Global Gaming Business, January 2019

p. 1 jan.cover:_cover, inside, back.qx 12/13/18 1:31 PM Page 1

GGB Global Gaming Business Magazine

January 2019 • Vol. 18 • No. 1 • $10

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CONTENTS

Vol. 18 • No. 1

january

Global Gaming Business Magazine

COLUMNS

22 COVER STORY People to Watch 2019

AGA 12 Keeping Up the Focus

Our annual profiles of 25 People to Watch showcase the executives most likely to have an impact on the gaming industry in the coming year.

Elizabeth Cronan

14 Fantini’s Finance What’s Up for the New Year?

Frank Fantini

By Dave Bontempo, Roger Gros, Frank Legato, Marjorie Preston, Patrick Roberts and William Sokolic

54 Making My Point Empathy and Persuasion

On the Cover: Elaine Hodgson, President & CEO, Incredible Technologies; Photo by Madison Mitchell

Roger Snow

DEPARTMENTS 6

The Agenda

8

By the Numbers

10 5 Questions 15 AGEM Page 48 New Game Review

FEATURES

50 Handling the Cash

56 Emerging Leaders

18 Arkansas Arrives

ATMs, kiosks and mobile technology are widening the methods used to get cash to the casino floor.

With Muscogee Nation’s Jackie Gibson and New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement’s Jordan Hollander

Four commercial casinos have been approved by Arkansas voters and two of them may be operated by Oklahoma tribes.

By Dave Palermo

By Dave Bontempo

58 Big Show

Esports tournaments and esports lounges are a growing force in the casino industry, and a new way to bring a younger demographic into the house.

Next month’s ICE London trade show will be the largest ever in the history of the ICE Totally Gaming trade event, with net floor space and exhibit and attendance numbers expected to break records.

By Ben Fox and Ari Fox

By Patrick Roberts

46 Esports and Casinos

46 4

Global Gaming Business JANUARY 2019

60 Frankly Speaking 62 Goods & Services 64 Cutting Edge 65 People 66 Casino Communications With Bo Bernhard, Executive Director, International Gaming Institute, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

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THE AGENDA

Vol. 18 • No. 1 • JANUARY 2019

New Blood Roger Gros, Publisher

I

t started when Gary Loveman took over Caesars Entertainment back in 1998 as COO. Since Loveman was the perfect example of hiring someone who had no experience in gaming, it’s not surprising that he immediately started hiring people who were MBAs or Ph.Ds but didn’t really know a thing about gaming. And when he became CEO in 2003, that kind of hiring accelerated.

Loveman, a former Harvard business professor, believed that anyone with a solid, successful business background could achieve success in the casino industry. Therefore, his properties became full of people with impressive letters after their names who supposedly would thrive in gaming but knew little about it.

And in many ways, that strategy made sense.

After all, up until that time, you had to have extensive experience in gaming to become a senior executive. You didn’t need to have actual experience in the casino, but finance, hotel, operations, marketing, even in a couple of instances food and beverage would get you to the top, as long as the majority of your experience was in gaming. The theory was you had to understand how gaming works because it’s different than any other business.

But Loveman thought that attitude limited business development in casinos because it was essentially a “this is the way we always did it” mentality. Very few property presidents had those letters after their names, so they didn’t know what worked in other places that might work in gaming.

Loveman’s idea was to bring in fresh eyes, a new way of looking things, applying business tactics to gaming that work in other businesses.

And to be fair, the way business—at least at Caesars properties on the Las Vegas Strip—was developing, there was less and less knowledge of the casino necessary to succeed. With gaming revenues as a percentage of overall revenue shrinking each year, leaders of the big properties had to understand how to integrate many areas—many separate businesses, if you will—into one overall operation, and simply being a good casino operator wasn’t enough anymore.

At the same time, however, these decisions made by these outside-the-industry executives sometimes didn’t work because without gaming experience, the decisions sometimes negatively

6

Global Gaming Business JANUARY 2019

impacted players, the lifeblood of every business.

But overall, it’s an idea that’s been accepted.

After all, Loveman’s successor, Mark Frissora, came from the rental car field. The American Gaming Association brought in Geoff Freeman in 2013, an association executive with no gaming experience, and the organization appears to be leaning in that way again for Freeman’s successor.

And you would think that gaming experience would be crucial on the manufacturing side, but that’s gone by the wayside for many years as video-game developers, social media experts and straight businessman have reached the pinnacle on the supplier side.

And you certainly can’t discount the value of education. Whatever letters you have after your name, the days of sitting box at a craps table, moving up to pit boss, casino manager and then rising to become CEO of a casino have long passed. Today you need to be grounded in education—particularly business, finance or hospitality—if you hope to reach senior management.

Running a casino today is much more difficult than it was in the past when you only had to get your slot and table numbers and how that high roller did the night before. Today, that high roller probably has a lot of letters after his name, so he knows how to play the game. And believe me, you’d better know your math before you negotiate with him.

Today, a good CEO simply has highly educated people under him running each department. He or she can count on their expertise to deliver the best customer experience while still counting the beans. A leader no longer has to understand how theoreticals work at the table games. He doesn’t need to know what items work best on the menu of one of his gourmet restaurants. He doesn’t really need to know how the books balance because he’s got good people who he trusts to deliver quality work and advise him on the best decisions.

So welcome new blood into your organization. They may not be familiar with what goes on in and around the casino, but they damn sure know how to fill a hotel, staff a department or make your customer comfortable. And that’s what we need, educated experts dedicated to success.

Roger Gros, Publisher | rgros@ggbmagazine.com twitter: @GlobalGamingBiz Frank Legato, Editor | flegato@ggbmagazine.com twitter: @FranklySpeakn Monica Cooley, Art Director | mcooley@ggbmagazine.com Lauren Byrge, Director, Sales & Marketing LaurenB@GGBmagazine.com Floyd Sembler, Business Development Manager fsembler@ggbmagazine.com Becky Kingman-Gros, Chief Operating Officer bkingros@ggbmagazine.com Lisa Johnson, Communications Advisor lisa@lisajohnsoncommunications.com twitter: @LisaJohnsonPR Columnists Elizabeth Cronan | Frank Fantini | Roger Snow Contributing Editors Dave Bontempo twitter: @bontempomedia Ari Fox | Ben Fox | Christopher Irwin Dave Palermo twitter: @DavePalermo4 Marjorie Preston | Patrick Roberts William Sokolic

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Rino Armeni, President, Armeni Enterprises

•

Mark A. Birtha, Senior Vice President & General Manager, Hard Rock International

• Julie Brinkerhoff-Jacobs, President, Lifescapes International

• Nicholas Casiello Jr., Shareholder, Fox Rothschild

• Jeffrey Compton, Publisher, CDC E-Reports twitter: @CDCNewswire

• Dean Macomber, President, Macomber International, Inc.

• Stephen Martino, Vice President & Chief Compliance Officer, MGM Resorts International, twitter: @stephenmartino

• Jim Rafferty, President, Rafferty & Associates

• Thomas Reilly, Vice President Systems Sales, Scientific Games

• Steven M. Rittvo, Chairman Emeritus, The Innovation Group twitter: @InnovGrp

• Katherine Spilde, Executive Director, Sycuan Gaming Institute, San Diego State University, twitter: @kspilde

• Ernie Stevens, Jr., Chairman, National Indian Gaming Association twitter: @NIGA1985

• Roy Student, President, Applied Management Strategies

• David D. Waddell, Partner Regulatory Management Counselors PC Casino Connection International LLC. 901 American Pacific Drive, Suite 180 • Henderson, Nevada 89014 702-248-1565 • 702-248-1567 (fax) www.ggbmagazine.com The views and opinions expressed by the writers and columnists of GLOBAL GAMING BUSINESS are not necessarily the views of the publisher or editor.

Copyright 2018 Global Gaming Business LLC. Henderson, Nevada 89014 GLOBAL GAMING BUSINESS is published monthly by Casino Connection International, LLC. Printed in Nevada, USA. Postmaster: Send Change of Address forms to: 901 American Pacific Dr, Suite 180, Henderson, NV 89014

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BY THE

NUMBERS

PaCkaGe DeaL S

lot manufacturers spend a lot of time thinking about, designing and releasing new cabinets. If a new cabinet is a hit, lots of games built for those cabinets will also be successful. In a new report issued by the Eilers-Fantini Slot Survey, the GPD Data Insights Report goes into even greater depth than the Monthly Game Performance Report and focuses more on cabinets and how they interact with games. In the chart at right, the most popular cabinets are matched with the five most popular games contained in each. To obtain a copy of the report, contact Todd Eilers at teilers@ekgamingllc.com.

Top Indexing Games by Cabinet

Law of Diminishing Returns

W

hen a state legalizes any kind of gaming, one of the main goals is to gather new taxes. The states that have legalized sports betting are no exception. For the most part (with the exception of Pennsylvania and Rhode Island), however, they’ve kept the tax rate low enough that sports books can make reasonable profits in a narrow-margin business. In a report issued by GeoComply last month, a chart on the optimal tax rate was published, showing how returns to the state start to decline as the tax rate goes up.

8

Global Gaming Business JANUARY 2019

Optimal Tax Rate For Regulated Sports Betting

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NUTSHELL

“They

5Questions

Cheryl Moss

Nevada Gambling Court Judge

heryl Moss is a family court judge in Las Vegas. She was elected in the 2000. In 2001, with the help of Cgambling the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling, she was the first judge in Nevada to institute problem assessments in child custody and divorce cases. Last year, Moss finally got permission to establish a gambling court, so that those charged with crimes linked to their gambling addictions could get help from the court to control their addictions. She spoke to GGB Publisher Roger Gros in her courtroom in Las Vegas in November. A full podcast of this interview can be heard on GGBMagazine.com.

GGB: Where did the idea for a gambling court come from?

Cheryl Moss: I met now-retired Senior Judge Mark Farrell from New York—as is the case with most of

1 2 3 4 5

the people I’ve met in the gaming world—through my mom, Dr. Rena Nora. My late mother was a psychiatrist at the VA Medical Center in New Jersey. She would go around to these conferences and introduce me to people, and I was just the young kid that was carrying her briefcase and tagging along at these conferences, so she introduced me to Judge Farrell, and Judge Farrell had the very, very first gambling court in the United States, and so, that’s how I learned about gambling court.

Is this similar to a drug court, then?

It is a certified specialty court, and I want to thank Chief Judge Linda Bell for giving me the opportunity.

I had been asking for it for 10 years since the statute was amended, that we would have a gambling diversion program.

Chief Judge Bell assigned me a specialty court coordinator who also works with our other family court judge, Frank Sullivan, to handle drug court cases in the juvenile division. This guy is on top of things. He will prep the cases and staff the court, and we’ve got a couple of cases that are going to be heard in a few weeks.

What are the criteria for getting assigned to the gambling court?

Well, It goes back to the statute. Nevada Revised Statute, Chapter 458A says that if a crime is committed in furtherance of the gambling, it is up to a criminal division judge to make that determination for eligibility, subject to certain exceptions of course, but if it is found that it is in furtherance of the gambling and they have a gambling problem, then they are eligible for diversion and then, they would be referred to my court for treatment and monitoring, and ensuring that they are able to successfully complete the drug court program or the gambling court program.

How do you determine whether the person has actually stopped gambling? There’s nothing like drug testing for gambling.

Well, as they say, in the world of drug addiction and recovery, you’re never a recovered gambler or a drug addict; you’re always recovering, so it’s the same kind of concept, like the AA program and the NA program, and the GA, Gamblers Anonymous, program. But yes, it’s difficult to tell; we don’t know unless something actually happens. In my family court cases, it’s not known unless somebody accuses the other side.

I know you are just starting this court, but what do you think a typical penalty will be for somebody in this situation?

It’s a very detailed process. It’s called “sanctions”—if there is any kind of lapse or relapse, we start off to make sure that they are already in treatment, or we’ve assigned them a treatment provider. The Nevada Council on Problem Gambling will help provide a list of people that are certified problem gambling counselors that can do the treatment, and then we will have status checks every two weeks to ensure that they’re doing that. Our goal is to encourage and be supportive.

10

Global Gaming Business JANUARY 2019

Said It”

“Card clubs were all profitable before they started with these practices, and they will be profitable afterwards.”

—Steven Stallings, chairman of the California Nations Indian Gaming Association, calling on the state to clamp down on card clubs that offer illegal banked card games

CALENDAR January 28-30: Raving Next: Indian Gaming Analytics and Marketing Conference, Pechanga Resort & Casino, Temecula, California. Produced

by Raving Consulting. For more information, visit betravingknows.com/conferences-events.

February 4-7: Western Indian Gaming Conference, Harrah’s Southern California, Valley Center, California. Produced by the California Nations Indian Gaming Association. For more information, visit WIGS.CNIGA.com.

February 5-7: ICE Totally Gaming, ExCeL Centre, London. Produced by Clarion Gaming.

For more information, visit ICELondon.uk.com.

February 6-9: London Affiliate Conference 2019, ExCeL Centre, London. Produced by IGB. For more information, visit igbaffiliate.com/events/london-affiliate-conference.

February 21: UNLV Gaming & Hospitality Education Series: The Road to 2020—Critical Time for Las Vegas and Gaming, Stan Fulton Building, University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Produced by GGB Magazine and UNLV William F. Harrah College of Hospitality. For more information, visit UNLVGHES.com.

February 26-27: Strategic Platform for iGaming Conference and Exhibition (SPICE) India, Goa, India. Produced by Eventus International. For more information, visit sportsbettingevents.com.

March 3-6: World Game Protection Conference, Tropicana Las Vegas. Produced by World Game Protection, Inc. For more information, visit WorldGameProtection.com.

March 21: UNLV Gaming & Hospitality Education Series: Operators Vs. Manufacturers—Making Peace, UNLV’s Stan Fulton Building, Las Vegas. Produced by GGB Magazine and UNLV William F. Harrah College of Hospitality. For more information, visit UNLVGHES.com.

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AMERICAN GAMING ASSOCIATION

Keeping Up the Focus Responsible gaming is the industry’s No. 1 priority for 2019

By Elizabeth Cronan

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Global Gaming Business JANUARY 2019

s we enter the new year with all of the exciting opportunities it brings for the casino-entertainment sector, one thing is overwhelmingly clear: responsible gaming will be the gaming industry’s No. 1 priority in 2019.

The past year was one of great progress for responsible gaming.

Last year, we launched the Responsible Gaming Collaborative, comprised of renowned thought leaders, stakeholders and academics focused on identifying the programs and policies that best address responsible gaming.

The collaborative will continue to lead the charge against problem gaming and to hold the government accountable for supporting proven, effective solutions throughout this new year.

At the American Gaming Association, we have always taken our duty to promote responsible gaming seriously.

When the Supreme Court struck down the federal ban on sports betting last May, we recognized more people than ever could soon enjoy expanded legal gaming opportunities. As such, we are making it a priority to ensure that everyone—seasoned participants and new bettors alike—is aware of how to bet responsibly.

In fact, one of AGA’s top priorities for all sports betting legislation is to promote responsible gaming and responsible advertising. To

“

ensure responsible gaming is a key tenet of the expanding sports betting market, AGA updated its Code of Conduct for Responsible Gaming to include wagers on sports, as well as new advertising provisions to ensure casino and sports betting marketing is targeted to an age-appropriate demographic with tasteful content and reasonable frequency.

As state legislatures come back into session and begin exploring creating legal sports betting markets in their jurisdictions, this updated code will serve as a model for all states and sovereign tribal nations looking to incorporate responsible gaming provisions in their legislation.

There’s so much opportunity for gaming in America right now, particularly as we enter this brand-new year. That’s exactly why the AGA, state gaming commissions across the country and the gaming industry’s Responsible Gaming Collaborative are all working together to promote safe, responsible gaming, serving as resources for all Americans who choose to enjoy this mainstream form of entertainment.

In 2019 and beyond, we are committed to continuing the industry’s great progress in making responsible gaming truly our No. 1 priority.

When the Supreme Court struck down the federal ban on sports betting last May, we recognized more people than ever could soon enjoy expanded legal gaming opportunities.

As such, we are making it a priority to ensure that everyone— seasoned participants and new bettors alike— is aware of how to bet responsibly.

”

Elizabeth Cronan is the senior director of gaming policy at the American Gaming Association.

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FANTINI’S FINANCE

What’s Up For The New Year?

Sports betting and the economy are shaping up to be the big stories of 2019

I

t’s that time to take out the crystal ball and look into the year ahead.

Given the swirl of uncertainty evidenced by daily headlines and stock market swings, this might be more difficult than usual, but here are some thoughts: • Sports betting. The big story of the past year might be the big story of the new year, the proliferation of legal sports betting in the U.S. Unless there is a big shift in public opinion, and Congress doesn’t have more important things to do, it appears that sports betting legalization and regulation will continue to be done on the state level.

The Supreme Court decision striking down the federal ban on sports betting led to some big surprises. Who would have thought that Eldorado Resorts, for example, would become such a national player and a part owner of William Hill US? Or that MGM would ally with GVC? Or that GVC itself would transform in such a short time into an international sports betting giant?

The decision has also seen a rush of European companies into the U.S., introducing some that just months earlier were unknown to most Americans, such as Kambi, Kindred and GVC. And who would have foreseen such a quick about-face by the major sports leagues from foes to partners with gaming companies?

For 2019, look for more of the same. And, as daily fantasy sports paved the way for sports betting, legal sports betting is paving the way for mobile and online gaming, which should open huge markets and opportunities for companies and investors.

• The economy. We spent so many years bemoaning the slow recovery from the Great Recession that it nearly passed by us that we have enjoyed one of the longest periods of economic growth in history.

Now, there is worry that the next recession is at hand. Every day brings the headlines: the dive of the forward-looking stock market, fear of a recession-preceding inverted yield curve, the Fed raising interest rates, job creation slow-

14

Global Gaming Business JANUARY 2019

By Frank Fantini

ing and announcements of layoffs growing, the initial stimulus of last year’s tax cuts having run its course.

There are problems to be sure. But the stock market and the economy both might find themselves in 2019 climbing a wall of worry. There are still stimulating elements out there, such as that the tax cuts continuing to make American companies more competitive, and that no part of the economy appears to be in a bubble.

Having said that, no one has repealed the business cycle, and we might be due for a recession. If so, casino companies will suffer along with other consumer discretionary industries, though they now have a model learned following the Great Recession of how to mitigate the damage.

• Foreign policy has not been a concern in the past, but if your business depends on Macau, you are probably hoping very strongly that Donald Trump and Xi Jinping avert a trade war.

If the U.S. and China end up in a bitter trade war, it seems in the realm of possibility that the Chinese government could decide to make examples of high-profile American companies that are not strategically important, and that could be Macau casino operators. After all, they are raking in billions of dollars from Chinese citizens in businesses that depend on government licenses. Plus, the timing could be right with casino concessions expiring in 2020 and 2022.

Further incentive could come from the pressure by some to open Macau to more Chinese operators. It is at least interesting that Macau Secretary for Economy and Finance Lionel Leong recently said the government should consider bidding out the six concessions, publicly opening the possibility that current gaming concession holders could lose their licenses.

Until now, the assumption has been that Macau will follow its script: wring out concessions from current operators and renew their licenses, and that might still be the most likely outcome.

It is difficult to handicap without personal knowledge, but Wynn could be the most vulnerable given that its legendary founder is gone and

there has been speculation that the company might be sold. If so, that could present the opportunity to find a Chinese buyer for the Macau properties, thus killing two birds with one stone from the Chinese government viewpoint.

Perhaps the American casino operator with the least vulnerability, if concession renewals get political, is MGM Resorts. There is no pugnaciousness about MGM. It keeps a low profile. It doesn’t hurt that local political power Pansy Ho is the second largest shareholder after MGM in MGM China.

Of note, Macau represents 15 percent of MGM’s business.

Final thoughts on Macau. If the government cracks down on VIP play as it did several years ago, Wynn again is most vulnerable, as VIP is its biggest segment. Las Vegas Sands would be least affected as the mass market—the rising and enormous Chinese middle class—is its market.

• U.S. regional casino consolidation, valuations and interest rates. The round of consolidation among casinos has been spurred by REITs’ willingness to facilitate deals at above historic average prices, cheap money and a growing comfort (some might say complacency) on the part of casino operators for debt at four to five times EBITDA. Money is becoming more expensive as the Fed pushes up interest rates, and the valuations of at least publicly listed companies have come down with stock prices, suggesting prospective sellers might not get the high prices they want.

Further, higher interest expense could dampen buyers’ enthusiasm, especially if recession hits EBITDA lines, making debt more worrisome.

In other words, we could be in for a slowdown in acquisitions. However, if the Fed is nearly done normalizing interest rates from their historic lows and if recession is averted, there is now a practiced formula in place for consolidation to continue.

Frank Fantini is the editor and publisher of Fantini’s Gaming Report. For a free 30-day trial subscription email subscriptions@fantiniresearch.com.

p. 15 AGEM:Layout 1 12/13/18 2:43 PM Page 15

AGEMupdate AGEM MEMBER PROFILE

Gary Platt Manufacturing has been serving the world’s casino industry for more than 20 years. Its products are found in casinos of all sizes on five continents, and are found all across the enterprise, including slots, table games, poker, bar-top, bingo, sportsbook, restaurants, and now in the guest room and convention area. The company is continually on the forefront of developing new seating technologies, models and fabrications. Gary Platt’s noted design team has more than 50 years of experience in creating chair models and products that deliver unsurpassed comfort to its customers’ casino guests.

Gary Platt has a new line of sports book seating including an all-new high-luxury club chair, a new spin on the classic Lido, and many other new and exciting options sure to wow casino-goers everywhere with comfort and style.

Gary Platt’s new quick-change seat is the fastest and easiest in the industry, and allows operators to easily switch out seats with just two bolts, getting players back in the game faster than ever before. The new quick-change seats will be available for Gary Platt’s X2 and NX2 models.

The world-famous comfort of Gary Platt’s casino seating has come to office furniture in its new Eclipse line, which features an upholstered seat, a full synchro spyderstyle base, adjustable arms, and choice of mesh or upholstered back.

Gary Platt’s new Kopa stack chair is the answer to notoriously uncomfortable conference room seating. Designed specifically for the conference and banquet area, the Kopa stack chair incorporates all the ergonomics of its casino seating into a stack chair, including a seat filled with the company’s proprietary foam.

More than 20 years of seat ergonomics research has shown that when players are comfortable, they stay and play longer. This makes a casino’s chair choice a matter of bottom-line importance. Gary Platt’s design team takes ergonomics seriously and is continuously researching and developing to deliver unsurpassed comfort to its customers and their patrons.

For more information, contact Joshua Corrick at 1-330-303-5610 or jcorrick@garyplatt.com. Visit the website at GaryPlatt.com.

