, Avocado and Tomato
gets a good run.
Ando: Your sporting prowess and CV is quite
impressive. Tell us a little more about the sports
you were involved with as a youngster….and any
particular highlights.
Matt: haha, yeah Sport was a big part of my journey
growing up. I think it teaches you a lot of foundations
that you can apply across many area’s of your life.
Main sport was Rugby League as a youngster, but
never managed a premiership my entire career!
Ando: Mate, what about some of those work touch
footy premierships you boys have won. Kimon
Tellidis told me he’s won a few singlehandedly for ya.
What was the very first job you had?
“I worked for the
TAB as an operator
in retail outlets”
Ando: What is your favourite song?
Matt: Flame Tree’s – Cold Chisel
Ando: What is your favourite food?
Matt: Hawaiian Pizza
Ando: What is your favourite movie?
Matt: Two for the money & Rounders!
Ando: Who is your favourite actor/actress?
Matt: Vince Vaughan
Ando: Who is your favourite sporting team?
Matt: The mighty Bunnies
Ando: haha you poor bloke.
Ando: Who are your sporting idols?
Matt: Matty Bowen and there’s something about
Craig Bellamy that I like. He just knows how to win,
no matter his recruitment or cattle that he takes in
at the start of a season!
Ando: What is your favourite holiday destination?
Matt: Playa Del Carmen, Mexico! …. Via Las
Vegas haha
Ando: I’m sure I could pass on some romantic tips
mate… I’ve met your wife a few times, and you are
deadest punching well above…. any particular gifts
you’ve given the missus …in hindsight, you wish you
hadn’t?
Matt: I bought her a voucher for a weekend away
and Dolphin swimming up in Forster, but when we
turned up the boatshed was pad-locked and the
business had gone under!
Ando: What are your hobbies?
Matt: Not a lot these days mate..I love a bit of touch
footy & golf when I get the chance
Ando: What is your biggest win from a bet?
Matt: I’ve been backing Roger Federer’s understudy
for years and each year my stake has increased,
‘chasing’ my losses! So i had a bit of a plunge on
the great Stanislas Wawrinka to win the Aussie Open
this year
Ando: Cha-Ching! Rumour has it you weren’t seen
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Ando: Any tips on upcoming sport/racing events?
Matt: There are worse bet’s than the $31 offered
about Melbourne Storm to win the comp this year. If
they sneak in the 8, they will be hard to stop in the
big games!
Ando: hard to argue with you there champ..
Ando: If you were down to your last $10, how would
you spend it?
Matt: 7UDZOLQJDI¿OLDWHZHEVLWHVIRUDGHSRVLW
bonus so I can give $70 a dance!
WHY WARNIE MAD
MOLLOY
By Andrew Brown
‘Mans
Tears of
laughter!
DE MICK
scape’
Well done,
Mate!
Sportingbet ambassador Shane Warne has been encouraging his mates
to jump on the bandwagon and undertake bets for charity.
Warnie convinced Triple M Melbourne’s Mick Molloy to undergo some
serious manscaping in preparation for last month’s Full Moon Party at
Crown’s Club 23.
Prior to his date with the hot wax, it’s fair to say that Mick certainly wasn’t
lacking in the body hair department.
Mick’s screams and Warnie’s tears of laughter while watching his mate
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donated to The Shane Warne Foundation.
Travelling to UK w
Troppo Topics
By Jessie-Lee Cagney
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excitement, the winners have been announced
but the story has not been told. A few Australians
Traveling to the UK, two from each department
to represent our departments for the awards we
were nominated for. This included staff from the
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from Darwin. For the Darwin mob, traveling
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us. But we did it right business class all the way,
William Hill were out to impress. Landing into
Heathrow ‘Culture Shock’ would be the main word
I would describe Heathrow and London town. The
people, surroundings and shopping are just some
of the few things that come to mind that made the
experience so much more OUTSTANDING.
Flying over four days earlier with Renee Paterson
allowed us to have some free time before
committing to the William Hill itinerary. Our Journey
started on the main street Oxford, stepping out
from the underground train station with suitcases
in hand onto the hustle and bustle of the street.
We were in London and I loved it. With beautiful
weather at almost 25 degrees during the day, we
were convinced we had brought this luck with us
from Australia as it had rained the days prior to
our arrival.
Let’s be Tourist- We start our adventure at
Buckingham Palace, which was only a 5 kilometre
walk from our Hotel in Oxford. The tourists were
there by the hundreds, all sorts off nationalities
and school groups trying to catch a glimpse of
Royalty. After a few snap shots, we decided
to move onto the next attraction which was the
London Eye.
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London and it was amazing to see all the iconic
structures from the one viewing platform, Big Ben,
South Bank River, Buckingham Palace, British
Museum, BT Tower just to name a few. Walking
around London we were able to experience the sites
at our own pace, meeting new faces and catching a
few bargains’ from the street stalls. Before we knew
it we had walked at least 15 kilometres away from
the hotel, the joys of being a Tourist! It was time to
catch one of the world famous black cabs!
with
William Hill Itinerary Begins
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which is a 3 and a half hour train ride from London.
Walking through the main doors with our suitcases in
hand, a bystander commented “looks like we’ve got
some people moving in”. This massive building not
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but was home to other departments such as Retail,
Technology and Marketing. With so many people
working within this building for the one company the
place was buzzing. Everyone that worked for William
Hill was kind and excited to tell us about the way
they operated and about the company in general.
Afterwards an overnight stay was in order which
gave us a chance to experience Leeds at night.
