GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 10 - Sept 2009

Interviewwith AlwynMorris CEO, MorrisMohawkGamingGroup was recently given the opportunity to spend a day in Kahnawake with Bodog’sU.S.-facingbrand licensee, the Morris Mo- hawkGamingGroup, and to complete the very first interview of Alwyn Mor- ris, the full-blooded Mohawk CEO and fearless leader of the group. Morris often refers to himself as “conservative” and strikesme as a friendly, familymanwho is very active in theMohawk community andwhowelcomes the challengeof build- ing theU.S.-facing Bodog brand so it be- comes stronger than ever.While bothAl- wyn and Calvin are extremely intelligent, personable and excellent public speakers, theirpublic styles areunique. “Calvinwas the flamboyant one,” Alwyn says. “I will not become the face of Bodog.com in the way thatCalvindid– I’mnot sureanyone could. I have enormous respect for what the original Bodog group accomplished, but my style is certainly more reserved.” Conservative as he may appear, Alwyn certainlypossesses those funBodogquali- ties that we all know and love. I saw this side of Alywn firsthand inMontreal, and I have heard about his experiences with the original Bodog team in Costa Rica. I believe thephrases “cruisingaround town in the Hummer,” “enjoying a cocktail at a ‘very special’ local watering hole,” and “cooking late-night food at the Bodog Compound with the housekeeper” may have slipped out several times during our interview,butyouarenotallowed toknow that. Iwas told tokeep it off the record. Most people don’t know that you’ve won two Olympic medals, including gold in Los Angeles in 1984. What events did you compete in? Do you still remember those races down to the exact detail? I was a sprint canoer, or what is sometimes referred to as a “flatwater racer.” During the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984, I competed in what are called “K-2” events, which essentiallymeans a double-seated kayak. In competition, despite the fact we are referred to as “canoers” or sometimes “canoeists,” the K-2 boat differs from actualcanoesastheyareclosed-deckboats with a spraydeck.We tookhome the gold medal in the K-2 1,000-meter event, and abronze in theK-2500-meter event. The time and energy I dedicated to training and competing in the Olympics easily carriedover intomycareer ingovernment, businessandasanaboriginalambassador. I knew that with enough hard work and dedicationIcouldachievenearlyanything I setmymind to, and that philosophyhas stuckwithme to thisday. You are also amember of the Order ofCanada.For thosewhodon’tknow, what is the Order of Canada? Why wereyoumadeamember? TheOrder of Canada is the highest civilian order that is bestowed in Canada. I’ve been told that it’s approximately equivalent to the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom. It was an incredibly humbling honor for me as a Canadian, because the Order of Canada recipients include people like Marshall McLuhan, Pierre Trudeau and BoraLaskin. Iwasawarded theOrderofCanada formy workwith aboriginal youth in the field of alcohol anddrug abuse. Alcohol anddrug abuse has always been a concern in the aboriginal communityand Iwanted touse my newly found status as an aboriginal ambassador togiveback tomycommunity whilealsoraisingawarenessofthedangers ofdrugandalcohol abuse inyouth. To even be considered for the Order, which is commonly granted to geniuses, PrimeMinisters,andSupremeCourtChief Justices, was an overwhelming privilege – it’sdifficult todescribe. How did you get into canoeing? A canoe clubopenedand I alongwithmany ofmy friendswent to the club to seewhat the sport was all about. After some trial anderrorandsomeunplannedswimming, I decided that it was a fun sport and becamehooked. Followingyour competitivecareer,what promptedyou tobecome involved in the online gambling industry? I was a principal advisor to the Chief andMo- hawkCouncil for approximately 12 years and I was looking for a change in career and wanted to be close to home. I was involved in the discussions between the Council and the Government of Quebec regarding the online Regulatory Com- missionandonlinegaming. I was principal advisor to some of Kahnawake’smost importantgovernment and third-party negotiations, including thoserelating toonlinegaming. I followed the development of Mohawk Internet Technologies and how Kahnawake was benefiting from the industry. I wanted to continue to help the community and its evolving economic stability. Establishing a business platform for online gaming becameanatural fit forme toaccomplish my goals and as anew careerwhen Iwas introduced toCalvin. The rest ishistory. When and how did youmeet Calvin Ayre?How longwas it fromyourfirst meetingwithhim towhenyouknew you wanted to license the Bodog name, towhen thedeal was actually struck? Wewere introduced inMontreal byamutual friend. Iwas interested in the online gaming industry as it has become a powerful economic engine for our indigenous self-governing jurisdiction of Kahnawake. Meeting Calvin for the first timewasagreat pleasure. I was well aware of his work as founder of Bodog and immediately developed a great deal of respect for him as a very intelligent businessman. It took a few months in late2006,early2007 toput the deal together, but itwasn’t longafter that before the business had been smoothly and successfully transitioned. What was it about the Bodog brand that you found so attractive? Were you ever tempted tobuild your own I GPWA Times :: Bodog shooting for the stars