AGEM is an international trade association representing manufacturers of electronic gaming devices, systems, lotteries and components for the gaming industry. The association works to further the interests of gaming equipment manufacturers throughout the world. Through political action, trade show partnerships, information dissemination and good corporate citizenship, the members of AGEM work together to create benefits for every company within the organization. Together, AGEM and its member organizations have assisted regulatory commissions and participated in the legislative process to solve problems and create a positive business environment.

AGEM Board of Directors Actions – December 2018 • AGEM finally achieved resolution regarding the additional “assume responsibilityâ€? wording within Regulation 14 recently after holding a series of meetings with Nevada Gaming Control Board (GCB) Chairwoman Becky Harris. Having put forward the case that slot machine companies have always “assumed responsibilityâ€? for their products and what’s inside their machines, Chairwoman Harris is not advocating for any new or additional regulatory wording on the matter. • Continuing the good working relationship AGEM has with the GCB, Chairwoman Harris has offered the opportunity to potentially overhaul Gaming Device Technical Standards. AGEM’s Compliance Committee is currently reviewing a range of discussion points and will revert back to Harris at the beginning of January. The main purpose of this review is to provide updated technical standards that are not a deterrent to innovation. • AGEM has once again commissioned a Gaming Census compiled by Eilers & Krejcik Gaming that covers market-share slot data in a variety of categories and also includes updates on live and electronic table games and casino management systems. Now in its second year, the Gaming Census aims to have more industry participation by increasing the sample size from 370,000 North American units to 410,000. Work has begun and should be completed by the end of February. • AGEM Director of Responsible Gaming Connie Jones was recently asked to be a judge for the final day presentations at the Executive Development Program. This prestigious event held at Lake Tahoe brings together gaming professionals from all over the globe to learn, grow and network with the next generation of industry leaders. This year, more than half of the 55 delegates were international, with a particularly strong turnout from Macau. For their final challenge, the delegates were split into teams and had to present a formal response to an RFP for an integrated resort in Greece. Standards were extremely high and the whole group was commended for their innovation and enthusiasm. • AGEM members recently approved sponsorship for two forthcoming events. The Western Indian Gaming Conference & Trade Show, held at Harrah’s Southern California February 4-7, will see AGEM

as bronze sponsors with a $5,000 contribution; and the East Coast Gaming Congress, taking place June

12-13 in Atlantic City, will receive $6,000 in support.

took place

• The AGEM Cup Golf Tournament & Holiday Reception recently at Bali Hai Golf Club in

Las Vegas. The event went well, with beautiful weather and strong participation. The Scientific Games team of Tony Lewin and Jim Bates won the AGEM Cup on its 10th anniversary.

Forthcoming Events • ICE 2019 takes place at ExCeL London February 5-7. AGEM will have a booth located in the North Hall, and looks forward to welcoming friends and members as well as meeting proposed new members. • AGEM will once again be sponsor of the International Casino Conference (ICC) held alongside ICE Vox on Monday, February 4. This forms part of AGEM’s annual $15,000 support to the European Casino Association, which sees the contribution split between the ICC and European Dealer Championship to be held in Tallinn, Estonia from April 29 to May 1, 2019.

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p. 16 arkansas:Layout 1 12/13/18 2:54 PM Page 16

Arkansas Embraces Legal Gambling Oklahoma tribes play large role in passage, but might not benefit equally

By Dave Palermo wo years ago, when the religiously conservative state of Arkansas voted to legalize medical marijuana, lobRussellville byist Don Tilton asked himself why—unlike the surrounding states of Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas and Mississippi— Arkansas refused to legalize casino gambling.

“We legalized medical marijuana, something none of the surrounding states would do,” Hot Springs Tilton says. “Yet unlike the Oaklawn other states, we refused to legalize casino gambling.

“I thought, ‘What the hell’s the deal here?’”

A 2005 ballot initiative allowed “skilled-based” slot machines at Arkansas greyhound and thoroughbred racetracks.

But frequent ballot initiatives to permit casino gambling encountered the wrath of the state’s moral majority.

Sensing a changing public attitude toward “sin industries,” Tilton telephoned John Berrey, chairman of the Quapaw Nation of Oklahoma. Tilton’s firm, the Capital Group, was under contract by the Quapaw to purchase the tribe’s ancestral lands in southeast Arkansas.

T

Pine Bluff

Tilton told Berrey—whose tribe operated two casinos on its northeast Oklahoma reserSouthland vation—that the time might be right to float another West Memphis casino gambling ballot initiative in Razorback country.

“I laid out my thinking about why it might be the right time to consider gambling in Arkansas,” Tilton recalls. “John Berrey is a very shrewd man. He got real quiet. Finally, he said, ‘Is that it?’”

“That’s the best I got today,” Tilton replied.

“Well, let’s get started,” Berrey said.

Both the Quapaw and Cherokee Nations were anxious to protect their northeast Oklahoma gambling industries from encroachment from potential casino development across the Arkansas state line.

Election Victory Thanks largely to an initiative campaign funded with nearly $6 million from the Quapaw and Cherokee tribes, Arkansas citizens in November voted 54 percent to 46 percent to adopt Ballot Issue 4, a constitutional amendment allowing four casinos in the state.

Ballot Issue 4 designated that two casino licenses would go to Southland Gaming & Racing, a greyhound dog track in West Memphis, and Oaklawn Racing & Gaming, a thoroughbred track in Hot Springs.

Thanks largely to an initiative campaign funded with nearly $6 million from the Quapaw and Cherokee tribes, Arkansas citizens in November voted 54 percent to 46 percent to adopt Ballot Issue 4, a constitutional amendment allowing four casinos in the state.

16

Global Gaming Business JANUARY 2019

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Southland and Oaklawn racetracks were granted full casino privileges in November’s referendum

Oaklawn Racing & Gaming has announced plans to spend more than $100 million over the next two years to build a 200-room hotel and expand its casino by 28,000 square feet. Southland also plans to expand its operations.

Two other licenses would be awarded to Jefferson and Pope counties, near the communities of Pine Bluff and Russellville.

The casinos would operate as commercial ventures—subject to state taxes and regulations—and not gambling under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, by which tribes are exempt from taxation and given primacy to regulate their casinos.

“The people of Arkansas made it clear they wanted to improve the state’s economy, create new jobs and keep money in Arkansas,” Berrey says. “We are grateful for the support of the tens of thousands of Arkansas voters who made the choice to bring expanded casino gaming to the state.

“Arkansas is our homeland and we are eager to move forward, working together with the local government in Pine Bluff and Jefferson County to establish a casino resort that honors our legacy and provides opportunity for the region.

“This casino resort will be a source of pride for the community. It will create hundreds of jobs and generate millions of dollars in taxes that will help improve the city and county’s infrastructure and quality of life.”

Berrey and the Quapaw’s Downstream Development Corporation are looking to open a casino and 12-story hotel in Pine Bluff as early as 2020.

They have already received letters of support from Pine Bluff Mayor Shirley Washington and the Jefferson County judge, which in Arkansas serves as the county executive.

Mayor Washington pledged to make the economically struggling municipality a tourist destination. A Quapaw casino will help do the trick.

“I’ve been impressed by the professionalism and loyalty to our community that I’ve seen from Downstream and the Quapaw Nation,” Washington said in a letter of endorsement.

“Through our discussions over the last several months, it’s clear that Downstream wants to be a key partner in the growth and development of our city.”

The Quapaw have a strong relationship with Pine Bluff residents, acquiring property in what were the nation’s ancestral lands before a forced removal to Oklahoma in the 1800s. Quapaw Chief Saracen is buried there.

“Our strategy has always been to try and get back to where we’re from,” Berrey says. “It’s a mandate from the tribe to get back home.

“Pine Bluff is a beautiful, old Arkansas city. It’s gone through some rather hard times. We found a welcome group of people there. We’ve been cultivating our relationship for a long time.”

Although Ballot Issue 4 allows local officials to write more than one letter of support, Berrey is convinced promised exclusivity from municipal and county officials will ward off casino proposals from other potential tribal and commercial casino operators.

“There might be some attempts from other casino companies, but we’re not really concerned,” Berrey says. “We are viewed by local officials differently from commercial operators.

“We have a lot of support. We have community involvement. We made a lot of friends there. There’s a lot of excitement.”

Ballot Issue 4 requires a minimum investment of $100 million, a substantial sum for a city in need of jobs and economic development.

“What I know about the people in Jefferson County—the elected officials there—is that they are desperate for jobs,” says state Rep. Doug House of North Little Rock. “They need something to revive their local economy and the city of Pine Bluff and Jefferson County.

“People have been noticeably and steadily leaving for the last 20 years.

Crime is up. And so they’re hoping what happened in Tunica County, Mississippi will happen there,” House says of the economic explosion casino gambling created in the once-impoverished region of the Magnolia State.

Cherokee Nation Challenge The Cherokee Nation, meanwhile, has aspirations of building a casino resort near Russellville in Pope County, not far from where the tribe operates nine casinos in northeast Oklahoma. The tribe failed in attempts to get an initiative on the 2016 ballot.

“Arkansas, being an adjacent state, would be a logical extension of our operations here in Oklahoma,” says Chuck Garrett, vice president of Cherokee Nation Businesses, the economic arm of the tribal government with health care, aerospace, technology and other enterprises.

But developing a casino in Pope County is problematic.

Pope County voters approved an ordinance requiring county officials to hold a referendum before issuing letters of support for a casino in the county.

JANUARY 2019 www.ggbmagazine.com

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“

Arkansas is our homeland and we are eager to move forward, working together with the local government in Pine Bluff and Jefferson County to establish a casino resort that honors our legacy and provides opportunity for the region.”

—John Berrey, Chairman, Quapaw Nation of Oklahoma

The ordinance is likely to be challenged in the courts.

“That’s a lingering question, whether state law trumps a local ordinance,” says Scott Hardin, director of communications for the Arkansas Racing Commission and Department of Finance and Administration, which will regulate the fledgling casino industry.

If the Pope County ordinance is upheld, it could be difficult for casino developers to get local approval of a casino referendum.

Although Issue 4 got the approval of 54 percent of the voters statewide, more than 60 percent of Pope County citizens rejected the initiative.

“That’s going to be a hard sell,” Tilton says of Cherokee and other potential casino operators hoping to develop a casino resort in Pope County.

“It’s questionable whether Pope County will get a casino,” House says. “It’s pretty easy to say the population there does not want it.”

But Pope County voters who rejected Issue 4 were primarily concerned with maintaining local control. Garrett is optimistic the Cherokee Nation can convince Russellville of the benefits of a casino in generating jobs and economic development.

“I don’t think you can necessarily conclude the Issue 4 vote represents their final opinion on whether they want a casino and the economic development that results,” Garrett says. “When all the facts are presented, a casino might be a very compelling economic opportunity.”

Cherokee Nation’s impact on the Oklahoma economy exceeds $2.03 billion, according to Oklahoma City University economist Russell Evans, including nearly 18,000 jobs and $785 million in wages and benefits.

“The Cherokee Nation is here to improve the lives of Cherokee people, and doing so improves the lives of all Oklahomans,” Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Bill John Baker says.

“Our focus is creating jobs, investing in vital infrastructure, building homes, improving health care, supporting education and making a difference in the lives of children. Those activities aren’t just an investment in Cherokee Nation. It is also an investment in Oklahoma.”

18

Global Gaming Business JANUARY 2019

Competition is Likely Ballot Issue 4 gives Southland in Crittenden County and Oaklawn in Garland County exclusive rights to casino licenses.

And the Quapaw have exclusivity provisions in their endorsement letters from Jefferson County and Pine Bluff officials.

But the constitutional amendment permits county and municipal officials to issue more than one letter of support, allowing potential competition for licenses.

“We have received calls from groups out of Las Vegas” along with tribal operators in Louisiana and commercial companies in Mississippi, says attorney Alex Gray of Driving Arkansas Forward, a group that worked for passage of the ballot initiative.

“There is a significant amount of interest in the two new licenses” in Pope and Jefferson counties, Gray says.

“You’ve got the entire gambit. You’ve got large, corporate casino companies with multiple locations in multiple states. Then you’ve got tribes. There are a lot of different groups looking into opportunities in Arkansas.”

“We do expect to get multiple applications,” Hardin says of state regulators.

“From what is being reported, there is certainly a lot of interest from a variety of companies. We are hearing reports that companies are expressing interest in both Pope and Jefferson counties.”

Operators will be required to pay a $250,000 license application fee and invest at least $100 million in their casino development. They will be levied a 13 percent tax on the first $150 million in net gambling receipts, rising to 20 percent on any additional income.

Oaklawn Racing & Gaming has announced plans to spend more than $100 million over the next two years to build a 200-room hotel and expand its casino by 28,000 square feet. Southland also plans to expand its operations.

Southland and Oaklawn opposed prior ballot initiatives to launch a casino industry in Arkansas, partnering with religious leaders to defeat efforts to get the issue on the ballot.

But Southland this year helped fund Ballot Issue 4, comfortable that limited gambling and spacing operations in four “quadrants” of the state would limit competition. Oaklawn took a neutral position on the initiative.

“Since this was a question for voters, Oaklawn took no position prior to the election,” Jennifer Hoyt, media relations manager, said in a statement.

“Now that voters have spoken, Oaklawn will move forward as legislation and regulation permit, and continue with preparations for the 2019 live racing season.”

“Southland Gaming & Racing is pleased to have the opportunity to enhance our entertainment and gaming offerings in West Memphis,” Corporate Communications Director Glen White says.

“We thank the voters for their trust in us. We will increase our investment, provide more jobs and continue to offer a great experience for our guests.”

Meanwhile, Family Council President Jerry Cox says his group will continue to oppose casino gambling.

“This is a bad deal for Arkansas,” Cox says. “These casinos are going to be

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“

Our focus is creating jobs, investing in vital infrastructure, building homes, improving health care, supporting education and making a difference in the lives of children.”

—Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Bill John Baker

festering sores in our communities. They’re going to pull money out of the local economies and plunge some of our poorest families deeper into poverty.

“Out-of-state gambling interests spent millions of dollars to persuade Arkansas voters to approve this amendment, creating a casino monopoly for the Cherokee and Quapaw Indian tribes along with owners of casinos in Hot Springs and West Memphis.”

House says there are sacrifices to be made in launching a statewide casino industry.

“It will help the local economy to a certain extent,” House says. “But there is a noticeable social cost. We know that with pretty good certainty.

“People gamble away their paychecks on Friday afternoons, and consequently there are ramifications for the family.”

Revenue Shortfall Anticipated The Arkansas Economic Development Institute, in a study commissioned

by Driving Arkansas Forward, predicts that Ballot Issue 4 can generate $5.8 billion in statewide economic activity over a period of 10 years.

The study says the casino industry would create 6,000 jobs and $39 million in annual state and local revenue.

But the Department of Finance and Administration anticipates a $36 million revenue shortfall in fiscal years 2020 and 2021 as licenses are issued and the casino industry is under development.

The shortfall may grow if the Pope County ordinance is upheld by the courts.

Slot machine revenue from Southland and Oaklawn amounts to about $64 million a year.

“We anticipate that revenue will drop significantly over the next couple of years due to the timeline of other casinos getting up and running,” Hardin says. “That will probably take at least a year and a half.”

In an effort to speed up the approval process, Ballot Issue 4 set June 1 as the target date to issue licenses.

Unlike many states turning to casino gambling as a tool to alleviate

budget deficits, the Arkansas legislature did not play a role in the Ballot Issue 4 campaign.

It was instead an alliance of tribes and racing interests, local officials and real estate investors.

“The state did not come to us and say, ‘Would you run this? We need additional tax revenue,’” Gray says of Driving Arkansas Forward. “This was really something talked about over a slice of pizza and a beer at lunch. We decided we’d go for it.”

Driving Arkansas Forward promoted a message of economic development and tourism. Organizers urged casinos as a means of keeping gambling revenues from flowing to surrounding states.

“They’ve been preaching for years to keep the money at home,” House says.

“Local people would be hired to work in the casinos. They’d be given jobs. Local suppliers would be contracted to provide goods and services.

Local builders would build the facilities and so on and so forth.”

“There had been several attempts over the years” to legalize casino gambling in Arkansas, Tilton says. “But the timing just wasn’t right.”

With the nationwide spread of commercial and tribal government casinos, anti-gambling advocates in Arkansas and elsewhere have failed in attempts to link gambling with crime and moral corruption.

“I think you’ve seen the normalization of a lot of things that 10 years ago would have been insanity,” Berrey says. “I think it’s the changing times. The whole United States is becoming more tolerant of what some people thought were sinful activities.”

“We figured the timing was right,” Tilton says. “We had good polling.

We developed our message off the polls. We educated people exactly what this meant for the state of Arkansas. We made it about jobs and economic impact.

“In our polling we found many people—more than half—as born-again Christians. They are a considerable bloc.

“But many of these same people said, ‘How can we turn our backs on jobs? How can we turn our backs on economic development?’”

The Arkansas Economic Development Institute, in a study commissioned by Driving Arkansas Forward, predicts that Ballot Issue 4 can generate $5.8 billion in statewide economic activity over a period of 10 years.

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Passionate People Introducting GGB’s 2019

PeoPle TO Watch

25

climbing the Mountain

O

K, first a confession. When I was first getting into journalism, I had an internship at Atlantic City magazine, a great little publication that covered the community in a way those “city” magazines did back then. I was a late bloomer well into my 30s when I worked for them.

But every January they had a feature called 25 People to Watch, and it was the most popular feature of the year for the magazine. Of course with no internet or social media, we could only gauge that by questions about how you get named one of the 25, followed by complaints after publication that they were left off.

Fast forward to 2002 when we launched GGB. Since Atlantic City magazine had folded by then, I don’t think I was stealing any intellectual property. So in our first January issue (above), we did our initial list of 25 People to Watch. Cover boy George Maloof, who along with his family owned the brand new Palms casino in Vegas, was joined by such luminaries as Congresswoman Shelley Berkeley, Penn National leader Peter Carlino, California tribal gaming legend Anthony Miranda, Australian gaming magnate Jamie Packer, Wynn Resorts VP Linda Chen and many others. It was a great list, but a list that has only grown more impressive as the years go on. (To see the full list, go to GGBmagazine.com.)

In this, the 17th edition of 25 People to Watch, the list is no less impressive. From casino presidents to consultants to regulators to online gaming execs, the list is varied and diverse—so diverse, in fact, that we have a record number of women (nine) on the list this year.

So sit back and read about people who may be influencing the way you do business in 2019 and into the future.

—Roger Gros

22

Global Gaming Business JANUARY 2019

Elaine Hodgson • President & CEO, Incredible Technologies

B

elieve it or not, the trackball played an important role in the emergence of Elaine Hodgson’s company. Hodgson explains how the company utilized an emerging technology to push its Golden Tee golf game and its Capcom bowling game in an industry where joysticks were the norm.

“We found that the trackball was much better at simulating the bowling game that we did originally, and then the golf game afterwards,” she explains.

And that strategy continues today with the innovative slot-maker that has emerged in the Golden Tee producer, Incredible Technologies.

“We’ve always been good, even today, to take emerging technologies that get to the price point of the industry that we are in, and use it to its best effect,” she says.

Despite having a successful company producing amusement games, principally Golden Tee, which was to become one of the premier bar amusement games in the business, Hodgson said they decided to enter the gaming industry at a time the amusement games seemed to be faltering.

“We were a little late to the party,” she points out. “Our competitors like Konami, Bally and WMS had decided earlier to get out of the amusement business and go into the home consumer markets, and/or slot machine markets. We decided to get into the slot business because it utilizes a lot of the same core competencies as the amusement games.”

But Hodgson says IT underestimated what it would take, admitting to being a little naive.

“Maybe we were a little arrogant, because we had actually done this before in the coin-op industry,” she explains. “We were nobody, and we did compete with the big players and found our niche and were successful, using innovation that truly nobody else was doing. So, we got in and thought we could do something similar in the slot machine industry. However, that industry is much bigger, and those competitors are much bigger, and being naive in the ways of regulations, it was a longer ramp-up than anticipated.”

p. 22 PTW:Layout 1 12/13/18 3:00 PM Page 23

e IT’s approach, says Hodgson, was to stand apart.

“We had to be different, so that people would play our games over our established competitors,” she says, “so we drew from our arcade experience. And quite honestly, we probably did that even more than we should have, and we didn’t consider the look and feel that slot players really want. But we got our act together, and so we still have that entertainment, arcade flare in all of our games, even though we have the look and feel that slot players like.”

One of the things IT tried to do was give the players a choice of the volatility they desired.

“Our very early games did that, which seems really clever, but it wasn’t necessarily understood or desired by our players,” she says. “We learned some things about how a given theme seems to attract either the low-volatility or the high-volatility player. High-volatility players don’t want fluffy bunnies. They want action. So we learned some lessons there, and so now we just target a theme for a given volatility. We would like to be successful in all those market segments, but I’d have to say that so far, we’ve been most successful on the time-on-device, entertainment arcadestyle game. Though, I’m certain we’re going to have success in the highvolatility market as we move forward.”

As all slot manufacturers know—and IT learned the hard way—the secret to successful slot games is the math. But IT had an ace up its sleeve.

“My partner, Richard Ditton, has a bachelor’s in mathematics and a master’s in computer science,” Hodgson says. “He looked at games, walked around, watched games, looked at player behavior and analyzed successful math models and not-so-successful math models. He came up with theories that he uses to determine if a math model that we introduce will be successful or not. And he made our hit rate go way up from what it was, and while it’s not at 100 percent, it’s pretty good. So yes, math is king, and everything starts with math, and I wish we had known that from day one, but we know it now.”

For a small company, IT stands tall in the quarterly Eilers-Fantini Slot Report, which breaks down slot performance in many different categories.

IT is up or near the top in most categories where it competes.

“Eilers is like the report card that we all watch; we look for it coming in our mailbox, and so it is a great thing,” she says. “But we respect that it’s very difficult to stay there. When you’re at the top, there’s only one way to go, so we work hard to stay there. But, it’s the entertainment industry and the customer is fickle, and they change, and so we know we have to keep on top of it.”

Hodgson also values the people who keep them there and praises all members of her team.

“We value honesty,” she says. “We value people’s contribution, we are good with people’s time; we let them do things for their family when they need to. We ask for work when we need it. We want to win; we want to feel, as a team, that we’re contributing to the industry in creative ways that make it go further than it has gone before.

“At the same time, we like to have fun at what we’re doing, and we don’t take ourselves too seriously. We care about the customer and the product and ourselves, and we’re not playing the stock market game.

We’re very focused on the core of the business.”

—Roger Gros

JANUARY 2019 www.ggbmagazine.com

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25 People to Watch 2019

Opening Daze

Family Affair Cami Christensen • President and General Manager, Westgate Las Vegas

A

s a country girl from rural Iowa, Cami Christensen loved to travel, and especially enjoyed staying in hotels.

“There was something so magical about going to a new place and checking in—it seemed so glamorous,” she says. “I’d go through all the drawers and steal the soap and stationery.”