The reason we were there, The HOME awards
The day had come, it was the
day of The HOME awards. Our
suitcases were packed once
again and the Australian crew
were set.
The Australian crew included
BDM’s Jess Caine, Craig
Surrey, Dragan Durdevic, the
Sports Manager Steve Fletcher
and VIP Racing Operator Mick
Merchant. Representing the
Customer Service team were
Renee Paterson and myself.
After enjoying our hour and a
half limo drive to Brighton, we
were greeted at the doors of
the Grand Hotel. The Grand
Hotel is a Victorian sea front
hotel with a twist of glamour
and style for the William Hill
HOME awards.
Walking into the hotel the place was decked
out the William Hill way with navy and gold
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ceiling, banners on the walls and William
Hill chocolates in our rooms. I knew than
that this was going to be the night of nights
and why people refer to it as the William
Hill Oscars. The Award night started with
a cocktail party in the foyer, drinks were on
William Hill, which for us Aussie’s we hate
a free drink or ten!
The main event was held in the Grand Ballroom
of The Grand Hotel, walking in was breathtaking.
It was amazing to see how much effort and hard
work was contributed into the preparation of the
night, the room reminded me of the Brownlow’s
just with navy and gold the theme. There was
an upbeat performance to get the night started
with a Brazilian singer and dancer in honour of
the World Cup.
After the entertainment and speeches the Awards
began to be announced and handed out. It was
inspiring to hear the stories of all the nominees
throughout the night. Looking at the faces of the
other nominees you could tell that it was such a
privilege to be recognised for their hard work.
It was Australia’s turn; they announced the
nominees for ‘Outstanding Service, Customer
Service Team of the year – Australia’. It was
with great pleasure and shock that my own team
won the award, the Customer Service Team in
Darwin. Renee and I were proud to represent
our team and Managers in Brighton to accept
the award. We were also proud of our Australian
colleague Dean Elliott taking out the award for
‘Most Promising Newcomer’. After the formalities
we partied on at the after party. The night was
amazing; I honestly felt like a rock star at the
Oscars and if anyone ever has the opportunity to
go, please do. It is a once in a life time experience
and I feel so privilege to be given the opportunity.
Overall the trip was a very humbling experience
that I know will remain with us for a very long time.
SAVE
By Georgina Puli
& Raise
Entertainment Books - Last chance to buy!
2014/15 Entertainment books are still available
to buy from Georgina Puli, with a vast range of
discounts on restaurants, entertainment and
activities.
So far this initiative has raised $273 for Project
Africa. If you want a Sydney book, George has 3
available for immediate collection. Other volumes
can still be ordered online.
Jeans for Genes Day is a national day when
people wear their jeans to raise much needed
funds for research into birth defects and
diseases such as cancer, epilepsy, and a
range of genetic disorders.
Every dollar raised on the day will help scientists at
the Children’s Medical Research Institute discover
treatments and curesfor children.
“We have raised
$273”
Please come to work on Friday 1st August in blue
jeans and donate whatever you can afford to this
great cause. Every dollar counts. There will be a
donation box placed in the breakout room and on
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LQWKH'DUZLQRI¿FH
For more information or if you have any questions
please feel free to ask or visit the website http://
www.jeansforgenes.org.au/
COLLEAGUE FORUM
The Colleagues Forum
NATIONAL
Georgina & Rebekah in Gibraltar
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Colleague Forums held in both Sydney and
Darwin, designed to give us as colleagues a
voice at the table with senior management on
issues and innovations. July saw the second
meeting, with the International Colleague Forum
being held on 15th / 16th July in Gibraltar.
Two lucky colleagues Rebekah Blansjaar
(Darwin) and Georgina Puli (Sydney) will be
representing the Australian business, and will
come back with a brief aimed at improving our
RI¿FHOLYHV
July
Marina Tsitsos
Kyle Breegan
Jyoti Phaugat
Sam Ford
Steve Buethke
Sandra De Costa
Wally Fulleton-Smith
Daniel Grech
18-Jul
23-Jul
23-Jul
30-Jul
30-Jul
24-Jul
9-Jul
2-Jul
Emilie Jirsch
Thomas Ryan
Jessie-Lee Cagney
Joseph Flynn
Matthew Meginess
Zac Reynolds
Dragan Durdevic
Stuart Cooper
Fraser Jennings
Renee Paterson
Stephanie Avery
Xufeng Zhang
Joshua Kim
Charlie Cox
Mark Bradshaw
Isaac Ward
Leanne Graf
Harmeet Sian
Chris Boller
2-Jul
30-Jul
11-Jul
13-Jul
20-Jul
24-Jul
26-Jul
28-Jul
30-Jul
25-Jul
10-Jul
21-Jul
24-Jul
12-Jul
14-Jul
30-Jul
31-Jul
31-Jul
31-Jul
August
Mark Anderson
Chad Fitzsimmons
Wade Martin
Adam North
Adam Patterson
Francis Barreira
Stephen Fletcher
Shannon Millar
Andrea Stanton
Louise Weekes
Josh Thompson
Roger Smith
Jarrad Kenny
Todd Robe
Tanya Moses
Avanthi Reddy
David Tolson
Rachel Collins
Sarah Duff
Matt Torda
20-Aug
16-Aug
31-Aug
23-Aug
4-Aug
30-Aug
14-Aug
13-Aug
7-Aug
15-Aug
30-Aug
8-Aug
23-Aug
26-Aug
16-Aug
18-Aug
15-Aug
6-Aug
11-Aug
25-Aug