Those early experiences (and watching TV soap operas like Hotel and Dynasty) ignited a “little spark” that led Christensen to a career in hospitality. Last October, she reached a pinnacle of the profession when she was named president and general manager of one of the Las Vegas Strip’s most iconic resorts—the Westgate.

Founded as the International and later renowned as the Las Vegas Hilton, the 65-acre property was the onetime main stage for superstars like Elvis, Liberace and Wayne Newton and is now the resident home of Barry Manilow.

Christensen’s appointment makes her one of the first female presidents of a Strip resort. She says she couldn’t have achieved it without the support of her “family”—the rank-and-file who have worked alongside her since 2001, when she started at the Hilton as assistant hotel manager.

“Without them,” she says of her co-workers, “I wouldn’t be here. Without their success, there is no success for this property.”

Christensen finds her new role uniquely satisfying, perhaps because of those fond girlhood memories.

“It’s the thrill of creating an experience for guests on vacation, then adding the casino element to it,” she says. “There’s the noise of the

24

slot machines and the excitement when people are winning at a craps game. When you go to our Superbook on Sunday, it’s so crowded you can barely walk, and the whole crowd is cheering.”

She takes the reins at an important time for the property, which will mark its 50th birthday this year. Acquired by Westgate Resorts Ltd. in 2014, it’s undergoing a major renovation ($150 million and counting); Westgate founder and CEO David Siegel “made a commitment that every bit of the property would be touched,” says Christensen, including 950 hotel rooms, two additional hotel towers, restaurants and the Superbook. “It’s exciting.

I’m so lucky to be at the helm.”

Over more than 17 years onsite, Christensen has tried her hand at numerous jobs, hoping to understand the many moving parts that make a 3,000-room resort run. That willingness to pitch in not only endeared her to the rank-and-file, it’s given Christensen a deep understanding of their challenges and created an unbreakable bond.

“Parking cars in the middle of summer. Making beds all day. It gives you an appreciation that, ‘Wow this isn’t an easy job.’ Early on, I realized if I don’t care about that person emptying the trash, I could never be successful here. It’s the front line that counts—they’re the ones who make it or break it.”

No wonder those same employees were jubilant when Christensen got the top job. “It’s been so overwhelming, how happy they are for me—how happy they are for us,” she says.

Expect a big birthday bash in 2019, with the whole family on hand.

—Marjorie Preston

Global Gaming Business JANUARY 2019

Troy Hall • Slot Director, Desert Diamond Casinos and Entertainment, West Valley

S

ay hello to Mr. Energy.

From slot technician to slot magician, Troy Hall has fashioned an electrifying journey in roughly two gaming decades. The Shreveport, Louisiana native, who entered the casino world after a naval career in which he’d worked on multimillion-dollar weapons systems, has been prolific.

There have been seven—count ‘em, seven— property openings for this effervescent director of slot operations at Desert Diamond West Valley casino outside of Phoenix. His ledger includes the late 2019 scheduled transformation of Desert Diamond West Valley into a major industry player.

Early in 2018, Hall was lured to Arizona from Maryland Live!, where he’d guided slot operations for the state’s top-earning slot floor for more than five years.

Hall has performed his duties in Hollywood Casino in Shreveport, Delta Downs, the Isle of Capri Casinos in Pompano Park, Florida and in Natchez and Lula, Mississippi, among others. He juggled two openings at one time, with two properties launching within six months. After that came Maryland Live! and finally, his first tribal property.

“I love installs,” he laughs. “Maybe I’m a glutton for punishment. There is an allure and a satisfaction of going from a construction environment into an operational environment. You are making sure you have the right pieces in place, the right slots mix, all the internal controls, etc. I’m really excited about this one because we are in a primo location. We are sitting in Glendale with a huge market and bustling entertainment district nearby (along

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“Over the last 20 years, the different levels of data we have access to now is phenomenal. It allows us to get that unique look at a customer, tailor our service to that person and market to that customer.” with professional sports teams). We are ready to set Phoenix on fire.”

The Desert Diamond West Valley casino is being built adjacent to the temporary facility the Tohono O’odham Nation opened in 2015 as a full Class II facility, and is just one piece of the tribe’s plan to transform its 135-acre property into a fullscale casino, resort and spa.

The new $400 million casino will have table games along with slots—both Class II and Class III. It will be much larger than the temporary casino, with a 75,000-square-foot casino floor compared with the 30,000-square-foot floor at the temporary location. It also will offer live bingo and have five restaurants.

Hall taps into the versatility of the slot sector and his own management talents. Besides 1,136 machines on this project, Hall conducts the transformation from the project management side.

“What’s great about this is you don’t see the same thing every day,” he says. “Over the last 20 years, the different levels of data we have access to now is phenomenal. It allows us to get that unique look at a customer, tailor our service to that person and market to that customer. We have the integration of multiple systems data in one hub and we continue to find new ways to entice our guests.”

Hall has encompassed the technical, corporate, operational and project-management realm of a changing business. During his career, slot machines went from coins and handle-pulling into TITO, screens to enable food orders, show tickets, tournaments and reward redemption. His family also has evolved, moving several times. Hall’s wife Katrina had a 15-year career in the casino cage before their marriage, and thus understands this industry’s demands, he says. The couple has four children.

—Dave Bontempo

Knowing the Score Jeff Hamilton • Assistant General Manager, Mohegan Sun

S

coreboard watching has grown beyond sports.

Jeff Hamilton, in fact, turned it into a science.

Keeping a large company’s eye on the ball has been an integral focus of his role as assistant general manager of Mohegan Sun, which he assumed in 2015. Hamilton arrived in time to help open Mohegan’s $80 million Expo Center, touted as the largest exposition site along the I-95 New York-Boston corridor, with 275,000 square feet of flexible meeting and event space, last June.

The property has also turned roughly 100 of its 1,600 rooms into the one-night, highroller experience for anyone wishing to experience the top echelon of the reward tier. The philosophy resembles the high-end daily-fee concept used at many golf courses, in which patrons can rent the country club experience for one day without being members.

Besides aiding those large rollouts, Hamilton helps personalize a large company.

“It’s difficult, especially in a big casino with 7,000 team members and a 25 percent turnover rate, to get everyone involved on the same page,” says the 36-year-old Connecticut native, who has handled several administrative roles since joining Mohegan Sun in 2004. “To tackle that problem, we created a competition, in which customer service impacts every team member. We have scoreboards up throughout the property. Departments compete against one another. Team members hold their colleagues accountable, as they are not just impacting themselves, but others.”

Department performance impacts individual evaluations, he says. The focus establishes teamwork, much like a sports team. Camaraderie gets built too. There are champions of individual seasons, department competitions for a couple of weeks, trophies, awards, etc.

Hamilton says the numbers, or in this case the letters, bear out this approach, which was implemented in 2013.

“We increased our percentage of A’s on customer feedback surveys by 20 percent,” he says. “This is a program I have been very proud to be part of.”

Hamilton credits the company’s HR philosophy with diversifying his background.

The building blocks included dealing with different departments as part of the human-resource role.

“One week you are helping food and beverage, the next week you are assisting with something that impacts the slot-service department,” he explains. “What really helped me is the way Mohegan handles service improvement. Most people think of HR as an administrative department, but Mohegan uses it as a component within all the operating departments.”

Hamilton subsequently learned about logistics and issues that could impact customer service, property-wide. He’s also having fun dealing with major platforms that engage customers, like “Slime.”

“We did well with Slime Bash this past fall,” he laughs. “We brought 7,000 people to the property to make and buy slime. It was a hit with the 12- and 13-year-olds.”

Who says people can’t be slimed and dimed?

Besides his gaming expertise, Hamilton was a 2016 chairman for the March of Dimes Walk for Babies and is a member of the board of directors for the United Way of Southeastern Connecticut.

—Dave Bontempo

JANUARY 2019 www.ggbmagazine.com

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25 People to Watch 2019

Those Who Can, Teach Jane Tsai • Founder and CEO, JCT Holdings

A

s Galaxy Entertainment’s VP of international development, Jane Tsai says she hit the “trifecta”—the perfect intersection of gaming, hospitality and business creation.

Even so, and despite a strong personal allegiance to Galaxy Deputy Chairman Francis Lui, in late 2017 Tsai found herself pulled in a new direction.

“I had my dream job at Galaxy, but I’m a serial entrepreneur at heart,” she says. “I thought I could influence the conversation as an independent more than I could on the inside.”

The idea took hold as she assessed new Asian markets.

“I recognized a huge knowledge gap out there,” she says. “We were being asked not just about the commercial terms of partnerships but who is the target audience, how do you get a hotel to work with a casino, how do you put restaurants in—it was very basic, IR 101. I knew I could bring a level of depth and understanding that would allow them to have more informed conversations.”

In response, she founded JCT Holdings, with a panel of experts who know the rules of the game and can teach them to new, emerging and even established operators.

“Unlike the PWCs, KPMGs or Deloittes,” says Tsai, her team is made up of former IR execs (from Wynn, Caesars, Marina Bay Sands, Cosmopolitan, etc.). “We don’t just study the industry, we’ve worked in the industry. We bring real, hands-on experience and knowledge” that enable governments, operators, consortiums and other partners to create and operate successful IRs. In Japan, she says, the three groundbreaking operators will be chosen based on their reputations, both outside and inside Japan, their track records as partners, and of course financial performance: “cash reserves, how leveraged is the company, financial impact to the markets they operate in.”

But they must also understand the culture. As a 26

Global Gaming Business JANUARY 2019

longtime high-level marketing executive (for Galaxy, Expedia and Hotels.com) and a Taiwanese-American (born and raised in Seattle), Tsai knows how to hit the right notes.

“There’s a subtlety and grace about everything in the Japanese culture, and it affects commercial dealings as much as interpersonal communication,” she says.

“To build strong relationships, foreigners must acknowledge this and adhere to as many of the unwritten social protocol nuances as possible.

The biggest mistake is to be perceived as forcing, rushing or pushing one’s opinion.”

Asked about her former base of Macau, where the Big 6 concessionaires face an imminent retender process, Tsai says the SAR’s global dominance would have been impossible “without the incredible investment, dedication and support from each of the six concessionaires.”

That said, and despite the dearth of developable land, she believes there’s room for more.

“To stay regionally, even globally competitive as a tourism destination, Macau needs to push the experiential envelope and create new, unique and exciting tourism opportunities. One or possibly two new operators could open up a host of possibilities.”

Meanwhile, all eyes are on Japan—often called the “Holy Grail,” with a potential market value of $25 billion or more. But Tsai sees opportunity worldwide.

“Mature, saturated EMEA markets need innovation to change decades-old operational and marketing habits that are becoming irrelevant to today’s gamer,” she says. “And the gaming industry everywhere is trying to crack the ultimate question: what does a millennial gamer want?

“We at JCT are continually keeping a close watch on changing consumer trends, trying to help our clients stay ahead of the curve.”

—Marjorie Preston

Right Time Tim Bucher • Chief Product Officer, Scientific Games

I

n the modern slot industry, there have been many stories of success from executives that came to casino gaming via the video game industry, and the larger tech industry. Tim Bucher fits into both categories.

Bucher, who joined Scientific Games Corporation last May as chief product officer, has a video game pedigree stretching back for decades. Among many highlights, he led the rollout of the Xbox system while a vice president at Microsoft, and before that he worked with Electronic Arts founder Trip Hawkins.

A computer and electrical engineer with an MS in computer architecture from Stanford and more than 40 patents to his name, Bucher also had a distinguished career with other Silicon Valley tech firms, from Apple to Lyve Minds to Seagate Technology.

“I’m new to this gaming industry,” Bucher comments. “I have a lot of gaming background, but it’s in the video game world. It’s a different kind of gaming, but nevertheless, it’s about entertaining the players, and that’s something we’re very passionate about at Scientific Games.”

As it turns out, with his background and skill set, Bucher arrived at Scientific Games at precisely the right time, as the gaming supplier solidifies its status as an end-to-end supplier of not only slots and table games, but in four divisions spanning the industry: SG Gaming, SG Social, SG Lottery and SG Digital.

For the coming year, SG Digital may be the big story for Scientific Games, which has solidified its status as a premier supplier of sports betting technology just as the U.S. sports betting market heats up following last year’s removal of the federal ban on sports wagering. Already owning the in-

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“When you think about it, when it comes to land-based gaming, it’s kind of silly to have your sports wagering confined to the sports book of a venue. Why not explode that sports book throughout the whole resort, or at the very least, throughout the whole casino?” dustry’s top sports-betting platform in OpenBet, in October the company announced the acquisition of Don Best Sports Corp., a leading supplier of real-time betting data and pricing for North American sporting events.

Bucher says the recent acquisitions put Scientific Games in a prime position to both steer and benefit from the spread of sports betting across the U.S. over the next few years. “We have an end-to-end solution ,” he says. “With our most recent acquisition of Don Best, we have the top-tier players in the whole ecosystem. I think we’re in a very good position.

“We’re in discussions with every single state and with the go-tomarket players that are there... I’m super bullish on our digital offering, and I think that’s going to be a real driver for us moving forward.”

Bucher says the opportunity in sports betting is only one prominent growth area ahead for Scientific Games. He says that while he doesn’t dictate what the priorities should be for the four business units, he works with each unit head on new technologies that will enhance the company’s overall offerings. He works a lot with the games division to enhance what the slot machine can do, citing this year’s introduction of Pepper’s ghost technology in the new “Die Another Day” Bond game as the latest example of outside-the-box thinking he encourages.

Near term, says Bucher, look for Scientific Games to continue to exploit its capabilities in the growing sports betting arena. At the Global Gaming Expo, the company demonstrated technology that will allow players to make sports bets at the machine, through the iVIEW DM display system.

“When you think about it, when it comes to land-based gaming, it’s kind of silly to have your sports wagering confined to the sports book of a venue,” Bucher says. “Why not explode that sports book throughout the whole resort, or at the very least, throughout the whole casino?

“Our customers are very excited about it. Because of our iVIEW DM technology, and because of the platform we have with SG Digital, we’re in the best position to help grow that for our customers.”

Beyond that, Bucher says the company will continue to examine opportunities to create what he calls the “omnichannel experience,” extending interaction with customers beyond the slot machine or table game to anywhere in a resort, including via mobile applications.

“There are a lot of great opportunities there for the players themselves, and for the operators,” Bucher says. “It’s about a spark—about finding new business opportunities.”

—Frank Legato

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25 People to Watch 2019 Soup to Nuts

The Right Way

Charles Cohen • Vice

Charles Hiten • Chief Executive,

President, PlayDigital Sports Betting, IGT

C

harles Cohen will be the first to tell you that he’s not an expert on sports betting. He got into the game late, compared with his peers, but he’s made a huge impact already on sports wagering in the U.S. Now heading up IGT’s PlayDigital sports betting solution from his San Francisco office, his experience with sports betting began when then-GTECH worked out a deal with MGM Resorts to develop a mobile sports betting solution in Nevada, which had just legalized that way to wager.

“I was in charge of mobile, so it was going to be a mobile solution,” he says. “I knew a bit about sports betting from Europe, but had never really experienced the U.S. version.”

Simple, thought the British-born Cohen.

GTECH, now IGT, was very well prepared.

“We didn’t think it would be that difficult,” he explains. “We had an extremely mature sports betting system and a big team of developers. Sure, the prices are different, but it really shouldn’t be that difficult to convert our sports betting platform to one that works specifically for Nevada and now the U.S. But it took us about three years and some crazy number like 200 man-years to get it done. It was a major effort, but it was worth it, and they are reaping the benefits now.”

The PlayDigital system looked and felt different than anything on the market at that time. And there’s a reason, says Cohen.

“We came at this from the angle of being consumer-facing mobile people. We looked at the products that were in the market at the time and thought they were very functional but not particularly great user experiences. The world that I’ve been in for the last 20 years was all about understanding user experience. We wanted to deliver an experience for the player that they enjoy, that they instinctively understand, and that is fast, reliable and works for them.

“We were able to take advantage of technologies that were brand new so we could deliver an experience that wouldn’t have even been possible five years ago.

“With the help of our clients, we came up with some bold ideas. Some of it worked, some of 28

Global Gaming Business JANUARY 2019

Merkur Gaming Americas it didn’t work, but it worked for the players and for our client.”

Cohen says mobile technology is advancing so quickly that the products they can offer their customers are also changing.

“If you look at the work we’ve done in New Jersey for FanDuel, it’s a completely different user experience, which just shows how technology and expectations are advancing.

“There’s a saying that things move at internet speed. Well, mobile speed is even faster than internet speed.”

But IGT isn’t just about mobile. The company provides solutions for new sports books in the casino as well.

“The platform that IGT brought into the U.S. is offered worldwide, and is a very successful retail solution as well,” Cohen says. “Retail outside of the U.S. means tens of thousands of terminals in bars, convenience stores, all the way up to fullscale betting shops. So we have that capability in that platform.

“But we did have to change it for the U.S. because sports betting here is focused around the casino. And a casino is not a corner bar or convenience store, and it’s certainly different than a betting shop on the high street. We treat the retail and the mobile as equal citizens. We’ve been working on providing a streamlined retail experience in a casino that is equal to our mobile experience. Not an easy task.”

He cites land-based considerations such as ticket writers, tellers, maintenance, back office, W-2G, Title 31 and all the other items that are involved in running a physical sports book.

“That’s why doing this at IGT is a fabulous experience, because there are people here who have lived and breathed casino operations for decades,” he says.

One thing IGT will never do is operate a sports book inside a casino.

“We offer a turnkey solution,” he says. “But we won’t go into properties and operate a sports book like William Hill does. That’s an IGT principle. We’re not a B2C business and we won’t cross that line. As far as we’re concerned the players are our customers’ customer.”

—Roger Gros

M

erkur Gaming Americas aims to expand its footprint in American markets north and south, and according to Merkur Chief Executive Charles Hiten, the path for the company is not unlike other large European manufacturers that have entered U.S. markets.

Those include the former Atronic, which, like Merkur, was owned by Germany’s Gauselmann Group; and Novomatic, Hiten’s former company.

Hiten was managing director of NovoChile, Novomatic’s Chilean subsidiary, for eight years, when Novomatic was led by the late Jens Halle.

Halle left Novomatic to head Merkur Gaming briefly before his death in 2015.

Hiten now holds Halle’s former post at Merkur Gaming America. In targeting the Americas, Hiten has followed a path similar to the one Halle set both at Novomatic and at Merkur.

Like Halle, Hiten opted to set up shop first in Florida. He says the location of the office not only makes it easier for his travel—to Germany, and to customer locations in Latin America, where Merkur enjoys a strong and growing presence—but is in close proximity to South Florida’s casinos.

“For me, what’s most important is my ability, wherever I am, to actually walk into a casino and talk to players,” Hiten says. “I’ve been doing it for the last 20 years. It’s how I stay in touch with the industry, and what’s going on, on the ground.”

Once the Florida headquarters was established, the top priority was to launch a U.S. game design studio. Hiten first planned to locate it in Florida, but he says it was soon obvious that the essential pool of talent and skill set was in Nevada.

In 2016, Hiten chose veteran slot game designer and programmer Mike Halvorson Jr. to establish, staff and head the Las Vegas game design studio, dubbed Sunshine Games.

“Mike has a long game design pedigree,” says Hiten, “but also has a long exposure to technology in all kinds of different ways. He’s assembled a great team, and we’re expanding that team step by step with a focus on skill set. We’ve got great support and commitment from Paul Gauselmann, the owner, to do what is necessary so we build the right product.”

The fact that Merkur is owned by Gauselmann Group allows Hiten to enter the North American market the way he feels is right. “For me, the focus

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Early Game Advantage Bea Carson • Chairwoman, Choctaw Gaming Commission

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was always to make the product first, and do market entry second,” says Hiten. “The benefit of having one of the largest gaming groups in the world behind us is that we have the luxury of accomplishing (market entry) in what we believe is the right way. The other difference is that we’re private. I’m not driven by quarterly results; I’m driven by a strategy that ends in a long-term objective.”

The first several Merkur games for U.S. markets were expected to be certified by Gaming Laboratories International in December, after a successful showing at October’s Global Gaming Expo. “We had a great reception there, and that’s the next step toward full-blown market entry,” Hiten says. “That entry is based on product first.”

As Merkur products are introduced across the Americas in both Native American and commercial markets in the U.S. and Canada, Hiten says his philosophy will be to continue developing games strictly according to player preferences, with the team at Sunshine Games in Las Vegas working closely with programmers in Germany via a fully integrated, linked system, all working on the same platform and source code.

But the location of the Sunshine Games programmers in this setup is allimportant, says Hiten. Instead of near the airport with the other slot manufacturers, Sunshine Games is across the street from Palace Station, a few minutes from the Strip.

“Yes, they’re programming games there, but ultimately, this is about players. Walk across the road. Go to the casino, have lunch there. Watch the players. See what they’re playing. Look at the new product. Let’s understand what this is ultimately about.”

And it’s ultimately about a successful American launch.

—Frank Legato

ast May, the United States Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992, which prohibited legal sports betting in all but a handful of states.

In a sterling example of quick work, by mid-June the Choctaw Gaming Commission had announced that its three casinos in Mississippi would offer the wagers. And by the end of August, the tribe made history when its Pearl River Resort near Philadelphia opened the first tribal sports book in the U.S. Today, two Pearl River casinos—the Silver Star and the Golden Moon— feature retail sports betting. The tribe’s third property, Bok Homa in Sandersville, is expected to go live with the bets this year. All three should eventually offer sports-betting kiosks and mobile betting.

Commission Chairwoman and tribal member Bea Carson says she and her team are “still in the excitement phase.”

“I see good things happening,” says Carson. “We have a good relationship with the Mississippi Gaming Commission, and we all share the mindset that we’re here to protect the customers as well as the casinos” through effective policies, procedures and regulations.

Gaming is a pivotal part of the tribe’s business empire. According to a 2014 report, in that year the three Choctaw casinos generated almost $500 million in total revenues, supported 5,000 jobs and paid more than $164 million in wages. They’re a huge boon not only to the 11,000 Choctaw members but to the greater community. The availability of sports betting should only make the enterprise grow.

“We’re seeing a lot more first-time visitors” drawn by the sports books, the chairwoman confirms.

Carson has worked in many capacities for the Choctaw tribe: nutritionist, dietary director, associate gaming commissioner (2001-2009), grants compliance officer, tax commissioner, procurement officer. Her deep experience in tribal business matters came in handy in January 2013, when Chief Phyliss Anderson tapped her for the gaming commission role.

“The integrity of the commission is first and foremost,” she says. “The integrity is essential to protect the gaming venues, the tribe, the patrons that come to our facilities to enjoy themselves and also our associates. We’re one of the largest employers in Mississippi, and there’s a trickle-down effect from our prosperity that’s very important to the surrounding counties.”

With a staff of 30—she calls them her “foundation”—Carson looks forward to even greater influence in 2019.

Asked to list the personal traits that have helped her succeed, she replies, “Being able to direct, delegate, and forecast. Knowing how to brainstorm.

But No. 1 is being able to communicate.”

She pauses. “Actually, being able to listen is really the big one.”

The gamblers of Mississippi are talking. Clearly, Bea Carson and the Choctaw Indians are listening.

—Marjorie Preston

JANUARY 2019 www.ggbmagazine.com

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25 People to Watch 2019 Growing AGS

Making the Move Travis Lunn • President & COO, Beau Rivage Resort & Casino

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etween the time GGB chose Travis Lunn as one of the 25 People to Watch for 2019 and press time, he got a new job.

Formerly the general manager at MGM Grand, Lunn was appointed in late November as the new president and chief operating officer at MGM’s Beau Rivage in Biloxi, Mississippi.

Lunn’s entry into the casino business was a bit lofty, even if he didn’t know it at the time.

“Franz Kallao, who is now the general manager of the Mirage, was VP of hotel operations at the Golden Nugget,” he says. “He hired me to work the front desk. Steve Wynn was of course the owner, and it would not be unusual for Mr. Wynn to come behind the desk and to shake hands with everyone who was working at that time and spend some time with them. We had a great leadership team as well, so it was a wonderful first impression of the gaming business. The Golden Nugget was a great place to start your first job.”

It was an immediate love affair between Lunn and the hotel business. He soaked up everything he could.

“I stayed on the hotel side for much of my career—it was where I was born and raised and grew up in the industry,” he says. “I got a lot of experience on the hotel side at the Venetian and Palazzo in hotel ops, hotel management, overnight management, etc. I stayed in that role at the Venetian and Palazzo because the hotel is really the strength of those properties and I was able to help drive their success.”

That was soon to change when one of his connections offered him a new job.

“My first foray into the gaming side was at the Hard Rock. Paul Pusateri, who I knew from the Venetian, became COO at Hard Rock and he brought me over to become vice president of operations. That gave me my first exposure to the gaming side of the business.”

That prepared him for his next big job, as vice president of hotel operations for MGM Grand. His talents were appreciated by MGM Grand President Scott Sibella, who had big plans for Lunn.

“At MGM Grand, I’ll always be grateful to Scott,” says Lunn. “He provided me a lot of opportunities to grow. He challenged me, kept adding additional departments to my responsibility.”

At Sibella’s suggestion, Lunn became part of a corporate initiative to train senior-level executives for leadership roles, and he became one of five gen-

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Global Gaming Business JANUARY 2019

Kimo Akiona • Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, AGS

K

eral managers at MGM’s luxury resorts in Las Vegas.

“It was a new role we created within the organization,” he says. “Because we have so many properties now, including the ones we recently opened or bought like Empire in New York, the Northfield, Ohio casino, Springfield, National Harbor, etc., we really had a need for people to serve in the president role. If you’re getting promoted from hotel or casino or any other department, it’s a big jump. Being a general manager is a great bridge to the president role.”

Lunn hit the ground running at Beau Rivage in his first role as president, even though it’s a new property in a new jurisdiction. During his years at MGM Grand, he learned a lot about non-gaming amenities, and plans to apply that at the Beau.

“Even though it’s still gaming, we think the legalization of sports betting is a real opportunity for us,” he says. “We think this is going to be an entry for us into other spaces. It brings a very specific guest and a demographic that we like. We have plans to build out a beautiful new sports book that will be accompanied by a restaurant.

“It gives us a chance to understand our restaurants and our retail and how that could be influenced by that guest. It’s been really strong, and we’re very pleased by the response to the sports book. We need to leverage that beyond just the sporting events.”

—Roger Gros

imo Akiona will tell you that the remarkable story of gaming supplier AGS is still being written.

Akiona, who joined AGS as chief financial officer and treasurer in March 2015, has been a big part of writing that story so far, from consolidating what he calls the company’s most important acquisition—of Georgia-based slot supplier Cadillac Jack, completed shortly after his arrival—to the nuts and bolts of several more hugely important acquisitions in proprietary table games, interactive technology and elsewhere, ultimately overseeing a successful initial public offering of 10.25 million shares of the newly christened PlayAGS, Inc. in January 2018 that raised more than $149 million.

Last June, Akiona was awarded recognition as Financial Executive of the Year in the manufacturing and technology sector by the Las Vegas Chapter of Financial Executives International.

Each of the company’s acquisitions during Akiona’s three years has been instrumental in filling out the vision of where President and CEO David Lopez told him the company was going at the outset, and the most important of those was Cadillac Jack.

“It’s so cliché to say transformational, but Cadillac Jack truly was transformational for us,” Akiona says. “David knew that if we were going to be a formidable player in Class III, we were going to have to go out and acquire something, and that’s what led us to Cadillac Jack.”

He adds that Cadillac Jack gave AGS one of its key current players—Sigmund Lee, the company’s chief technology officer, who brought his entire R&D team with him. “The biggest thing we got was R&D,” Akiona says. “The R&D team is priceless.”

Akiona had a lot of M&A experience from his 10 years at SHFL entertainment and Bally Technologies, where, as senior vice president, corporate controller and director of SEC reporting, he did financial due diligence on mergers and acquisitions.

He says there’s more involved at AGS, where Lopez insists on up-front examination of a company’s culture and people before any M&A decision.

“We have a really high hurdle when it comes to acquisitions,” says Akiona. “Although we’ve done many, all of them have to be put through the ringer. We look at everything that crosses our desk, and we turn down most of them. But the ones we

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“The next year is exciting because we’re going to have more products available than we’ve ever had in our company history. We have the opportunity to have a monster year.” do have some common traits.”

Most important is that they have what Lopez calls a “cultural fit.”

“We are not going to do an acquisition that will derail or degrade our culture,” Akiona says.

“We spend a lot of time on the people side of any acquisition.”

Those acquisitions have shaped the growth of AGS, from Cadillac Jack to proprietary table games to interactive companies RocketPlay and online gaming content company Gameiom Technologies.

On the table side, some of the best acquisitions have been IP for progressives. (“We lead the industry in table game progressives,” says Akiona.)

The interactive division was “built from ground zero through acquisition,” Akiona says.

For 2019, Akiona says his team will be watching the developing sports betting market closely, but will proceed carefully in considering any acquisitions in that space. “It’s competitive, which means valuations are different,” he says. “It can be expensive, so we have to be even smarter.”

The real excitement for 2019 will be on the product side. “The next year is exciting because we’re going to have more products available than we’ve ever had in our company history,” Akiona says. “We have the opportunity to have a monster year.”

The company also will expand its physical footprint next year, moving into new markets such as Pennsylvania, Ohio and the Canadian provinces, where the company already does business in Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and Saskatchewan, recently filled a big order in Alberta, and soon will be placing product in British Columbia and the rest of the provinces.

In the end, Akiona says the success of AGS goes back to the people.

“You make sure you attract the best talent, and then once you have that talent, you keep them happy so they stay around,” says Akiona.

“Money’s important, but culture overrides that.

We’re attracting the best people in the industry, and keeping the best people in the industry.”

—Frank Legato JANUARY 2019 www.ggbmagazine.com

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25 People to Watch 2019 Federal Force Amber McDonald • Compliance Officer, National Indian Gaming Commission

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or Amber McDonald, the road is now where the heart is.

The Saint Regis Mohawk tribal member from Akwesasne, New York, a unique area straddling the border between New York state, Quebec and Ontario, Canada, made a colossal career move late in 2018, when she relocated to St. Paul, Minnesota, becoming a compliance officer for the National Indian Gaming Commission.

It is the biggest leap of her life.

“I love working for my own people and I have a big heart,” she says. “This is the chance to utilize my years of gaming experience to service the tribal gaming community in a big way. After working for my tribe for 18 years, this gives me a chance to assist other tribes in this region to make sure they are getting technical assistance, that they are benefiting from the best use of their gaming rules and regulations, and that whatever I have learned over the years can be spread out across the tribes to ensure their success.”

Spread out is a good description of her territory. McDonald has been assigned nine tribes covering 22 facilities in Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin.

Talk about three large jurisdictions. McDonald is learning about some tribes, preparing visits to sites and is ready to bring previous credentials to a large stage.

“I guess I’m a federal agent now,” she laughs. “This next year is going to be a time to excel at the new job, hopefully get involved in training and continue to protect the integrity of Indian gaming.”

McDonald showed resilience to compile her career path. After a sociology degree from St. Lawrence University yielded no jobs, she learned gaming through her tribe. For 14 years, McDonald worked for the St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Gaming Commission, first as a gaming inspector regulating operations, employees and patrons. That led to a four-year stint as licensing manager, deciding who among employees and vendors obtained gaming licenses.

Major professional affiliations followed. She became an elected board member for both the National Tribal Gaming Commission/Regulators (NTGCR) and North American Gaming Regulators Association (NAGRA).

NAGRA is a nonprofit professional association of gaming regulators throughout North America. The organization brings together agencies that regulate gaming activities and offers them a forum for the mutual exchange of regulatory information and techniques.

NTGCR promotes cooperative relationships among the commission/regulators of tribal gaming enterprises and other organizations. It promotes educational seminars, which include commissioner/regulator training and other related activities.

Along the way, McDonald presented at two Women in Tribal Gaming symposiums. She believes success depends on revealing strong passion for integrity, and displaying a big heart.

Tony Bennett left his in San Francisco. Amber McDonald took hers to Minnesota.

—Dave Bontempo

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Global Gaming Business JANUARY 2019

Driving the Bus Michael Soll • President, The Innovation Group

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ichael Soll’s start in the gaming industry began by directing traffic. His first job after acquiring an MBA in planning was with Urban Systems, the predecessor to The Innovation Group, which specialized in designing efficient roadways around new developments, principally casinos.

“As a transportation planning company,” says Soll, “we got involved in the early riverboat projects, which needed capacity planning for roadways. No one was concerned about underwriting casino projects—there were just a few like the Splash casino in Tunica and some of the early Minnesota tribal projects—because they were all making money hand over fist.”

“I think the most important move we made two years ago was the launching of an analytics business, which has become for us the arm that deals with new technologies, online gaming, sports betting and data science.”

But once those heady early days started to wane, Soll says the company began to consider its next moves.

“We ended up transforming that transportation demand model and turned it into a feasibility model, which became the origins of The Innovation Group and serving the industry from that perspective,” he explains.

After earning some experience, Soll moved to Bear Stearns on the banking side doing equity research, which was a very dynamic and important part of funding the gaming expansion of the late 1990s.

After later stops at Starwood Hotels, which owned Sheraton and Caesars at the time, he took a full-time job working in domestic and international development with Park Place (now Caesars Entertainment).

When the Seminole Tribe bought Hard Rock, he moved down to Orlando to help create a hotel and casino division for the reborn company. But then it was back to his roots.

“When I rejoined The Innovation Group in 2007, they had added

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Getting a Jump Kristian Nylén • CEO, Kambi a banking group, a project management division and several offices in different parts of the country,” he says.

The move fulfilled his desire to get involved in multiple ongoing projects, rather than single developments.

“Having been on the industry side for 10 years, I felt like I got a good sense of what individual developments looked like from the planning stages from an analysis perspective, the internal underwriting process of bringing together the design and construction groups, lining up project financing, and getting it to the finish line. But I was really interested in working on multiple projects at the same time, and I could do that at Innovation.”

Soon after rejoining he was given more responsibility, which eventually led to a partnership and his role as president. And it coincided, he says, with a time of upheaval in gaming.

“We started to see tremendous changes in the industry—casino design, non-gaming amenities, and fast-paced technology changes among them. In each of these areas, we decided to try to move the needle, and for the most part, we did that. I think the most important move we made two years ago was the launching of an analytics business, which has become for us the arm that deals with new technologies, online gaming, sports betting and data science.”

The company is currently working for several clients in Japan, where partner Michael Zhu leads efforts.

Innovation also is well-known for its relationships in Indian Country, where it participated in many developments in the first wave of tribal gaming. Now that renovations and expansion are on tap, Innovation is continuing to play a major role in the growth of Indian gaming.

The analytics division is making big progress for clients seeking to know more about their players and how to leverage different opportunities, especially sports betting.

But in many ways, Soll is proud to be involved with the Emerging Leaders, with which Innovation, along with GGB Magazine, recognizes young talent in the industry.

“We’re pleased to identify diverse industry resources who are going to need to lead the industry as it tackles more diverse issues and coming changes,” he says. “These people are the future of gaming, and we’re pleased to do everything we can to get them some visibility and recognition for their talents.”

—Patrick Roberts

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hen Kristian Nylén heard that the U.S. Supreme Court was taking up the legalization of sports betting, he wasn’t surprised. He saw it coming.

“There were signs it was about to happen,” he says. “All the daily fantasy sports legislation that was being passed certainly was a clue. The commissioners of many of the pro sports leagues started talking positively about sports betting.”

For Nylén’s company, Kambi, this meant a turning point, and for him personally it would be an affirmation that he was right back in 2009, when he went to the board of Swedish iGaming company Unibet, where he was head of the sports betting department, with a plan.

“I suggested to the board that they consider a spinoff of a B2B business,” he explains. “Sports betting was really starting to explode in Europe with multiple operators and the market beginning to be regulated.

The regulations started to become more and more important in Europe at that time. It was not unlike what we’re seeing now in the U.S. and Latin America.”

Kambi was careful, however, as not all markets were regulated or even legal.

“We always worked in markets that were fully regulated or were moving toward regulations with the support of the European Union,” he says. “We tried to avoid places that weren’t regulated but where it might not be strictly illegal. We would wait until the time when that uncertainty was cleared up.”

So a positive Supreme Court decision would mean big business for Kambi outside of Europe, where it had already developed an admirable record as one of the most dependable B2B sports betting services.

“We expected that something big was going to happen once we heard that the Supreme Court would hear the case,” he says. “But of course, we didn’t know exactly what they were going to decide. At that point, however, we decided to go all in in case it did happen.

“We always based our business on the fact that sports betting would be regulated everywhere, but we were surprised about how quickly it happened in the U.S.” So when the individual states began to legalize sports betting, Kambi was there.

“We were prepared,” Nylén says. “We went live three weeks before anybody else, so we were ready. We had been talking to potential clients well before the decision and had set up agreements ahead of time.”

But in a market where sports betting is not completely understood, some early losses caused some uneasiness. Nylén then offers his advice.

“We try to tell our customers that the day-to-day results, and even the month-to-month results may seem volatile, but when you look at the annual results, things level out. You have to look at the long term to see the viability and profitability of sports betting.”

The different sports in the U.S. also weren’t a big problem for Kambi, says Nylén.

“I’m from Scandinavia, and ice hockey is almost as popular as soccer,” he says. “In Spain and France, basketball is very popular. The NFL is gaining massive popularity in Europe, so these are sports we’ve been offering for more than a decade. Even at the college level, we’ve been involved for a long time. Of course, now we’re increasing those offerings.”

For the foreseeable future, Nylén believes that Kambi’s expertise will be recognized by potential clients in the U.S. and beyond.

“I’m a big proponent of staying in your lane. We’re very good at what we do now, and we’ll stay focused on what we’re doing well. I think we’ll take the position of the leading B2B sports betting provider in the U.S. “It’s a very exciting time for us.”

—Roger Gros

“You have to look at the long term to see the viability and profitability of sports betting.”

JANUARY 2019 www.ggbmagazine.com

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25 People to Watch 2019 Saddle Up Jonathan Jossel • CEO, Plaza

Driven By Data

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Trevor Taylor • Vice President of Managed Services and Consulting, VizExplorer

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nalyzing data sounds like a boring career.

But for Trevor Taylor, data isn’t really about numbers; it’s about people.

“My love of data has been a cornerstone of my career,” says Taylor, vice president of managed services and consulting for VizExplorer.

The company helps clients step away from day-to-day task management to focus on longer goals. “Direct marketing campaigns, evaluating and revising their slot floor mix and managing the tools for their player development teams are executed by our team.”

Taylor’s work history led him to VizExplorer.

“From my start in the gaming industry, my career has perfectly prepared me for this role. I have found tremendous success as a data-driven executive, and I know the team I am building at VizExplorer will be able to deliver this to our customers.”

Growing up in Victorville, California, Taylor worked in many of the family businesses, which included a bowling alley, nightclubs, restaurants and real estate. His grandfather planted the seed that guest experience was the “end-all, be-all even before Disney coined the term,” he says.

His father says success depends on honesty and integrity. “Say what you mean and mean what you say.”

Taylor began his career as a slot attendant in a Colorado casino in 1994, but by 1996 he “started flirting with data, working as an executive host. With hard work and some luck I was fortunate to become the youngest general manager in Colorado, running the Colorado Grand in Cripple Creek.”

In 2007, Taylor headed to the Seminole Casino in Hollywood, Florida before joining Nevada Gold & Casinos, first with Oceans Casino Cruises, then with the corporate offices in Houston and Las Vegas, where he served as vice president of business development and operations.

“This is where my love of data and what you could do with it really took off. I was visiting properties all over the country to find the diamond in the rough that was prime for an uptick.

By 2012, I had helped grow the corporate portfolio by 66 percent,” Taylor says.

In 2013, he left for Global Market Advisors, 36

spent two years at Profit Builder and a year at Gaming Technology Group before landing at VizExplorer in September.

“Whether evaluating market, financial or property data, I rarely deviate from what the data is illustrating. As such, VizExplorer was a natural fit,” he says.

Guest data fundamentally changed everything in the industry. “We’ve evolved the ability to use data to drive revenues and reduce expenses, which has made us more profitable as an industry,” says Taylor, who likes to travel to coastal areas in his Airstream with wife Linda.

Throughout his rise, Taylor worked with great people—and not so great ones. “The opportunity to work with Robert Sturges, CEO at Nevada Gold, was very fortuitous for my career. His ability to push you to meet his expectations, his extensive gaming knowledge and work ethic are all traits I try to emulate.”

He also cites Andrew Klebanow from Global Market Advisors for pointing him into consulting.

“It allowed me to take my experience and realize my passion to work with multiple assets versus a single property.”

Bryan Brammer, managing partner of Profit Builder, still remains one of Taylor’s closest business contacts.

“Without these three influential professionals, my ongoing journey wouldn’t have been as insightful and rewarding. I still have my eyes open for my next mentor.”

If there is a lesson for young people, it’s that properties can’t survive without access to their data, Taylor says. But remember, it’s about people. “Our connections and interactions shape our customers, and it’s more important than ever to not forget the small things. Write the hand-written thank-you cards, shake hands, and don’t forget to have fun while you’re doing it.”

—William Sokolic

Global Gaming Business JANUARY 2019

owntown is close to the heart of Plaza CEO Jonathan Jossel. He’s worked in the gritty part of Vegas for the past dozen years, the last four as leader of one of the area’s most iconic properties.

But like Downtown at that time, the Plaza was down on its luck when Jossel came to the hotel.

“The simple thing would have been to knock down the Plaza and start again,” he says. “But that’s not my philosophy.”

Jossel admits to having a soft spot in his heart for the Plaza, even before he arrived, because it was owned by the master or Downtown for more than half a century, Jackie Gaughan.

“Jackie Gaughan, in my opinion, was one of the best operators in gaming because he understood what people wanted and how to give it to them,” he explains. “I studied how he operated over the years and committed myself to meeting our customers, getting to know them well and staying in touch with them as much as we can. So it was important for me to be able to learn the history of the Plaza and to continue the personal service that Jackie started.”

Jossel rolled up his sleeves and started changing things. His latest addition to the property is the Core Arena, an outdoor equestrian center that he believes will attract a different demographic Downtown, particularly during National Finals Rodeo, which dominates Las Vegas for two weeks in early December every year.

“We were never able to really take advantage of that event,” he says. “Now we’re sold out that week, and there are a lot of other things we can do during the year in that space,” which was formerly a parking lot.

“Now, we’re going to be the only place Downtown that has this amenity.”

Today, there’s not an area of the hotel or casino that hasn’t been spruced up or improved. But Jossel says there’s no silver bullet or grand solution when trying to turn a property around.

“The truth is there is no one answer,” he says.

“It takes a lot of time, commitment and dedication.

It’s paying attention to details. Slowly but surely, we’ve been able to take the Plaza from where it was to an entirely different position. I attribute that to so many different factors we don’t have the time to list them all. You focus on one thing, take it a day at a time, and try to do one thing better.

“I think we’ve been proven right not to knock it down. We’re growing. Every single month is better than the one before. And we’re very proud of that.”

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All Bets Are On Laila Mintas • Deputy President, Sportradar US

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Some of the areas that have been totally redone under Jossel’s leadership have been the pool deck, the convention area, the bingo room, most areas of the casino and a new gym. And now he’s starting on a revamp of the rooms, which was last done before he arrived.

“It’s been seven years since the last remodel, so we’re in the process of doing 150 brand new rooms, which are going to be some of the nicest rooms Downtown,” he says of the hotel, which is the second-largest Downtown with 1,003 rooms.

If there is a secret, he says, it’s to be different from your competitors.

“I’m a big believer that you have to differentiate to succeed,” he explains. “It helps us stand out from the crowd, so whether it’s pickleball (including an annual convention and tournaments), a blues festival, which we do once a year, bingo or now the rodeo… all these things differentiate us from other properties Downtown, but are also good for Downtown because we bring lots of people here with those events.”

Despite not being a member of the Fremont Street Experience, the casinos clustered around the audio-visual canopy that ends at the front door of the Plaza, Jossel says he’s committed to Downtown. He says the Plaza is a sponsor of the Life is Beautiful festival, the Santa Run that brought 8,000 people dressed as Santa Downtown, the performing arts Smith Center, and the Las Vegas Lights soccer team.

“Anything that is good for Downtown is good for us,” he says.

—Roger Gros

ritics of sports betting in the U.S. say it opens the gate to corruption and match-fixing.

Fans of sports betting in the U.S. say the opposite: that a regulated legal framework will deter corruption and give states a windfall of new taxes.

In May, more than a quarter century after the Professional Amateur and Sports Protection Act was signed into law, banning sports betting, the law was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. That will mean a busy 2019 for Laila Mintas of Sportradar US, the stateside arm of the Swiss-based global firm, which provides sports data analysis for the betting industry.

Why is this the moment for sports betting in the U.S.? Mintas says it starts with the numbers. “By some estimates, people in the U.S. spend $150 billion to $200 billion in the offshore market—a huge amount of money with no consumer protections and no income for the states.” By definition, she adds, illegal operators aren’t always on the up-and-up, and criminal elements abound.

“There’s always an incentive for people to offer players a few thousand to throw a game; then criminals bet on the outcome and make millions.” In fact, according to Interpol, criminals who once engaged in drug trafficking and human trafficking “now do match-fixing, because it’s such a high-profit, low-risk business.” In a legal industry, “nothing is under the carpet,” Mintas says. “In general, there’s always less corruption in regulated markets than in unregulated markets with zero transparency.”

In the past, the fiercest opposition to legal sports betting in the U.S. came from the leagues themselves, led by former New Jersey Senator Bill Bradley. A former NBA player, Bradley called the recent ruling “unfortunate,” and said it could lead to a crazy-quilt of state regulations that in some cases may lead to betting on “AAU games with 14-year-olds.”

At this point, his is a voice in the wilderness, and overwhelmingly, pro sports are buying into the new legal landscape. Last November, when Sportradar signed a deal with the NBA to distribute betting data to providers in the U.S., Scott Kaufman-Ross, the league’s vice president and head of fantasy and gaming, acknowledged, “We’re going to have better results in a regulated market than an unregulated market.”

All of which is welcome news for Mintas. A lawyer by trade, she has extensive experience in sports betting, digital sports and fan engagement and has worked with the major U.S. leagues as well as FIFA, UEFA, Google, Facebook, Twitter, Sports Illustrated, DraftKings and FanDuel.

She says the early explosion of sports betting in New Jersey “will probably accelerate the process for other states and create competition between the states from an integrity perspective. And that’s good. The more states that legalize it, the smaller the offshore market.”

She predicts 10 more states will join the groundswell in the new year, possibly starting with New York state. “Overall, I think it will be embraced and develop quickly in 2019.”

As the market grows, Mintas is on the run. She traveled at least 200 days in 2018, talking to regulators, legislators and operators, “advising them on what sports betting could look like, how it works in markets around the globe, what are the good and bad practices— but there’s no way to copy and paste things that were implemented overseas. It’s important for the U.S. to find its own way and its own solutions.”

—Marjorie Preston

JANUARY 2019 www.ggbmagazine.com

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25 People to Watch 2019 Fuller House Kenna Beaver • Senior Vice President of Products & Services, House Advantage

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y 6 a.m. most days, Kenna Beaver is already at her desk. It’s not just coffee that gets her there.

As vice president of products and services for Las Vegas-based House Advantage, she has two big jobs: overseeing the company’s HALo suite of loyalty solutions, now in 80 markets around the world, and doing the same for HA’s subsidiary, eTouchMenu, acquired

by CEO Jon Wolfe in 2017.

Any given day, Beaver may be meeting customers, doing product demos, learning a new software architecture, overseeing HALo custom builds, and generally managing the product life cycle from end to end.

At the same time, she and her team are busy growing HALo’s footprint outside the non-gaming space and bringing eTouchMenu deeper inside.

More coffee, please.

A Houston native, Beaver grew up in Las Vegas and spent most of her career in marketing—for MGM Grand, Green Valley Ranch, even Hooters. That was followed by three years at Choctaw casinos in Oklahoma, where she introduced the HALo platform to the organization’s eight tribal casino resorts and associated businesses.

In May 2017, in search of a new challenge, she made the big leap from operations to supply.

“I had never been exposed to the technical side, but coming from marketing and operations I understood how customers would use a particular platform,” she says. Though sometimes daunted by the complex technological tools and the associated jargon, she also was undeterred. “I’m someone who loves to constantly learn,” Beaver says. “That’s when I’m at my best.”

Now it’s part of her job to make it all sound simple. As a loyalty management system, HALo “brings all your data together from a brand perspective and allows you to lay out a marketing strategy from A to Z,” at the corporate level and also based on individual property needs. She calls eTouchMenu a “line-busting” solution, a DIY digital kiosk that enables patrons to reserve a place at the buffet, pay for it with a loyalty card or credit card, and return to the gaming floor until they’re ready for that prime rib.

Beaver looks back on 2018 with pride. “We’ve taken on a new company, learned how to merge the two, and expanded some of our development footprint. I think us coming together as a team has really been a gratifying aspect of it for me, and it’s been personally satisfying from a quality-assurance standpoint, testing and creating the user interface experience and really pushing it at every level. There’s nothing that we can’t do at House Advantage, and we strive for that here.”

With offices in Reno, Memphis and Macau as well as Vegas, “we’re always looking to expand markets,” Beaver says. “As we continue to move our eTouchMenu product from outside gaming, we’re also moving our HALo platform into non-gaming loyalty as well.

“I’ve never worked harder in my life; it’s non-stop, but I’ve never been happier.

Hey, it’s nice to have a 9-to-5 life so you’re free to do other things, but I love where I am right now.”

—Marjorie Preston

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Global Gaming Business JANUARY 2019

A New Vision Mike Dreitzer • President, Gaming Arts

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ike Dreitzer is experienced in reinventing companies.

As North America president for Ainsworth Game Technology, he oversaw the creation of a massive new Las Vegas headquarters that served as a springboard for the Australian supplier’s penetration of U.S. markets.

Last year, Las Vegas-based Gaming Arts, LLC, a leading international supplier of bingo and keno games and technology, brought Dreitzer in to take up another reinvention. David Colvin, the founder and CEO of the familyowned supplier, was expanding his business with a new research and manufacturing campus, as well as expanding his product line beyond bingo.

Colvin wanted to move Gaming Arts into the casino slot business, and had already hired veteran slot designer Keith Kruczynski as director of game development, a position identical to the one he held at the former Bally Technologies for 12 years.

“I was intrigued by David Colvin’s company, not only in terms of the types of products it had, but where he wanted to take it,” recalls Dreitzer. “After a series of conversations, I realized we shared a common view of the future.”

Dreitzer was named president of Gaming Arts in February 2018, and promptly picked up on what Colvin had started in the way of creating a ready-made Class III slot development group. He brought in Jean Venneman, the longtime IGT, Bally and Scientific Games design veteran, as chief commercial officer. He brought in Jason Babler, a marketing veteran who had worked for Ainsworth, Station Casinos and Club Fortune Casino, as product marketing manager.

By the time Gaming Arts was preparing its first slot products for the Global Gaming Expo, Dreitzer’s staff included 20 veteran slot developers, mathematicians and marketers, with more than 100 combined years of experience in the slot sector.

“A company has two main assets in my view, the product and the people,” Dreitzer says. “We were in the process of developing compelling products, but certainly needed to have the right people here.”

After Venneman arrived, he says the company focused on adding veteran slot people.

“And we also found, to our great pleasure, that we had a really great group of very talented individuals who were already at the company. For me, it was about taking this group and integrating the existing outstanding personnel with additional great folks who had a lot of background in slots in general. Blending the two has given us a full depth of experience in all of our product lines.”

Dreitzer adds that the diverse disciplines mesh together well.

“Our environment here is very collaborative,” Dreitzer says. “We are very fortunate in that we have members of the team who have a lot of

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“Our environment here is very collaborative. We are very fortunate in that we have members of the team who have a lot of experience in bingo and keno, and now members of the team who have lots of experience on the slot side. We believe the synergy of those skill sets creates a unique product set.” experience in bingo and keno, and now members of the team who have lots of experience on the slot side. We believe the synergy of those skill sets creates a unique product set.”

The industry got a first look at the products of the newly revamped Gaming Arts at October’s Global Gaming Expo, and according to Dreitzer, the coming out party was a smashing success. On the slot side, one of the hits was Super Bingo, which is a bingo Class III slot machine, currently rolling out in several casinos. “Those are first-of-their-kind any-

where in the industry; nothing like it exists,” Dreitzer says. “These are games in which you play bingo in a Class III format, with entertaining features and lots of bonuses.”

On the video slot side, three different series of games, each designed for a different style of player, impressed attendees with a number of new play mechanics.

“People across the board were eager and interested in all our slot products, and they could hardly believe that we’ve been in the video reel slot business for less than a year,” Dreitzer says. “And we’ve continued to innovate in the session bingo space and keno space as well.

“We’re very excited, and we feel that 2018 has positioned us for a strong run in all these categories next year.”

Meanwhile, Dreitzer says the next few months will be focused on “blocking and tackling,” as the company rolls out Super Bingo, followed by the video slots, first in tribal jurisdictions, then in Nevada.

“The G2E show gave us great momentum, so our priority now is to get product out, and show we can delight our customers and delight their players.”

—Frank Legato

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25 People to Watch 2019 Bridging the Gap Kelly Shaw • Vice President, Games & Systems Sales, North America, Aristocrat

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y one definition, casino management systems are digital banks—complex technical systems that capture billions of bytes of customer data, which in turn informs a company’s sales, marketing, operations and loyalty strategies.

By another definition, they’re communications tools, part of an ongoing conversation between a property and its patrons.

Both definitions are accurate. But in Kelly Shaw’s view, one may be truer.

“Casino management systems originally were hyper-focused on data—it was all about accounting and auditing,” says Shaw, vice president of games and systems sales for Aristocrat North America. “But for me, it’s always been about relationships, partnerships and people.”

As the driving force behind Aristocrat’s Oasis 360 solution, Shaw and her team serve some 300 clients in the U.S. and Canada. “Yes, we do sell software technology,” she says. “Yes, it’s technologically complex. But this is about deep, long-term partnering, listening to our customers and building solutions so they can listen to theirs.”

As more casinos move to the resort model with greater emphasis on non-gaming attractions, these solutions must be all-encompassing, she says: “meeting patrons onand off-premise and on digital channels, capturing player profiles and consumer preferences, whether they’re at a restaurant, shopping, playing golf or visiting a spa.”

The Milwaukee native credits her success to adaptability, which she learned early.

Her father was in international mining sales, and the family roved the world, including Africa, Asia and Europe, before circling back to the United States (growing up in Peoria, Illinois, Shaw spoke English at school and French at home).

“I was always the new kid in school, always had some change going on,” she says.

“It set me up to be flexible and positive, and to embrace change.”

She went on to study business at Eastern University, Columbia and Stanford, and in 2001, joined Aristocrat as general manager of systems sales. She’s been on the ascent ever since, and is excited to see what the future holds, in 2019, 2020 and thereafter. “‘Bricks and clicks’ is the next evolution. As the demographic evolves and gets younger and more sophisticated, our customers are thinking about how to drive their digital engagement strategies. We’re making sure at Oasis Aristocrat that we’re building that bridge between brick-and-mortar facilities and the digital side, keeping the experience, engagement and loyalty consistent and strong,” Shaw says.

Asked about speculation that Oasis 360 will soon be available in Asia, Shaw says, “Aristocrat is a global company, and we’re always strategically evaluating opportunities to scale and globalize, so that’s something we’ll continue to review.”

Meanwhile, she points out, the company is in growth mode, relocating to a new campus in Summerlin and actively recruiting across all business lines.

“It’s true we have great product, but without an amazing culture, I don’t think you can be a dominant force in any business. There’s a lot of focus by my boss Matt Wilson (managing director for the Americas) and our CEO Trevor Croker to make sure Aristocrat is the employer of choice. I built my career here and I want more people to come and experience that.”

—Marjorie Preston

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Hard Rock Star Mark Birtha • President, Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Sacramento at Fire Mountain

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hile in high school in rural Connecticut, Mark Birtha worked in a catering hall where he got to wear a tuxedo.

“I was awestruck,” he says. “I realized the power of hospitality and how it was never a boring desk job.”

That led to Cornell’s hotel management school and an eye-opening summer internship at Resorts in Atlantic City. Birtha also attended a presentation by Steve Wynn on campus.

“I was sold. I knew this was the industry I wanted to pursue,” he says.

Birtha went from Cornell to Mirage Resorts and never looked back. This year marks his 25th anniversary in the casino industry, a career which took him from Las Vegas to Macau to Ohio to California, where he serves as president of Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Sacramento at Fire Mountain.

He’s seen a lot of changes, including expansion beyond Atlantic City and Nevada. Technology created new levels of opportunity, Birtha says, citing online play, sports betting and the overall guest experience.

“Much like the hotel business decades before,” he says, “we have matured into a real estate business financially and investment-wise, which has not only expanded our industry but helped stabilize it.”

At Mirage, Birtha felt like a kid in a candy store.

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“The most important things I learned were quality of detail and experience, the ultimate need to take care of your team who then take care of your guests,” he says.

Those days served him well when he opened Bellagio and then moved to the Venetian.

“At the Venetian, I worked in conventions and catering. I was one of the first people on the ground in Macau, and took over the marketing functions at the company,” says Birtha, who later worked for Marriott, the Pascua Yaqui Tribe in Tucson, and Station Casinos in Las Vegas, learning about local markets.

These stops prepared him for Hard Rock, where he catered to locals in northeast Ohio at Rocksino, the top gaming revenue operator in the state, a distinction which led to its purchase by MGM Growth Properties for $1 billion this year.

“Now I am on to my next role with Hard Rock in Sacramento, where I have the pleasure of working with the Enterprise Rancheria Tribe to design, build, open and operate their vision for the community,” says Birtha, who has a 900-acre master plan that will keep him busy for years to come. “Expanding my reach into real estate development and multi-unit construction and operations will be another new frontier.”

Birtha cites some of the top names in gaming as mentors.

“Arte Nathan hired me at the Mirage and helped steer me and open my eyes to all that was possible in our industry. Brad Stone at the Venetian took

me under his wing and let me ‘drink from the fire hose.’ Along with Bill Weidner and Rob Goldstein, we worked on building the Sands Macau, Venezia Tower and Palazzo while continuing to operate the Venetian.”

Today, Birtha works with industry veteran Jon Lucas.

“He’s allowed me to do what I know, while always challenging and teaching me to do it better,” says Birtha, who enjoys traveling, communing with friends and family—a wife and three children—skiing, golf and sporting events.

“I learned the values of hard work, putting business before pleasure, and integrity, loyalty and honesty from my father. From my mother, I learned the values of taking the road less traveled and being creative and open to change. These values helped me be successful, grounded and appreciative,” says Birtha, who considers work a form of relaxation.

These guiding lights instilled in Birtha the desire to mentor future leaders in gaming. “Mentoring is the most fulfilling part of what I do day in and day out,” he says.

He welcomes new people into the industry.

“Some lessons have been invaluable to me. If you earn an invitation to sit at the table, make sure your voice is heard. Don’t be afraid to speak up and don’t be scared to fail. We learn our best lessons from challenges and missteps. And don’t be afraid to walk through a new door when it opens, even if it takes you somewhere you never imagined.”

—William Sokolic

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25 People to Watch 2019

Best in Class Karolina Pelc • Vice President of Casino Innovation, SG Digital

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s the new year rolls in, Karolina Pelc will be pulling up stakes—again.

For the past five years, Pelc has traveled regularly from Malta, where she lives, to Poland, where she grew up, to South Africa, her husband’s homeland, and back again.

“We pack up our lives every six months,” she says of her family, which now includes a toddler. Not surprisingly, Pelc is unfazed by the prospect of moving once more, this time to London.

In October, she joined SG Digital as vice president of casino innovation. From her London base, she’ll work for the digital arm of Scientific Games, building its casino and games portfolio to “address changing market needs.”

In many ways, Pelc has been preparing for this job all her life. The daughter of a veteran casino inspector, she learned the ropes at land-based operations in Warsaw and the U.K., then spent three years traveling the world as a dealer and host for Royal Caribbean Cruises. But when she tried to break into the online side, she found the doors firmly closed against her.

“They said my experience didn’t really translate into online,” Pelc recalls.

“It was tough to get into the industry.”

With persistence—and after a brief foray into the oil and gas industry— she broke through, then climbed the ranks at Paddy Power, Bodog, Betsafe and LeoVegas before moving to SG. She was drawn not only by the company’s global reputation but its commitment to fast-forward change. “SG is making big waves, not only innovating the existing product but introducing new products for new demographics and providing an even more holistic experience,” Pelc says. “They’re investing a lot of money to make sure they’re the best in class—in products, in people, and in services. I wanted to be part of it.”

Her career to date has helped equip her for the job. “This is where the experience from the brick-and-mortar venues really matters. I have been exposed to real players. I have seen their real behaviors. I know what drives them. It’s entertainment. It may come through different channels, as mobile overtakes traditional channels. We may be adding more features to make it more social.

But the common denominator is entertainment.”

And what drives Pelc herself? “Passion,” she says. “Everything else that you need—leadership, perseverance, innovating and hard work—stems from passion for what you do.”

Asked to list her goals for 2019, she replies, “It’s all about product for me.

I want to build new things, innovate, challenge the status quo and give the established leaders a run for their money.”

—Marjorie Preston

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Global Gaming Business JANUARY 2019

Slot Science Alex Alvarado • Vice President, Slots, MGM National Harbor

S

ince his career launched at NRT Technology Corp. in 2003, Alex Alvarado has lived and breathed slot machines. He installed devices and worked on data systems on the supplier side, and managed slot operations and marketing on the casino side.

These days, Alvarado holds the position of vice president of slots for the successful MGM National Harbor outside of Washington, D.C. “I’ve had the pleasure of doing every job there is to do in slots, from multiple perspectives of the business,” he says. “I truly have the benefit of a multi-dimensional vantage point which shapes how I understand our industry.”

Born in Brooklyn, Alvarado and his family moved to Guatemala when he was 12 and four years later relocated to Las Vegas, the place to be for a career in gaming. Installing a new system for ticketin/ticket-out redemption “stoked my curiosity of the larger gaming industry, and the next thing I know, multiple companies were offering me an opportunity to work with them,” he says.

Alvarado served as manager of slot operations at MGM Grand from 2005 to 2008. He left for Aristocrat Technologies, where he worked on data. He rejoined MGM Grand in 2010 as assistant manager of slot marketing, yet another aspect of the slot universe he became an expert in. He transferred to the Mirage, then moved to Miami as director of slot operations for Florida Gaming Corp. He and his family fell in love with the Sunshine State, specifically Sunny Isles Beach. “It’s the place my wife and kids are the fondest of.”

After 18 months, Alvarado moved to West Virginia for the same position with Penn National Gaming. A year later, he returned to what had become MGM Resorts International, this time as director of slot operations in Tunica, Mississippi. A year later he arrived at MGM National Harbor.

“The thing that differentiated MGM Resorts, as big as it was, was that it still felt like a family,” he says.

Like many in the business, Alvarado admired those who blazed the trail he followed. “People have influenced me in multiple ways.

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Home Sweet Home Chad Kornett • Senior Director of Technical Compliance, Gaming Laboratories International

S “Do what you love. Don’t do anything for titles or money.

If you don’t feel like living and breathing it, you won’t be great at it. And if you can’t be great at it, then it isn’t for you.”

They challenged and pushed me and were willing to provide advice along the way. Mentors included John Georgiadis, Marcel Haar, Bill Florence and Pete Brascia.”

Of all Alvarado’s accomplishments, perhaps the strongest involved opening MGM National Harbor.

“Truly a monumental effort,” he says. “Just watching our team power through the adversity of the opening, making sure we delivered on the luxury experience we promised, then watching people rush in as the doors opened with smiles on the guests’ and employees’ faces.”

One of Alvarado’s contributions involved the unique idea of holding a draft to determine location of various slot machines.

“Though operators all have different perspectives, mine was to distribute product throughout the floor evenly and give everyone a fair shake. I’ve always looked at our businesses as a partnership with our slot vendors. One of the things I would often hear vendors say is, ‘My game is in a bad location.’ As a solution to this, I thought why not allow vendors to pick their own placement?” Alvarado says.

He didn’t know if MGM National Harbor would be the right place to launch his idea.

“I consulted some very well-respected industry leaders and received a lot positive feedback, thus the slot draft came to life,” Alvarado says.

“My boss said, ‘You’re either a genius or out of your mind.’ It was awesome and a lot of fun. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”

For those interested in following his footsteps, Alvarado has some advice.

“Do what you love. Don’t do anything for titles or money. If you don’t feel like living and breathing it, you won’t be great at it. And if you can’t be great at it, then it isn’t for you.”

As for Alvarado’s future, he’s looking up. “I am working towards being a property president at an integrated resort. The complexity of running these buildings is a rush, mixed with more fun than I could have ever imagined,” he says.

—William Sokolic

o much for cameos.

Fourteen years ago, Chad Kornett joined Gaming Laboratories International for the first stop in a long engineering career. It’s been a long step.

Step two has never emerged because the GLI party hasn’t stopped.

Kornett rose through the company and is its senior director of technical compliance. The Howell, New Jersey resident is based in the company’s Lakewood office and oversees the worldwide operations of roughly 1,200 employees. GLI tests new products and iterations against the backdrop of state and international regulations. A blessing from GLI is practically a permit to operate and is highly valued, especially if a vendor seeks access to several markets simultaneously.

Kornett never envisioned himself at the flash point of this process.

“I went to school for electrical engineering,” he recalls, laughing. “I wanted to specialize in patent law and intellectual property law. I thought I would work at GLI for a few months, get my hands dirty and move on in the engineering process. Well, I fell in love with the gaming industry and have never looked back. It has given me great opportunities.”

No spotlight may be bigger than his next one. The repeal of the federal ban on sports betting prompts vendors, operators and manufacturers to storm the regulatory gates. They want to be operational the moment each state obtains online regulatory approval and tap GLI to put them into compliance.

“We test in accordance to what regulators want,” he says. “We work with 478 different regulatory agencies around the world. If we can help the industry save money, they create more games and we ride the wave with them up. GLI 11 is our technical standard for slots, and is the most widely adopted standard on the planet,” he adds.

Many regulators have adopted it. That creates an environment in which suppliers don’t need patchwork technology from state to state (it can be uniform).

“GLI 33 is for sports wagering, and it is a different vertical, but we will be right in the middle of that. This could be a highly active year for legislation. We can see anywhere from seven to 13 new markets come online. Most of them will rely on me and my team.”

So important is this topic that Kornett served on a blue-ribbon panel in November for the industry’s heavy hitters. There is a feverish rush to be compliant. In New Jersey, for example, mobile sports-wagering revenue has already surpassed brick-and-mortar totals. Devices remain a prominent success story. Because of their convenience, the world gets smaller.

And Kornett’s role gets bigger. History suggests he’ll play a prominent role in this process, and when the sector levels off, another will follow.

“Right now, sports wagering is the hot topic, two years ago it was skill-based gaming and two years from now it could be AI or blockchain technology,” he says. “We build a team of people, experts in a particular vertical, and we can be a big help to the operators and the vendors.”

—Dave Bontempo

JANUARY 2019 www.ggbmagazine.com

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25 People to Watch 2019

Product Perfection Victor Duarte • Senior Vice President and Chief Product and Strategy Officer, Konami Gaming

K

onami Gaming CEO Steve Sutherland has often related his goal to move the slot manufacturer onto what he calls the “podium”—a reference to the Olympic medals for the top three performers. In terms of market share, the U.S. subsidiary of Japan’s Konami Holdings Corp. has been steadily closing in on that No. 3 position for the past few years.

The latest addition to Konami’s executive staff could be the one that finally pushes the company onto that podium. In October, the company brought in slot industry veteran Victor Duarte as senior VP and chief product and strategy officer.

Few executives in this business have a more distinguished résumé.

Duarte was vice president of technology serivices for Rhode Islandbased lottery giant GTECH when it acquired Canadian VLT supplier Spielo. As senior VP and chief operating officer of Spielo, he oversaw the acquisition of highly regarded slot supplier Atronic in 2008, and was the company’s CEO when parent GTECH merged with IGT. At IGT, he was global chief product officer, gaming.

Now, he is charged with leading Konami’s games R&D function into the future. He also is helping the executive team drive strategy as the company moves into new markets and new product segments.

Some companies add an executive with that kind of responsibility in an effort to right a listing ship. Not so with Konami. In fact, Duarte says the current R&D team, product library and marketing team have given him a great head start. “I was encouraged in joining the company, and I had done some research, as you would expect, prior to joining,” he says. “The current products have been performing in the market, and there’s obviously evidence to that, readily available.

“I believe the current product plan is a good foundation, basically because it leverages our core competency in the core video reel segment. Because it’s a good foundation, of course, I feel there are opportunities to build upon it, and that’s really what I’m going to be focused on in the coming months.”

Among Duarte’s first priorities in 2019 will be to exploit the successful product launches from this year’s Global Gaming Expo, starting with the KX43, a premium cabinet featuring a 43-inch 4K-resolution portrait monitor; and the Concerto Opus, Konami’s new large-format cabinet featuring a massive 65-inch flat-screen monitor.

He adds that the wealth of new game mechanics pouring from the R&D staff will continue. “Konami has a great track record over many years in producing top-performing video content,” Duarte says.

“There are a number of good titles that were introduced years ago that still have a high degree of resonance with casino players, and I think some of the recent game mechanics we’ve introduced also have given us a high degree of momentum in the market.”

Building upon the current game library will mean concentrating on trends in player preference. “What we’re all trying to do as an industry is address players’ desires for enhanced engagement and experi-

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“The social aspect of gaming is growing, and is transforming the way players enjoy their gaming experience with friends or with partners. I think that’s a good opportunity.” ences with game mechanics,” says Duarte. “And some of the innovation you see is tracking with the needs of consumers from other forms of entertainment, whether it’s video gaming or digital content. I think these trends are macro trends that will endure.”

Duarte also predicts a continuation of trends relating to system technology within Konami’s popular SYNKROS system—particularly related to system-centric functionality to allow operators to run floor-wide tournaments, instant player rewards and social gaming. “The social aspect of gaming is growing,” he says, “and is transforming the way players enjoy their gaming experience with friends or with partners. I think that’s a good opportunity.”

With Konami Gaming, Duarte arrives at a company ready to gain additional market share, even in the mature North American gaming market.

“I do believe there is still up-side in terms of market share of games, if we continue to develop strong-performing content and game mechanics, and enter into new markets that we don’t participate in today or where we are under-represented,” he says. “So, even in a mature market, there is growth opportunity for Konami from a market share/games standpoint.”

Duarte says the coming months will carry a focus on introducing those G2E launches to the market. “We have to make sure those products perform—and we have robust and compelling roadmaps and content associated with those product lines.

“As the year gets into the latter part, I think you’ll start to see some new things from us that can address some of the additional market opportunities—and potentially grow our share.”

—Frank Legato

2019 SAVE THE DATE EDUCATION OCTOBER 14-17 EXPO HALL OCTOBER 15-17

SANDS EXPO, LAS VEGAS

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The Esports Game The Esports Game The Esports Game By featuring esports tournaments and esports lounges, casinos can attract a new market and create a new revenue stream

BY BEN FOX AND ARI FOX

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t is no secret at this point that video gaming—and its more recent ideation esports—has become a force to be reckoned with among the millennial generation, and has emerged as a $1 billion industry. As the breadand-butter older generation slot player ages out, more and more casinos are looking for ways to use video gaming and esports at their properties to attract new customers.

Esports is a complex system with many elements and levels. There are therefore many and varied pathways through which esports can be incorporated into the casino environment. Each method comes with its own challenges, costs and success rates.

Constructing an esports lounge is one of the first solutions we have seen attempted. In the past few years, the eSport Arena and Millenial Esports were opened in Las Vegas. H1Z1 Pro League opened at the Twin Galaxies Esports Center inside Caesars Entertainment Studio, and versions of lounges have been opened in other locations.

The construction of such a lounge is a positive move in that it signals a property’s openness to and accommodation of the esports and video gaming communities. The fixed esports lounge also provides the infrastructure for the production of tournament events that can more easily be held when the proper equipment and space has already been configured to facilitate video gaming.

Constructing a dedicated video gaming lounge, however, requires a fair amount of capital investment by the casino property, which it must recoup by attracting a recurrent customer. People who are passionate about video gaming and esports exist in communities with their own cultural norms that are not always compatible with executive “suit” culture.

To capture a customer base from this demographic, casino properties must show that they see these customers as more than just dollar signs. There needs to be trust building between the new customer and the casino property.

Building an esports lounge is one way to show reception to their needs.

Sponsoring esports teams would be another.

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Home Team Putting a casino’s name and money in the game through sponsorship would be an excellent way to hold a hand out to the new market and show a willingness to listen to what they are looking for.

Given that video gaming can be done from home, a brick-and-mortar esports arena must overcome both this initial resistance to the casino venue and the virtual, non-social nature of the activity to enough loyal, recurrent customers to provide a good, concrete return on the investment. Ultimately, this can be achieved, but it may prove to be a longer-term build than expected.

For those who are unable or unwilling to invest capital in something with a delayed return on investment like the esports lounge, hosting tournaments may provide a more attractive solution to incorporating esports into a property.

Producing events such as concerts, conventions or slot tournaments to attract customers is a tried and true method that casinos have long utilized.

Hosting an esports tournament, therefore, would be a familiar and comfortable pathway.

There are many kinds of esports tournaments, but for the purposes of this article, they can be broken into two main categories—professional and amateur. Professional-level esports tournaments are invitationals to which world-class players must be flown, accommodated and provided with large cash pots. They can attract a large arena audience and are typically streamed on the internet to millions of people.

The size of the audience and the prestige of putting on a world-class esports event confers obvious boosts to name recognition, but also requires a large investment.

Amateur-level or local-level tournaments are another possibility. These tournaments can be produced far more frequently, with a smaller investment and with greater involvement of the local or weekend-trip distance customer.

This level of tournament would be an excellent pathway towards attracting a loyal, repeat customer base who will come to view the property as a staple entertainment venue.

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2 0 0 0 AT T O R N E Y S | 3 8 L O C AT I O N S W O R L D W I D E˚

Understanding the Community Whichever level of tournament is considered, it is imperative that the casino property use knowledgeable tournament organizers who understand the community, games and marketing for this type of event. Typical marketing for the current casino customer, such as mailers and billboards, will not be adequate to capture a population who rarely looks up from their computer screens and mobile devices.

Each game or game type has a separate community with its own customs, interests and qualities. Marketing a tournament requires knowledge of the unique aspects of the specific community surrounding the game.

It is possible to make a few broad-stroke generalizations about the differences between gamers and boomers regarding the different things each type of customer values. For instance, as mentioned above, gamers value authenticity. A property cannot simply declare itself “gamer-friendly.” Attracting gamers requires organic growth. Gaining authenticity will necessitate the employment of people already in the esports space, to facilitate harmony.

Each generation has different priorities in how they spend their money.

For example, while most gamers will not drop $20 on a hamburger, they will spend $150 on a sweatshirt. While they will resist spending $10 to park, they will spend $75 for the chance to compete in a tournament.

A gamer will place a higher value on free high-speed internet than on a plethora of fancy restaurants. Providing things that most gamers would struggle to afford would go a long way toward attracting customers to a brick-and-mortar venue.

One example is the including of virtual reality games. Most gamers cannot afford a high-quality VR set up. That could easily be an attraction to bring in more gamers. Creating spaces like free Wi-Fi lounges with food and drink would also be a great plus to gamers. The environment is very important because it expresses the overall experience the gamer has. Virtual reality, augmented reality and other high-tech interactions give the gamer the reason to return for more fun and good times.

Being casinos, no pathway to incorporating esports would be complete without wagering. The legality and mechanics of wagering on esports is still being figured out, but there is no question that a formidable financial system will need to be included.

Ben Fox and Ari Fox are the co-founders of the Casino eSport Conference and Gameacon. They have been associated with the casino industry for over 25 years. They are currently producing the third year of the Casino eSport Conference, an event which brings together industry leaders in both the casino and esports sectors to educate, network and plan the future of casino esports. To learn more the Casino eSport Conference held at the Luxor in Las Vegas September 4-5, 2019, visit casinoesportconf.com.

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The Greenberg Traurig Global Gaming Practice can address casino operations, gaming manufacturing, Internet gaming, AML, anti-corruption matters, lotteries, charitable gaming, and Native American gaming. Our backgrounds include representing casino owners, operators, executives, gaming manufacturers and suppliers, private equity firms and investment banks on gaming related matters.

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G R E E N B E R G T R A U R I G , L L P | W W W. G T L AW. C O M The hiring of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based solely upon advertisements. Before you decide, ask us to send you free written information about our qualifications and our experience. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Greenberg Traurig is a service mark and trade name of Greenberg Traurig, LLP and Greenberg Traurig, P.A. ©2018 Greenberg Traurig, LLP. Attorneys at Law. All rights reserved. Attorney Advertising. Contact: Martha A. Sabol in Chicago at 312.456.8400. °These numbers are subject to fluctuation.

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NEW GAME REVIEW

by Frank Legato

Voodoo Fortunes Novomatic Americas

T

his new video slot from Novomatic highlights the sleek new V.I.P. Royal Curve cabinet, which features a 65-inch curved ultra-high definition LCD video monitor above a 27-inch main touch-screen. The immersive setup includes the V.I.P. Cobra Chair, with spin and betting buttons in the armrests and satellite speakers in the headrest.

The base game for Voodoo Fortunes is in the Allpay ways-to-win format in a three-by-five reel array. There are no paylines, with wins determined by adjacent symbols. The five-reel, three-row setup yields 247 ways to win on every spin.

In the base game, voodoo charms and talismans serve as the reel symbols. The “Wild Boy Doll” symbol one the second and fourth reels is wild, substituting for all symbols except the “Wild Girl Doll,” which appears on the third reel and doubles the pay in any winning combination.

Three or more Ouija symbols left to right trigger 10 free games, played at current bet. The free-game feature can be retriggered during the free spins.

The game features a four-level progressive jackpot feature, with the top jackpot either a stand-alone amount or part of Novomatic’s Enchanted Fortunes progressive link. When both wild symbols appear on a spin, it can randomly trigger the Jackpot Feature. A field of 12 gold coins appears on the screen, and the player selects coins until matching three to win the corresponding jackpot.

Manufacturer: Novomatic Americas Platform: V.I.P. Royal Curve Format: Five-reel, ways-to-win video slot Denomination: .01 Max Bet: 500 Top Award: 100 times total bet Hit Frequency: Approximately 29% Theoretical Hold: 3%-12%

Sparkling Roses Color Bloom Konami Gaming

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his new game on Konami’s Concerto Crescent curved-screen cabinet features a three-level jackpot activated with an affordable maximum bet of 180 credits. The top jackpot is a linked progressive resetting at $5,000, the secondary jackpot is a stand-alone progressive resetting at $150, and the third-level jackpot is a static bonus prize of $30.

The base game is a 40-line video slot, with bet options of 60, 120 or 180 credits. The game is designed to return higher rewards as the player’s bet rises. This even applies to the free-game bonus feature. When the bet is less than 180 credits, any three, four or five scatter rose symbols trigger five, eight or 12 free games, respectively. Six scattered rose symbols trigger 20 free games.

When the max bet of 180 credits is wagered, three, four or five rose symbols trigger six, eight or 15 free games, and six or more of the symbols trigger 25 fee games, and all wins are multiplied by 2 credits wagered per line. Scatter wins are multiplied by the lines played times 2 credits wagered per line.

The Color Bloom feature occurs randomly during the primary game, and during the free-game feature at maximum bet. At the beginning of the feature, jackpot symbols are placed at random spots on the reel array. Three or more jackpot symbols return the corresponding prize—the linked Gold jackpot, the stand-alone Purple jackpot, or the Blue Bonus jackpot.

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Manufacturer: Konami Gaming Platform: KP3+ Format: Five-reel, 40-line video slot Denomination: .01, .02, .05 Max Bet: 180 Top Award: Progressive; $5,000 reset Hit Frequency: 37% Theoretical Hold: 4%-18%

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Westworld

Aristocrat Technologies

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ristocrat’s latest branded slot game showcases the new flame55 cabinet, which features a 55-inch high-definition monitor curved in two places. The game is available in circular carousels with grand Western scenes on edge displays between the machines (see picture).

The game is based on the hit futuristic HBO show Westworld, about an Old West-themed amusement park run by androids that run amok. The game takes players on a journey through Delos Lab and Westworld, filled with unexpected twists and turns, fan-favorite characters, beautiful landscapes and high-definition footage of the most memorable scenes, plus episodic photography, along with the show’s distinctive music.

The game displays two six-reel game arrays. The top symbol set represents the Delos corporate world, and the bottom symbol set depicts the theme of the Westworld park the corporation runs.

Players can make a 50-cent wager to play the two separate games,

but a wager of 80 cents or more merges the two reel arrays for “full game immersion,” with one giant six-reel, seven-row set.

According to the company, the game features a unique math model that is completely new to the gaming industry.

The base game features include Reverie Respin with a “Hold & Respin” mechanic, and Delos Replay, which adds mystery wilds or multipliers to the reel set.

Main game features include Delos Lab Free Games, which are free games with a phantom pick where players can win credits from up to three different free games that play simultaneously; and Mariposa Free Games, which offer the player the action of persistent wild reels for the chance to win big.

The top line jackpot is a multi-site linked progressive prize resetting at $250,000.

Manufacturer: Aristocrat Technologies Platform: flame55 Format: Six-reel, 50-line video slot Denomination: .01 Max Bet: 500 Top Award: Progressive; $250,000 reset Hit Frequency: Approximately 50% Theoretical Hold: 5%-12%

Wild Pirates

International Game Technology

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his pirate-themed game, available on IGT’s CrystalSlant 32 and CrystalDual 27 cabinets, is centered around frequent wild symbols on an expanded reel array.

The base game is a 50-line, low-denomination video slot featuring a 75-credit cost-to-cover. The base reel array, positioned over an underwater scene on the high-definition monitor, is a five-by-five setup—five reels, with five symbol stops per reel.

The main bonus is the frequently occurring Wild Stays Explodes ‘N Pays feature. Each bomb symbol that lands on a reel will stay in place as a sub-symbol. Players continue to collect bomb sub-symbols until a bomb with a lit fuse lands on the reels.

After a random number of games, the fuse will ignite the bomb and any adjacent bomb symbols, turning them all wild.

Three bonus symbols trigger a free-spin round. During the free games bonus, players collect bomb sub-symbols until the final spin, when a super bomb will land and detonate all of the bombs for even more wilds.

Manufacturer: International Game Technology Platform: CrystalSlant, CrystalDual 27 Format: Five-reel, 50-line video slot Denomination: .01 Max Bet: 1,500 Top Award: 25,000 Hit Frequency: 25% Theoretical Hold: 4%-15%

JANUARY 2019 www.ggbmagazine.com

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CashTastic!

Place your bets on the latest and greatest ways to move money in gaming • By Dave Bontempo

C

ash handling is being redefined.

Its facilitation through kiosks, ATMs and checks, augmented by bill validators, printers and TITO, has nearly become rudimentary. The spread of mobile technology, coupled with the removal of legalized sports-betting shackles, enlarges the scope of funds access.

It has grown from a convenience, subtly nudging customers to withdraw more cash in a casino, into rocket fuel. Swipe, tap, deposit and play. Use instantly accessible funds to wager in-game on the next play, the next drive, the next shot. That’s the new prerequisite for device-driven gambling, which vendors keenly appreciate.

With online and mobile sports betting wagers contributing millions in a business that commands billions, this form of gambling won’t eliminate its brick-and-mortar counterparts. Yet sports wagering becomes a permanent component of the cash-handling world.

The sports-betting craze also underscores the foresight of industry leaders.

Last year, Worldpay executive Joe Pappano told GGB that the electronification of the industry would result from modernized gaming regulations. And that vendors needed to keep a mindful eye on how changing regulations would impact the integrated casino experience.

Omer Sattar of Sightline forecast an imminent funds-delivery trend. A player with a mobile device could have $200 approved through a Play + account, receive a bar code generated through the app and go to a gaming table with a bar code reader built into the hardware. One sits at the table, scans a barcode and, presto, gains $200 in chips. No lines, no ATMs, no delays. It’s just another form of cash.

Prophecies like these are coming true, as an avalanche of card business awaits the online gaming world. There is a fertile market segment available to those who saw the future.

The Fuzion Vision One of them was Japan-based powerhouse JCM Global, which first showcased its Fuzion solution at G2E 2016. Fuzion may soon hit the floor running, according to Tom Nieman, the vice president of worldwide marketing for the company, an industry leader in creating innovative and award-winning 50

Global Gaming Business JANUARY 2019

automated transaction technologies.

Gaming Laboratories International certification for the small board placed inside each slot machine figured to be complete before year’s end.

Casinos will be able to turn the machine into an expanded gaming center, Nieman says. The technology allows information to proceed through the bill validator, printer and back-end server. The product is perfectly positioned to embrace the sports-betting boom.

“Rarely in life can timing ever be this good,” Nieman says. “We kept progressing with this until it was finished. We knew that the issue with PASPA and the Supreme Court was pending, and as it turns out, the timing of that decision (May 2018) and the finishing of this concept could not have been laid out any better. As the whole gaming industry is now on an upward climb regarding sports books, this product allows the slot machine to handle lottery and sports book wagers.”

The Fuzion concept takes varied forms. A player can tap the screen and a portion of it will change to reveal sports-book betting opportunities inside that property. The gambler can also access the information by phone if standing next to the slot machine. It eliminates lines, ensures access and reflects the reality that sports book patrons want more, more, more. If they are going to gamble on an NFL game that requires three hours to finish, why not place that bet and remain on the slot machine?

(Walking away from the machine breaks the connection.) Customers can even make sophisticated in-game wagers from the slot machines, and juggle two forms of gaming.

“Most technology gets adopted,” Nieman says. “It boils down to convenience. How did Starbucks get an app to open your phone, place an order, pay for it and then go pick it up? It is the convenience factor that drives this type of technology. Generationally, younger people tend to be willing to figure things out, which bodes well for putting this all together.

“This is exciting, especially when you consider where the gambling end is going. With football, you no longer have to be content on the outcome of the game. You can wager on what the next play will be, or how many first downs there will be on this next drive.

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“Rarely in life can timing ever be this good. As the whole gaming industry is now on an upward climb regarding sports books, this product allows the slot machine to handle lottery and sports book wagers.”

—Tom Nieman, Vice President of Worldwide Marketing, JCM Global

“Look at the golf event between Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods. You could bet on what hole it would end, or who is the first guy to hit the fairway.

And the players are gambling among themselves, as in, say, ‘let’s put $5,000 on the next drive.’ This really introduces a global audience to the concept of golf and wagering.”

Nieman says operators handled some initial concerns about linking sports books and slot machines. A slot department head, for instance, may feel he is losing dollars to the sports book. Yet because Fuzion also enables the redemption of sports-betting wagers, that money can theoretically recycle back through slot play. Properties can also factor this into evaluations of different departments, eliminating potential turf battles (department revenue often determine matters like layoffs, if needed).

With Fuzion, each slot machine could become a multi-line profit center.

It has the potential to vend and redeem lottery tickets, along with race and sports betting, facilitate daily fantasy sports wagering, conduct cross-enterprise promotional couponing and enable real-time currency exchanges along with streamlining tax-form processes. Maybe it can cook you dinner too.

Fuzion also includes Mobile I/O technology. This allows casinos with legacy reel-spinners, or any games without picture-in-picture, to use Fuzion, by enabling the player to connect with the game via smartphone through JCM’s Intelligent Bezel. This technology expands the Fuzion potential to all types of slot machines.

“We’re taking out-of-the-box thinking to a new level by connecting the iVizion bill validator and Gen 5 printer to the casino management system, and unleashing dramatically more processing power and flexible functionality,” Nieman adds.

Has the streamlined world of cash disbursal been technologically updated? Bank on it.

Doing Deals Sometimes, it’s smart to keep things big and simple. Everi and Penn National handle cash by handling the relationship. One deal, multiple implications.

Everi, a leading supplier of gaming and financial technology solutions, enters 2019 on the wings of an announced four-year extension of its cash advance, ATM, check warranty and redemption device services agreement with Penn National Gaming, Inc., the nation’s largest regional gaming operator with 40 properties in 18 jurisdictions throughout the United States.

Everi also will serve as the exclusive supplier of any new kiosk hardware deployed at Penn National sites during the extended agreement term. The company has been a longtime provider of ATM, cash advance and check warranty services for Penn National as well as ATM and cash advance services for

Pinnacle Entertainment prior to its recent acquisition by Penn National.

“We want to provide our more than 5 million active customers in our player rewards database, and those patrons who visit our gaming facilities for the first time, an exceptional experience which typically starts with them accessing funds,” says Jay Snowden, president and chief operating officer of Penn National. “Everi’s cash access products and intuitive kiosks will enable us to offer that premium experience our patrons have come to expect from a Penn National facility.”

Remember the commercial asking what’s in your wallet? Now the cash question concerns what’s in the kiosk, the phone, the ATM and the ticket.

Cash has indeed spread its wings.

A Steady Advance Crane Payment Innovations, based in Malvern, Pennsylvania, offers an array of note, coin and cashless solutions.

The company is an industry leader in payment systems and cash management solutions. From note and coin devices to cashless systems and emerging payment technologies, it processes more than 4 billion transactions every week. CPI’s SC Advance note acceptor (below) is part of the SC product line, of which more than 2 million units have been sold worldwide, officials say. They add that it features the industry’s best firstpass acceptance rate for valid street-grade notes—including notes that are damp, dirty, crinkled or torn. Its robust recognition system is built to effectively read the high-tech security features that currently are, and soon will be introduced, on new banknotes around the world. And, its expansive memory accommodates new banknote introductions as well as new security algorithms that will protect operators against emerging criminal threats.

SC Advance also is accompanied by a growing suite of modular extensions—including Easitrax, a cash box system now installed in more than 200,000 games worldwide. Easitrax links the slot floor to the back room to maximize operational efficiencies. The data it collects from SC note acceptors can be used to streamline the drop process, facilitate asset evaluations and conduct preventative maintenance programs.

In the cashless realm, the Advance 5000 is a scalable, modular device that gives operators a choice for cashless connectivity. It includes the capability to JANUARY 2019 www.ggbmagazine.com

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One of IGT’s catalysts is PlaySpot technology, which bridges the retail and digital gap by creating a player-friendly on-premise mobile app experience offering new interactive game content.

talk over a variety of networks such as CDMA, 2G, 3G and 4G LTE, and works with a variety of back-end processors through gateway partners.

The Advance 5000 for credit card processing is essential to maximizing payment options and increasing sales. Modular components, like wireless radios and a friendly user interface, make upgrades and diagnostics seamless.

Taking Notes Successful companies locate their market niche. Giesecke & Devrient Group (G + D) and Mobile Money reflect that trend, tailoring products to specific areas.

G + D, based in Bavaria and with offices in the United States, is a market leader in creating innovative solutions for banknotes and banknote processing systems. It works closely with central banks, financial institutions, banknote printers, cash-in-transit companies and casinos across more than 150 countries.

The family-owned company has more than 11,000 employees worldwide.

It services more than 5,000 cash centers worldwide, applied for 84 new patents in 2016 alone, and, according to company documents, has printed more than 135 billion banknotes.

Officials tout CashView as a solution offering insight and automation by pulling data on a daily basis from BPS Connect Casino and other sources.

Precise algorithms and inventory management techniques are used to forecast orders and deposits for competing cash needs for armored car deliveries, customer and location demand, historical trends and unique denomination blends.

CashView is a web-based cash management solution that provides an integrated framework for casino cage and vault operations. It automates cashier transfer slips, cage checkout sheets and cash requests for the vault.

Key benefits include reducing manual effort, eliminating spreadsheets and reducing accounting audit hours. By optimizing cash levels via more accurate forecasting, CashView eliminates excess cash, outages and errors.

The company touts this product’s impact in several areas. It reduces paper, whether that’s transfer slips, cage, checkout sheets or vault inventory and shift activity sheets. CashView reduces spreadsheets and sends requests automatically to other departments. The product saves 12-20 accounting hours per day and uses 50-70 percent less paper, officials say.

Mobile Money, based in San Clemente, California, is an industry leader in mobile ATM solutions. It provides mobile ATMs, mobile ATM rentals, event ATM rentals, portable ATM rentals, and temporary ATM services to fairs, festivals and special events. Its mobile ATM rentals are compact all-steel kiosks that provide reliable service in all weather conditions. Wireless communication is self-contained within an outdoor ATM rental, allowing it to be positioned virtually anywhere.

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Rentals are used extensively at fairs, festivals, concerts and sporting venues.

It would appear logical that this dynamic extends into gaming, particularly if an operator wants to conduct an off-site event.

Its ATM rental incorporates a full vinyl wrap and a 15-foot flag which makes an immediate visual impact at any location. Independent advertising panels can be customized on each side of the ATM rental for immediate corporate identification and ease in removal if vandalism should occur. Historical data shows that professionally branded ATM rental can increase retail transaction volumes by up to 13 percent, officials say.

The company also produces standard gaming products. Its ticket-redemption kiosks fashion ATM with EMV certification, large color touch-screen monitor, commercial coin hoppers, large capacity cash dispenser, cloud-based server-based monitoring and coin-free ticket redemption options. In the POS debit realm, when a player exceeds his daily withdrawal limit, the company’s ATM solution converts this transaction into a POS debit so the player can get back in the game.

Finding New Routes Industry giants IGT and Scientific Games enrich the cash-handling world by expanding how funds can be accessed.

One of IGT’s catalysts is PlaySpot technology, which bridges the retail and digital gap by creating a player-friendly on-premise mobile app experience offering new interactive game content. A customer can play instant win games or live keno games, purchase draw game tickets, and manage payments and rewards through a personal or guest (voucher-based) account or through the lottery’s app via a Bluetooth Low Energy PlaySpot connection.

Players start with cash or funds, purchasing a voucher at an authorized PlaySpot retailer and downloading the lottery’s PlaySpot app. Once the voucher is scanned to their phone, the app is funded and they can select games and begin. For future play, they can use an e-wallet to fund the app and hold their winnings.

The Rhode Island Lottery now offers PlaySpot at selected retail locations.

Las Vegas-based Scientific Games, which had its new sports betting kiosks and tablets on display at G2E, continues rewriting the book. It looks to bring a successful European model to the United States.

The sports book solutions have been used in Europe for more than 15 years and can be found at over 3,000 retail shops. Like the William Hill units found throughout Nevada, the kiosks allow a sports bettor to deposit and withdraw from their account and place bets. Scientific Games is also unfurling minitablets, about the size of an iPad, placed on a chair inside the sports book.

Vendors continue to rewrite the function of getting funds to the casino floor, and as technology continues to evolve, it’s clear that cash is becoming only one of many ways to play.

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GAMING & HOSPITALITY

EDUCATION SERIES • 2019 Presented by

Prepare for the Future: The Road to 2020 FEBRUARY 21, 2019

The UNLV Gaming & Hospitality Education Series returns on February 21 with a full-day deep dive into the future of gaming & Vegas.

The year 2020 will bring major changes to Las Vegas and to the gaming industry as a whole. In Las Vegas, a variety of new casinos and sports and entertainment attractions will open, turning the Strip on its head. In gaming, changes in technology will only accelerate during the next year and begin moving at the speed of light as we enter the new decade. From new ways to play casino games to shifting demographics to a reconfigured casino floor, gaming in 2020 and beyond will change fundamentally. The Road to 2020 will prepare operators, suppliers, regulators and educators for what lies ahead.

8:45 – 9 A.M.

Welcome: Stowe Shoemaker, Dean, UNLV’s Harrah’s College of Hospitality

9 A.M. – 9:45 A.M.

The Vegas Economy Today and Tomorrow

9:45 – 11:15 A.M.

12:45 – 1:45 P.M.

Lunch & Keynote Speaker

1:45 – 2:45 P.M.

The New Casino Floor: Technology & Design Intersect

2:45 – 3:45 P.M.

Staging Themed Events: How To Make It Work

Under Construction: Raiders Stadium; Area 15; The Drew; The MSG Sphere; Caesars Convention Center, LV Convention Center

3:45 – 4 P.M.

11:15 A.M. – 11:30 A.M.

4 P.M. – 5 P.M.

Networking Break

11:30 A.M. – 12:45 P.M.

Who’s Coming?: The Shifting Demographics of the New Las Vegas Visitor

Networking Break

The Diverse Organization: What It Really Means to Lead ‘Like A Woman’ 5 P.M. – 6:30 P.M.

Closing Reception

UNLV Gaming & Hospitality Education Series Presented by

A M S APPLIED MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

Attend In Person, Live Stream or View Webinar For more information, including speakers and registration, visit UNLVGHES.com.

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MAKING MY POINT

Empathy and Persuasion The best persuasion starts with empathy

By Roger Snow

I

n February 2015, the world of social media was abuzz, alight and a’twitter—especially a’twitter—over some dress some woman wore to some wedding in Scotland.

Many people thought the dress, or #TheDress, as the garb was dubbed after a picture of it spiraled viral, was white with gold stripes. Others thought it was blue with black stripes. The controversy pitted Instagrammer against Snapchatter, celebrity against civilian, sister against brother, West against East.

And even West against Kardashian.

“What color is that dress?” Kim Kardashian asked her 85 gazillion Twitter followers. “I see white and gold. Kanye sees black and blue. Who is color blind?”

Turns out neither.

No, no one was color blind. Or blind blind.

Or part of some vast, left-brain conspiracy. The dress, which was in fact blue and black, simply looked different to different people due to the way the human mind, via the human eye, processes light, and—more importantly—how it handles optical ambiguity.

Case closed.

Now, of course, the dress—sorry, #TheDress—isn’t the only example of two people looking at the exact same thing and seeing the exact opposite thing. Happens all the time. In marriages. In politics. In marriages. In economics.

In marriages.

And in in business.

(Oh, and in marriages, too.)

Let’s talk about you. If you want to reach your potential as an executive, you absolutely, positively, unequivocally must be able to empathize, to see something from another perspective. You may have heard the metaphor of putting yourself in the other person’s shoes. Well, that’s cute but incomplete. Grossly so. Shoes are something external to the body, the mind, the soul.

(Unless you’re my wife.) A better metaphor is putting yourself in the other person’s skin, to see and hear and breathe they way he or she does.

Absent this ability, you will never be able to inspire people to achieve greatness, lead them into battles big or small, or even negotiate a deal to the

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satisfaction of both sides.

It’s odd that something so crucial to the success of companies, as well as to the individuals inside them, is discussed so sparingly. Business tends to be a macho game, you see, what with its sports metaphors (“Time to get this deal across the finish line!”) and grunt-able, monosyllabic slogans (“Just. Do. It.”). In this environment, there isn’t much use for the sweet, balletic science of empathy.

But there should be.

Here’s how.

Silence is Gold If you find yourself in a hole, as the old adage goes, the first rule is to stop digging. And as a corollary, if you find yourself in an argument, the first rule is to stop talking and shut the #$@% up. Persuading isn’t like pounding a nail; you can’t just smash and bash your way to success. It is instead a delicate and fluid art, an intellectual aikido if you will, where strength comes instead from a lack of resistance.

And that starts with listening. Like really listening. Not listening for the other person to take a breath so you can counter-punch with a fusillade of forensic firepower. Not listening so you can finish his or her sentences. Listening, rather, to understand and ultimately to empathize.

This is indeed the secret weapon of successful business people. They listen actively and they listen patiently. When the person they’re trying to persuade is talking, they shut their yaps and open their flaps, as in ears.

And to get the other person to do likewise, all you have to do is say are these magic words..

“You’re Right” Nothing, and we’re talking nothing, stops a debate faster and more decisively than agreeing with the other person. The phrase “you’re right” is the elephant gun of modern discourse. Boom.

Fire one round and it’s over.

True enough and ironically enough, if you want to convince someone to your way of thinking, you have to first agree with his or her way of thinking. Or at least validate it. You will in-

stantly go from pulling on opposite ends of the rope to pulling on the same side. And until you’re in that position you can’t, and once you are in in you can...

Get Their Fingerprints On It In the history of humankind, do you know whose ideas were universally lauded and applauded? Nope, not Socrates’s. Not Marcus Aurelius’s. Not Steve Jobs’s. Not Bill Gates’s. Not Elon Musks’s. Not even Jesus’s. For folks the world over, regardless of age or race or creed or culture, the most popular ideas of all time have come from one person.

Themselves.

In the theater of persuasion, this is the crescendo moment. This is what empathy is all about, literally becoming the other person and seeing you and what you’re proposing from his or her perspective.

Hey man, it’s all very like (inhales deeply, strokes chin), you know, cosmic and Zen and stuff.

You’ve shut up. You’ve listened. You’ve “you’rerighted” your way to a cease fire. You’ve emphasized. You’ve validated the other person’s perspective. If your idea has merit—you’re not starting up a cock-fighting league or anything, right?—it should be easy to find common ground.

Or more aptly, communal ground. As in shared. The great empathizers in business are the ones that make you feel their idea was in fact your idea all along. It’s not manipulative; it’s persuasive.

You’re just trying to match up that person’s experience and perspective with the value in your proposal. Take some tidbit from your conversation, a comment made by the other side and weave it into your thesis.

It may sound corny, and beware, it will if you’re all sleazy and slippery about it, but using the other person’s ideas to lend credence to your own is about as bulletproof as it gets.

Now, back to that cock-fighting league...

Roger Snow is a senior vice president with Scientific Games. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Scientific Games Corporation or its affiliates.

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A

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More than just a directory or resource guide, TRIBAL Government Gaming features editorial coverage of cutting-edge issues such as tribal sovereignty, Indian gaming regulation, economic diversification, nationbuilding, compacts and more.

TRIBAL Government Gaming is a highly visible publication with a circulation of more than 16,000, including bonus distribution at NIGA in April 2019, OIGA in July 2019, G2E in October 2019 and other appropriate trade shows and conferences.

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EMERGING LEADERS Hard Work Expands Horizons Jackie Gibson Executive Director, Muscogee (Creek) Nation Office of Public Gaming ackie Gibson is extremely humble about her success and what has brought her to this point in her career. It was more than 15 years ago when she began her well-explored and overarching career with the Muscogee Creek Nation. From an early age, she had always been told that there was a job for her at the casino if she needed it, and so Gibson finds it she started as a housekeeper.

Needing a job but knowing that this was not what she wanted extremely rewarding to do for the rest of her life, she soon began to explore other options.

In short, Gibson worked her way up from the bottom to become ex- to work to stay ahead ecutive director of Muscogee, a feat she is particularly proud of. of a fast-paced Although inexperience was a challenge early on in Gibson’s caindustry, and she reer, she wanted to ascend in the company and expand her horizons.

She opted to be a cashier because they made more money, and being currently works to a natural people person, she thought this would be a good fit. provide the type of In the end, it was not as she expected, but the experience was inexperience and valuable. Gibson eventually moved to the back of the house where she worked in the vault—an experience that she thoroughly enmentorship to others joyed—and this included work with the drop and count people. The that she herself had vault was also where she got her first experience in a managerial capacity. been shown during With no real managerial experience, it took a tremendous leap her extremely of faith from one of her early mentors, Frank Haas, to believe in her successful career. and give her the necessary tools to grow within her position. Says Gibson, “Many times, people of upper management can put you in positions where you cannot succeed, but Frank, understanding that I had the drive, was the one to give me that opportunity.”

This experience eventually led to her becoming an assistant general manager at a nearby casino, a step that could never have happened without it. The role, though physically demanding with its night shifts, was rewarding and enjoyable. But Gibson realized that she still enjoyed the back-of-house work more.

Gibson soon moved to Remington Park when they introduced slot machines, as part of the revenue audit team. This is where another of her mentors, former controller of Remington Park Lisa Raymond, played an important role in helping shape Gibson’s career. Raymond understood the challenges of being a female in the gaming industry, and that it would be important for Gibson to not only understand this but to use it to fuel her drive to excel for herself and, in turn, for the company. Gibson carries this message with her, and it’s something she hopes to share with others coming up in the industry, be they male or female.

In a selfless move, Gibson left Remington Park to return home to take care of family, joining the audit team within Muscogee, on the regulatory side this time. In the end, she has deemed this switch from the operational side to the regulatory side to be the most important in her career. Interestingly, next year will mark the point where her time on the regulatory side will have exceeded her time on the operational side.

Gibson finds it extremely rewarding to work to stay ahead of a fast-paced industry, and she currently works to provide the type of experience and mentorship to others that she herself had been shown during her extremely successful career. Strictly speaking, and as taught to her by her mother, Martha Wind, Gibson preaches patience, and to not forget to walk before running. When success isn’t automatically handed out, reward comes from taking the initiative, working hard, and earning it.

— Christopher Irwin, The Innovation Group

J

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Regulating Success Jordan Hollander Deputy Attorney General, New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement ordan Hollander considered a career in foreign affairs before choosing Rutgers Law School on his way to a post as deputy attorney general for the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement. He received a master’s in comparative European politics from Trinity College, Dublin, and worked on political campaigns at Lycoming College in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. He even thought about a doctorate in comparative politics.

His decision to enter casino law comes as no surprise.

“I have always had an interest in both gaming and public service, so the DGE was a natural place to pursue both,” he says. “During law school, I completed an externship with the DGE, working on employee and casino licensing matters as well as regulatory prosecution cases, giving me a unique insight into the agency.”

He also had an interest in law enforcement.

During law school, Hollander, who grew up in Branchburg, New Jersey, interned with the Warren County Prosecutor’s Office, which turned into a paid, part-time position. “My clerkship following law school was with the presiding criminal judge in Monmouth County, New Jersey,” he says. “Both of those experiences have been beneficial in my current role with the DGE, which is a specialized law enforcement agency, and I remain very interested in criminal law.”

Following his clerkship, Hollander, 30, joined the inaugural group of students in the master’s program in gaming law and regulation at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Like many a professional, Hollander has

J

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had his share of mentors that helped shape his career, including his parents and brothers, Jeremy and Justin. The brothers and Hollander’s mother, Susan, are all attorneys.

“They, along with my dad, Richard, encouraged me in my academic pursuits, to study abroad, and to pursue a career in gaming,” he says.

He also cites gaming law professors, Stephen Schrier at Rutgers and Jennifer Roberts, Tony Cabot and Greg Gemignani at UNLV, along with Joe Asher, who told Hollander about the UNLV program. Colleagues at the DGE, including Director David Rebuck, Deputy Director Mary Jo Flaherty, Deputy Attorney General Tracy Richardson and former Deputy Director George Rover, encouraged him to pursue gaming law, to take on more responsibility and to become a leader in this area.

“Outside of gaming law, Warren County Assistant Prosecutor Kelly Shelton and Judge Francis J. Vernoia provided me with indispensable advice, experience and mentorship that continue to this day,” says Hollander, who visits the Jersey Shore a lot.

Sports wagering has made the biggest impact in his time with the DGE. “The process itself has not really changed, but it brought new populations of individuals and gaming operators from outside the Atlantic City area directly into the industry,” says Hollander, an avid golfer and New Jersey Devils season ticket holder. “New Jersey has been a global leader in online gaming, and I expect to see that same innovation and success with sports wagering, with other jurisdictions turning to Atlantic City and the DGE for guidance and expertise.”

Add the opening of two new casino resorts, and Atlantic City faces a wave of excitement in the future. “I hope to be on the forefront of the casino industry as it continues to innovate and grow.”

Growth brings new blood to the industry and its regulators. For those interested in the legal side, Hollander urges people to network with industry veterans. Attend a Casino Control Commission meeting in Atlantic City or a Nevada Gaming Control Board meeting in Las Vegas. Join your local gaming law bar association.

“I am fortunate to be serving as the chair of the New Jersey State Bar Association Casino Law Section this year, and we hold a few networking and continuing legal education events each year that are great opportunities to meet practitioners and stakeholders,” he says. In addition, write an article or blog post for a law journal.

“Get your name out there. It can go a long way.”

—William Sokolic

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ICE London Sets Record In 2019, ICE London will be the largest edition of the ICE Totally Gaming trade show in the history of the event

By Patrick Roberts

C

larion Gaming, producer of the ICE Totally Gaming group of gaming trade shows, has confirmed the 2019 edition of the ICE London event, February 5-7, will be the largest on record, with net floor space growing from the 2018 figure of 43,500 square meters to 45,500 square meters, an increase of just under 5 percent. “Since 2012, the show has grown year-on-year and is now more than twice its size than that moment,” commented Kate Chambers, Clarion’s managing director.

“It’s important to stress this isn’t a one-off increase in demand for space, but part of a trend which stretches back to 2012, when the show floor comprised 22,500 square meters,” she says. ”Since then, ICE London has grown year-onyear and is now more than twice its 2012 size, a remarkable feat when you consider the level of merger and acquisition activity that’s taken place in the industry over that period.

“While the 2017-18 growth was due to the demand for space from payments providers, the 2019 growth has, in part, been driven by sports book and iGaming companies following the U.S. Supreme Court’s repeal of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA). We can’t influence change, but as professional event organizers, steeped in gaming, our job is to respond quickly to developments in the market—either technological or legislative—and to provide the best possible environment in which businesses can conduct business. As the most international gaming event on the calendar, exhibitors know that they can use ICE London as a method of launching into any gaming jurisdiction in the world.

“In 2018, ICE London attracted 33,536 visitors from 153 nations, and it’s clear that no other gaming event can deliver this volume or spread of international business opportunities.”

Chambers said a big factor in the growth of the ICE show was its relocation from London’s Earls Court exhibition hall to its current location at the ExCeL London venue.

“The relocation to ExCeL London gave us the opportunity to provide exhibitors with the stand options that simply weren’t possible at Earls Court,” she said. “Following that, we have been careful not to follow an aggressive growth strategy. Instead, we have worked hard to marry the growth of the show floor with a growth in visitor numbers, and I’m pleased to say that, in 2018, we were successful in growing the average number of visitors per stand by 17 percent and the average number per square meter by 12 percent.”

The internationalism of ICE London was underlined by independently audited visitor data, which confirmed the largest represented country at ICE London 2018 was Malta (1,910 attendees), followed by Germany (1,445), the United States (1,253), Austria (1,170) and Spain (1,097). The group of top 10 nations was completed by Sweden (914), Italy (910), Netherlands (658), Bulgaria (629) and Israel (572).

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February 5-7, 2019 ExCeL London, UK Consumer Protection Zone Returns to ICE London The Consumer Protection Zone, which was launched to great interest at ICE London 2018, has been given a new high-profile home on the show floor. The zone, which will be slightly bigger in 2019, has been relocated to the high-footfall area adjacent to the Bingo Pavilion and the Totally Gaming Academy in the South Hall at ExCeL London. The move reflects the huge importance that responsible gambling plays in the culture of all serious operators across all of the gaming verticals.

Ewa Bakun, director of industry insight and engagement at Clarion Gaming, said, “As fines for failings in the area of consumer protection become more punitive, excelling in responsible gambling, or safer gambling as defined by the U.K. Gambling Commission, not only impacts a brand’s reputation for integrity and fairness, but also its bottom line.

“Coupled with advertising restrictions and technology advancements that assist more informed approaches to consumer protection, responsible gambling will continue to dominate industry discussions and debates in 2019. The ICE London Consumer Protection Zone serves as a focal point for all interested parties, including regulators, research agencies, treatment organizations and those commercial organizations that have harnessed the power of new technology to progress the social responsibility message.

“The Consumer Protection Zone will once again host the most progressive responsible gambling organizations and feature an agenda of presentations and

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Clarion Gaming Managing Director Kate Chambers

Ewa Bakun, director of industry insight and engagement, Clarion Gaming

discussions around the hot topics of the day, including player tracking, self-exclusion, inventions, age protection and advertising.”

Clarion Gaming is inviting commercial organizations that put consumer protection at the core of their offering to exhibit at preferential rates and benefit from the exposure gained as key supporters of responsible gambling and consumer protection.

European Casino Association Backs Clarion Gaming Code of Conduct One of the unfortunate occurrences at ICE London over the years has been the increase of women dressed inappropriately on stands and walking through the exhibit halls. After recognizing the problem, Clarion Gaming

responded by creating a “Code of Conduct” for exhibitors and participants.

The European Casino Association (ECA), which represents the interests of 900 casinos and over 70,000 employees operating in 28 member countries across Europe, has given its full support to Clarion’s Code of Conduct. The code, which has been developed in conjunction with a large number of industry stakeholders courtesy of Clarion’s Ampersand group, sets out the standards that exhibitors and individuals are required to uphold at all Clarion Gaming events, and covers gender representation and dress codes for stand staff.

ECA chairman Per Jaldung confirmed: “The European Casino Association fully supports Clarion Gaming’s initiative, which continues our long-lasting joint commitment to ensuring a respectful representation of all genders at gaming exhibitions. We encourage all exhibitors to follow this Code of Conduct and promote their products in innovative ways that celebrate the industry at its very best.”

Clarion Gaming’s Chambers believes the messages of support for the code received following its announcement in October reflect the progressive mindset of the international industry.

“We have been overwhelmed by the positive feedback received from all sections of the international industry that we represent,” she says. “The European Casino Association is a hugely influential body in the industry and at a political level. To have the full support of an association which represents businesses employing more than 70,000 people across Europe is a powerful endorsement of what we are trying to achieve.

“As well as influential trade bodies such as the ECA, I have also received messages from many individuals working in the industry who believe the Code of Conduct, and what it means for the responsible representation of gender at showcase international events such as ICE London, is the right course of action.”

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FRANKLY SPEAKING

by Frank Legato

Nuns at the Table

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Global Gaming Business JANUARY 2019

One night, I was at the table, and it was packed.

There were hot shooters, high fives and a ton of excitement. Then, out of nowhere, at around 11:30 p.m., the pit boss says, “We’re closing this table.” They closed it for exactly one minute, and opened it back up as a $10 table.

Crickets.

Four pit employees stood there, staring at the beer pong tables (also empty). I would have ponied up the $10 minimum, but I know of no quicker way to lose my money than going solo on a craps table.

Minutes earlier, a dozen players were dying to leave their cash on that felt, and most were betting a lot more than $5 a roll. (I know I was.) I realize it’s hard to turn a profit on a game that takes four employees to run, but can someone explain the business logic here?

“Heck, I’d rather lose money than not make enough.”

Am I missing something?

This doesn’t even take into account the customer service aspect—it made customers angry. It’s a good thing there were no nuns there.

That’s right, nuns. Last month in Redondo Beach, California, Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, former principal of Saint James Catholic School, and Sister Lana Chang, who taught eighth grade there, were found to have been embezzling money from the parish for decades to pay for gambling trips to Las Vegas.

I’m not sure what games the sisters played, but here’s hoping it was craps, and that they wore their full nun suits when they played.

Now I know why we were expected to periodically give money to our nuns when I was in grade school. I always thought it was protection money so they wouldn’t beat us up.

(Our nuns were brutal. I think the order was Little Sisters of the Iron Curtain.)

By the way, Sister Mary and Sister Lana are both retired now, but they say they’re going to make full restitution to the parish. And, as I understand it, they’ve dropped their... bad habit.

(Sorry.)

VIC TOR RINAL DO

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or most of my 34-plus years writing about the casino industry—that’s 238 in dog years, in case you were wondering—I have kept my finger on the pulse of the industry partly by keeping my wallet on the pulse of a few gambling activities.

For most of those dog decades, I was a video poker player, but around seven years ago, my nephew, who was around 30 at the time, met me on the Las Vegas Strip to go gambling.

“Let’s play craps,” he suggested.

“Not a clue,” I replied.

“It’s easy! I’ll show you.”

To the uninitiated, a craps layout looks like the blueprint of a traffic grid marked by signs written in Klingon. Once you realize it’s English, the table seems to be shouting at you. “PASS!” “DON’T PASS!” “HARD WAYS!” “FIELD!” “DON’T JUST STAND THERE, YOU IDIOT!” My nephew, a computer genius and linguist who speaks four languages (five if you count Klingon), was able to chisel through the thick skull of his wisecrack-writing uncle that evening. He showed me the basics I needed to know, and that first night, I won $500. Needless to say, it’s now one of my favorite things to do. If there were no casinos, I’d probably look for floating craps games like Sinatra in Guys and Dolls.

Now that I’ve established my love for the game, it’s time to find something to gripe about. Last month, I was in the Wild Wild West casino at Bally’s Atlantic City. I frequent Bally’s for two reasons. First, they have a complete bank of full-pay video poker machines in the main casino, which, in Atlantic City, are harder to find than a Burl Ives tribute band. The other reason is that they’ve set up a “guaranteed” $5 craps table in the Wild Wild West annex.

Well, it’s guaranteed, until it isn’t.

You hardcore gamblers out there may find this amusing, but for me to do all the place and come bets I want to do on a craps roll, I need a $5 table. I can do $10 out of necessity, but my gambling budget then lasts... umm... half as long. I can always find a $5 table in Las Vegas at the locals casinos, but in Atlantic City? Crank up the Burl Ives tunes.

Before they set up that craps table, I hadn’t been in the Wild Wild West since they had that fake mountain in the middle with the creepy animatronic prospector and mule. (Still have nightmares about that guy.) I loved that I now had a regular craps stop here in the East.

Š2019 Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers (AGEM). Membership list current as of December 2018.

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GOODS&SERVICES ANGEL BUYS GPI

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as Vegas-based table game equipment supply giant Gaming Partners International has entered into a merger agreement that will see the company—itself a product of major table supplier mergers—be acquired by Japanese playing-card supplier Angel Holdings.

Under the merger agreement, Angel will pay $13.75 per share for 100 percent of GPI in a cash deal estimated at $109.5 million. GPI will then be an Angel U.S. subsidiary, AGL Nevada Corp. However, the company’s identity will remain intact.

According to the report, the purchase still must be approved by shareholders of both companies and regulatory authorities. Angel will assume all of GPI’s gaming licenses.

GPI was founded in 1993 through a merger of French casino currency supplier Bourgogne et Grasset, Las Vegas-based Bud Jones Company, which supplied gaming chips to the U.S. market, and Paulson Gaming Company, another major U.S. table-game supplier. Another former U.S. supplier wrapped into GPI is Gemaco, the Ohio-based playing card manufacturer.

SCARLET PEARL TO USE IGT SPORTS BETTING PLATFORM; PLAYSHOT GAINS NV APPROVAL

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aming supplier International Game Technology reported that its PlayShot sports betting platform powers DraftKings at Scarlet

Scarlet Pearl President LuAnn Pappas opens the DraftKings sports book 62

Global Gaming Business JANUARY 2019

Pearl Sportsbook, the newest sports betting destination on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Through IGT’s PlayShot technology, patrons of Scarlet Pearl Casino Resort can now place pre-match and in-play sports wagers over the counter.

Pending regulatory approval, the casino will deploy additional IGT sports betting peripherals such as kiosks and mobile technology, as the regional sports betting market evolves.

In a separate release, IGT announced that its PlayShot integrated sports betting solution has successfully completed the final stage of Nevada regulatory approval, a mandatory field trial for the solution’s on-property sports betting module.

With this milestone, the market-leading sports betting solution is fully approved for deployment throughout the state. Mobile sports betting on the PlayShot platform received regulatory approval in a field trial completed in 2017.

Throughout the field trial, the PlayShot solution powered over-the-counter betting services at 10 major Las Vegas Strip casinos and proved to be a stable, efficient and user-friendly business tool.

The recent trial also included the testing of IGT’s proprietary MarkSense Technology, a solution that enables operators to design and print parlay sheets and promotions on demand.

IGT’s PlayShot sports betting technology is now powering sports wagers in four U.S. states including Nevada, New Jersey, Mississippi and West Virginia.

ARUZE PARTNERS WITH QUIXANT

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uixant, a leading global supplier of hardware and display solutions, announced the success of the company’s first collaboration with slot supplier Aruze Gaming, the Muso Triple-27 cabinet.

Featuring a bespoke, cutting-edge 13.3-inch Quixant digital button panel, Aruze’s Muso Triple27 cabinet has received an extraordinary initial reception from the industry, crowned by its recent receipt of the Best Slot Product award at the prestigious GGB Gaming and Technology Awards. A hugely impressive result of many months of joint research, the button panel incorporates a built-in

wireless charger, the first of its kind on the market, and a sleek, bright design in keeping with Aruze’s ethos of modern, eye-catching product.

“We are extremely proud to be a valued partner to such a major gaming player as Aruze,” said John Malin, global sales director of Quixant. “The Muso Triple-27 is surely one of the most attractive, innovative machines to ever grace our industry, and to be given the opportunity to be part of it is a great honor.”

KAMBI DEBUTS RESORTS SPORTS BOOK

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lobal B2B sports book provider Kambi made its U.S. debut with DraftKings at New Jersey’s Resorts Casino last month, with further launches planned on both sides of the Atlantic.

The DraftKings Sports Book at Resorts Atlantic City

Kambi is ready to make a major splash in the U.S. and European on-property sports wagering markets over the next 12 months, according to a statement from the company. Having already established a dominant position in New Jersey’s online sports betting market, Kambi is ready to replicate its success on-property and has at the ready more than 100 betting kiosks for its U.S. customers.

In addition, following a strengthening of its supply chain, Kambi has in place hardware partners ready to meet increased kiosk demand in 2019.

The DraftKings Sportsbook at Resorts features a dozen betting kiosks, five over-the-counter points of sale and customized digital signage, providing Resorts with the most modern land-based wagering experience in New Jersey.

The launch will quickly be followed by Kambi’s debut in Pennsylvania, with Kambi ready to install its on-property sports book across three major casinos. The launches will build on Kambi’s existing

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land-based footprint, with Kambi having operated on-property sports books for a number of years across casinos in Mexico and Cambodia, as well as sports betting parlors in Belgium.

According to the most recent figures released

by New Jersey regulators, Kambi-powered operators have assumed a commanding position in the Garden State’s online market, with an approximate 60 percent market share.

BCLC TO DEPLOY EVERI’S TOURNEVENT

E

veri Holdings announced that it has signed an agreement with the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) to deploy the award-winning TournEvent tournament system across the province’s 35 casinos.

TournEvent is Everi’s unique tournament system designed to inject excitement into the slot tournament system. The company holds the “TournEvent of Champions” every year, bringing winners of satellite tournaments across the U.S. and Canada together in Las Vegas to compete for millions in prizes, including a $1 million top prize.

The first TournEvent systems and related electronic gaming machines were expected to ship to 11 BCLC properties in December for installation in January 2019. Systems and gaming devices are expected to ship to the remaining 24 properties during the first half of 2019.

“We appreciate the BCLC’s extensive review and approval of our TournEvent system among a competitive field,” said Ed Peters, Everi’s executive vice president, sales and marketing. “As British Columbia’s slot tournament system provider of choice, Everi is excited to deploy TournEvent in casinos across the province as we continue to grow our games business in Canada. We believe agency approval is a testament to our innovative, easy-touse platform.”

For more information or to subscribe to the database or monthly report contact Ashley Diem at ADiem@FantiniResearch.com or call +1-302-730-3793 - www.FantiniResearch.com JANUARY 2019 www.ggbmagazine.com

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CUTTING EDGE

by Frank Legato

Eye on the Prize Product: Gaming Asset Management Environment Manufacturer: Gaming Support

or many casino organizations, maintenance of slot machines and equipment is of the utmost importance, since the service level is often a good indicator of the hospitality towards the visitor.

By offering smarter tools to these organizations, they are able to accomplish their maintenance cycles more effectively and purposefully.

Gaming Asset Management Environment (or G.A.M.E. for short) gives complete control over all of the most important assets of an organization in one glance, real time—tracking slot machines, gaming tables and all other critical peripherals from the time of placing an order to the moment it is put to rest, and every single instance in between. Users will have full insight of their whereabouts and their operational status, providing them with the tools to initiate curative or periodic maintenance as required.

Accessible from a computer all day, every day, globally, users will be able to receive information about the day-to-day occurrences of these high-valued assets and have their organization directly interact to ensure limited downtimes and guarantee the broadest level of service to casino customers. Using G.A.M.E.’s clean and intuitive dashboard minimizes learning curves so the

F

user instantly becomes productive. It’s configurable to fit every need for companies’ staff and processes. Users love being able to “zoom in” to the assets, allowing them to view and solve issues without leaving their desk.

Developed to gain a broad insight into the status and movements of the possessions, G.A.M.E.’s dashboard gives a clear overview of all assets at one glance, whether it be a single property or spread across multiple locations. In clear tabs, the user can track them from ordering until delivery, configuration, transport to the venue and placement on the casino floor.

Filtering options by type, brand or location allows users instant access to the asset of choice and all of its relevant information.

For more information, visit gamingsupport.com or visit the company’s stand at ICE Totally Gaming, N2-210.

Craps Hybrid Product: Roll to Win Craps Manufacturer: Aruze Gaming America

oll to Win Craps is a semi-autonomous craps game where players throw live dice onto a table-length LED display. Aruze Gaming uses proprietary technology that allows players to visualize all game play on a table surface that mimics the felt feel familiar to traditional players. Operators will be able to choose a traditional look for their playing field, or a variety of eye-catching animations for a more youthful player base.

The integration of bill acceptors, ticket printers and player tracking makes this product straddle the line between traditional table games and full ETGs, and the table boasts terminals for up to 10 players at a time. The player terminals are equally spaced around the table, recreating the same feeling of camaraderie, player interaction and shared thrills of a regular craps table.

All bets are placed electronically on 21.5-inch LCDs, and each bet is immediately reproduced in an animation as the bets show up on the layout.

Players will likely be familiar with the betting layout, which follows Aruze’s popular Shoot to Win Craps electronic table game. Additionally, a help menu targeted toward novice craps players will help guide those players new to the game.

One live dealer is required to entertain the players, but traditional staffing needs are reduced from three to one, depending on property and regulatory policies. As the shooter throws the dice, the dealer gathers the

R

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dice and is responsible for electronically entering the result of the roll on a dealer terminal.

When the dealer enters the roll, all information is instantly displayed on all player terminals and on the digital layout, payouts are made, and the history of the game is refreshed and made visible on an LED wall inside the game and on a 46-inch vertical LCD monitor. The electronic betting and layout features allow the dealers to focus on customer service, stickwork and oversight of player actions. Additional benefits include reduced time between rolls, enhanced game security, and the potential for increasing rolls per hour. Another major benefit of the product is the ability to offer advertising space on the table. An LED wall has been designed along the interior of the table where operators can choose to advertise internal events or sell external advertising.

For more information, visit aruzegaming.com.

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PEOPLE TRUMP HONORS MIRIAM ADELSON

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iriam Adelson, wife of Sheldon Adelson— chairman and CEO of the Las Vegas Sands Corp. and Miriam Adelson considered one of the nation’s most powerful Republican donors—has been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

The Adelsons donated $30 million to Trump’s campaign in the final months of the 2016 presidential race and donated $100 million to the Republican Party before the recent midterm elections, according to the Washington Post.

Trump said Adelson is “somebody who’s worked so hard. Doesn’t have to do it, but she does, 24 hours a day, this is what she does.

Through decades of innovative research, philanthropy and treatment, Miriam has helped thousands break free from their addiction to drugs and alcohol,” Trump said. “I know the work you’ve done, and you have been truly incredible.”

White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters told the Post that Trump used the process previous administrations followed to select his nominees.

Selections were coordinated by the staff secretary’s office, incorporating recommendations from the public, relevant presidential advisory bodies, the cabinet and senior White House staff, he said.

IGT NAMES PELLICIOLI CHAIRMAN

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aming supplier International Game Lorenzo Pellicioli Technology announced that Lorenzo Pellicioli, who has served as acting chairman of the company since the August departure of Phil Satre, is now the permanent chairman.

IGT named Pellicioli as chairperson of the board and named James McCann as vice chairperson and lead independent director. Pellicioli was vice chairperson before Satre left.

“I am honored to serve as chairperson for IGT, and I look forward to working with the directors and senior management to guide continued success in the future,” said Pellicioli.

McCann has served on the IGT board since 2015, and currently chairs the board’s Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.

LANDING CHAIRMAN RESURFACES FOR SANDS’ GOLDSTEIN, FIVE MORE YEARS AND A BIG RAISE

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as Vegas Sands is extending the employment contract of President and COO Rob Goldstein another five years and raising his salary by $1.1 million.

The new agreement amends the company’s curRob Goldstein rent 2014 agreement with the longtime Sands executive under which he is paid a base salary of $3.4 million a year. As of January 1, 2020, that goes up to $4.5 million with options to purchase up to 2.5 million shares of LVS in installments of 500,000 shares over several years.

The new agreement runs through 2024.

Goldstein, second in command to Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson, joined LVS in 1995, and from 1999 to 2010 served as president and chief operating officer of the company’s Las Vegas Strip flagship, the Venetian, and later its sister resort, Palazzo. In 2011, he was named president of global gaming operations.

VACCARO LEAVING LAS VEGAS

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enowned Las Vegas oddsmaker Jimmy Vaccaro is leaving the city’s South Point Hotel and Casino to join Rush Street Gaming.

As director of sports marketing at the South Point, Vaccaro was responsible for setting betting lines at one of the last independent bookmaking operations in Nevada, Jimmy Vaccaro and his 30-plus years of experience in the business is expected to prove instrumental to the success of the sports books Rush Street plans to open next month in Pennsylvania at the company’s SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia and its Rivers Casino Pittsburgh—and, if New York legalizes sports betting, at its Rivers Casino & Resort in Schenectady.

Vaccaro opened the Barbary Coast sports book in 1979. He also ran the MGM and Golden Nugget books in the 1980s before helping Steve Wynn open the Mirage sports book in 1989. Vaccaro made a stop at the Atlantis sports book in the Bahamas and worked for the Leroy’s and Lucky’s sports book operations in Nevada before coming to South Point in August 2013.

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anding International Development Chairman Yang Zhihui, who all but vanished in late Yang Zhihui August amid reports that he had been detained by Chinese police, has emerged from hiding and “resumed his duties” at the firm, according to a release issued on November 26.

According to Inside Asian Gaming, Landing was unable to contact Yang throughout the three-month period. It was speculated that he had been detained in Cambodia and taken to China because of his association with China’s state-owned Huarong International Financial Holdings Ltd., whose former head is being investigated in a graft probe. At the time of his disappearance, an image circulated online showing a person resembling Yang on an airport tarmac, being escorted in handcuffs by two men. Apparently he has now been released from custody.

“Mr. Yang explained that he has been assisting the relevant department of the People’s Republic of China with its investigation during the period of his absence,” Landing said in its statement.

Yang holds a 50.48 percent stake in Landing through a wholly owned Chinese company. The day before his disappearance, the company was forced to suspend trading after its stock plunged 35 percent from HK$5.60 to HK$3.71 in less than two hours.

GGB

January 2019 Index of Advertisers

AGA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 AGEM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61 AGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Aristocrat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Betgenius . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57 Everi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Fabicash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63 Fantini Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63 Fox Rothschild . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31 G2E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45 Gaming Arts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41 Gaming Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 GLI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59 IGT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 Incredible Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Inspired Gaming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39 Interblock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 Kambi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34, 35 Konami . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Back Cover RPM Advertising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Scientific Games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Synergy Blue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 Tribal Government Gaming . . . . . . . . . . . .55 UNLV GHES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53 World Game Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67

JANUARY 2019 www.ggbmagazine.com

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CASINO COMMUNICATIONS

Q

&A

Bo Bernhard Executive Director, UNLV’s International Gaming Institute

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o Bernhard has been executive director of the International Gaming Institute at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas since 2011. He is also the chairman of the UNR/UNLV Executive Development Program, held for 10 days each November in Lake Tahoe. He talks about the recently completed program, the IGI Innovation Lab, which encourages students to invent new games and products for the gaming industry, as well as other issues related to the IGI. He spoke with GGB Publisher Roger Gros in his offices at the Stan Fulton Building at UNLV in December. To hear a full version of the podcast interview, where Bernhard talks about esports and new programs at the IGI, visit GGBMagazine.com.

GGB: You just completed the most recent Executive Development Program (EDP).

During the welcome to the students this year, you said it was your favorite event of the year. Why is that?

Bernhard: This is a really special program.

Bill Eadington started it in 1990. That first year there were 14 attendees. This year we had more than 60. But in the original event in 1990, a young Andrew MacDonald sat next to a young Mark Lipparelli. Andrew is now the chief casino officer for Las Vegas Sands, and Mark became the chairman of the Nevada Gaming Control Board and a leader in the manufacturing side. The two of them didn’t know each other but became fast friends and created a network that plays out exponentially over the years.

Every year, the graduating class sends notes out to me and others, and this year, the gentleman who just got promoted as general manger of the Star in Sydney was talking about how he was up for that posi-

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tion and believes one of the reasons he got it is because of his involvement in EDP. It just builds this family where you make friends from all over the world, spending nine intense days in Lake Tahoe, the most gorgeous place in the world that you never get to see because they’re working hard 8-5 each day hearing from some of the most amazing people from inside and outside the industry, and then spend the evenings working on a really difficult team competition. That’s what makes it so special.

When you were asked by Dr. Eadington, the founder of EDP, to take it over when he was sick and dying, how did you feel?

I remember it to this day. I was in the car when he called to ask me. It was hard enough to take in the difficult news about his health, but wrapped up as it always was with a teaching moment, he asked me to take it over. My first thought was that I was clearly not qualified, but what could I say? I was overwhelmed that first year when we did it together. The following year was very emotional, and we weren’t sure about what we were doing. The final slide we show on the first morning was a picture of him just erupting into laughter at something one of the students said. It gives us the opportunity to stress that if you’re someone who just sits in the back and doesn’t ask questions, this isn’t the place for that. So another teachable moment from him.

How do people sign up for EDP?

It’s an application process, and we read those applications very, very closely. After all these years, I think the industry has a pretty good sense of the kind of person who would benefit from this. The admissions process, while it’s formal, we’ve gotten good at spotting the

kind of people that would graduate. And by the way, it’s got both the UNLV and the UNR (University of Nevada, Reno) stamp on it. Like in many states, the in-state schools don’t always get along, but this is one instance where we are both on the same page.

Tell us about the Innovation Lab at IGI.

I was asked to lunch one day by Dr. Mark Yoseloff, who is himself a legend in the business. He was a prolific inventor of table games, had a stint as CEO of Shuffle Master and before that was COO of Coleco when they did Coleco Vision, which essentially transformed the American living room. He’s very accomplished, as well as having a Ph.D. in math from Princeton. He told me he didn’t want to die with this knowledge, he wanted to share it. But he didn’t want to have tests or midterms or papers. The final exam would be to invent a game or product for the gaming industry. Up until that time, there was no class on how to invent a gambling game or device and unveil it before industry leaders at a showcase presentation, kind of like Shark Tank. These games are completely creative and unique.

Unlike at other universities where the college owns the work of the students, at the Innovation Lab, the students keep the vast majority of ownership. Why did you structure it like that?

First of all, we believe it’s their ideas and hard work that make the game or product viable.

And we’re here for the kids in the end. Both Dr. Yoseloff and myself agreed on that. So you don’t have to partner with some stuffy old professor, who would be paid lots of money and grab the credit.

We’re very proud that our students have been granted 12 patents on their games or devices, at a time where it’s getting increasingly more difficult to patent gaming ideas.

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B:8.625” T:8.375”

B:11.375” T:11.125”

A BRILLIANT ADDITION TO ANY FLOOR Introducing Diamond-izer™, the newest Strike Zone™ game from Konami Gaming, Inc. This symbol-driven progressive is a classic 9-line, standard 5-reel game designed with all the glitz and glam players love—

including a $25,000+ jackpot. Diamond-izer is available on Konami’s Concerto™ Opus™, where it shines brightly on a 65-inch, 4K Ultra HD Display. Give your floor a diamond and get a lasting impression. www.gaming.konami.com TM

KO_18_Diamondizer_GGB_Ad_8375x11125in.indd Fonts & Images

Job info

Live Trim Bleed

None 8.375” x 11.125” 8.625” x 11.375”

Fonts Avenir Next (Regular, Bold) Images GettyImages-957168236_machine_biggerB.tif (CMYK; 686 ppi, 684 ppi; 51.01%, 51.12%), Latest Brand Logo_CMYK_8_16_13.ai (11.41%), BornFromFun_Tag.eps (101.21%), Diamondizer_Logo.psd (CMYK; 361 ppi; 55.31%), StrikeZone.ai (8.85%) Inks Cyan,

Magenta,

Yellow,

Black