John Acres, Founder and CEO, Acres 4.0
John Acres is the inventor of the first player tracking system, as well as progressives and bonusing games that pretty much define today’s gaming experience. At Acres 4.0, he’s the founder and visionary—sort of the disruptor in chief. It’s his job to challenge the common assumptions of team members and clients alike, which results in shared vision, shared progress, and—most importantly—shared success.
Joe Asher, President and CEO, William Hill US
Joe Asher has been CEO of William Hill US since 2012, when William Hill acquired Brandywine Bookmaking, a company Asher created. Brandywine was a pure startup, which Asher launched in 2008 under the brand name Lucky’s Race & Sports Books after he relocated to Las Vegas from New York.
Asher has a long backswinground in the gaming industry and a lifelong passion for the race and sports betting business. Starting when he was a teenager, Asher held management positions at several racetracks, including Brandywine Raceway, Dover Downs, Harrington Raceway and Foxboro Raceway and was the Wilmington News-Journal’s thoroughbred racing handicapper for Delaware Park.
Previously, Asher was an attorney with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. He is a graduate of the University of Delaware and the Delaware Law School of Widener University, magna cum laude, served a judicial clerkship with the Supreme Court of Delaware and was admitted to the bar in Delaware and New York. He is also a member of the Advisory Council of the Center for Political Communication at the University of Delaware and the Board of Directors of the University of Delaware Alumni Association, the Board of Trustees of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, the Board of Directors of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, and the Nevada Board of Trustees for Olive Crest.
Bill Bachman, Senior Consultant, Scientific Games
Bill Bachman has been active in the casino industry since 2004. Bill joined MGM Resorts International in 2008, where he started as an analyst in the corporate marketing division. Here, Bachman was responsible for creating reports for both the hotel and casino verticals of the business, which included a portfolio of 10 properties in state and five out of state. From corporate marketing, Bachman was promoted to marketing manager for the Bellagio, where his focus was on slot, table, and hotel database marketing, along with the creation and execution of email and direct mail campaigns.
Leveraging an ever-expanding portfolio of qualifications ranging from analytics to special events, Bachman has thrived throughout the changing market conditions and has proven to be a valuable asset to various gaming institutions. In November 2013, Bachman obtained his MBA from the UNLV Executive MBA program.
Marco Benvenuti, Co-Founder & Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer, Duetto
As co-founder and chief marketing and strategy officer for Duetto, Marco guides product vision, direction and implementation. Prior to Duetto, he was Executive Director at Wynn and Encore resorts in Las Vegas, where he founded and managed the Enterprise Strategy Group. Marco was also recently named the Entrepreneur in Residence at Cornell University’s School of Hospitality Administration, and can be seen speaking or lecturing at industry events and hotel schools worldwide.
Bob Boughner, Partner, Global Market Advisors, Member, Boyd Gaming Board of Directors, and former President & CEO, The Borgata
Bob BoughnerBob Boughner brings 30 years of industry experience to his current roles as senior partner of Global Market Advisors (GMA), one of the world’s leading consulting firms serving the casino gaming, hospitality and airline industries. Prior to joining GMA, Boughner served as executive vice president and chief business development officer of Boyd Gaming Corporation. While at Boyd, he served in a variety of senior executive positions, including general manager of various properties, senior vice president of administration, and chief operating officer. In July 1996, he was elected to the company’s board of directors and remains on the board today.
In 1998, Boughner was appointed chief executive officer of Borgata where he directed the design, development and operations of the $1.6 billion integrated resort in Atlantic City. The Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa and The Water Club at Borgata became one of the most successful gaming destinations in North America.
Boughner led much of Boyd’s expansion into new markets and played key roles in the acquisition of several gaming properties across the United States. He has overseen the design and development of numerous gaming, dining, nightlife and entertainment venues. Boughner also has extensive experience in various administrative disciplines including information technologies, human resources, risk management and regulatory compliance.
Boughner is active in civic and industry affairs. He served two terms on the board of directors of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. He was appointed by the governor of New Jersey and served on the board of the Casino Reinvestment and Development Authority. In the private sector, Boughner served for 20 years as a director of Bank of Nevada, formerly BankWest. He currently serves on the board of Southwest Gas Corporation.
In 2007, as a part of Boughner’s philanthropic activity, he and the Harrah College of Hospitality at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) established the Bob Boughner Career Services Center at UNLV to assist students in the pursuit of employment in the hospitality, tourism, and gaming industry.
Drew Brunson, Vice President of ESports, Caesars Entertainment
Drew Brunson holds an M.B.A. in Marketing from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. From 2012 to 2015 he held positions in marketing for companies such as Hometown Discoveries Las Vegas, Serenity Mental Health and Newmark Grubb Knight Frank.
In 2014, Brunson co-founded Residential Rating Services, a strategic real estate consulting business to change the way consumers rent apartments, focused on the UNLV campus area. As Director of Residential Rating Services, Brunson oversees the day to day operation as well as the big picture trajectory of ResiRatings, handling the financial and marketing obligations focusing on a lean strategy for startup longevity.
Brunson joined Caesars Entertainment Corporation in 2017, working his way up from Esports Analyst to Esports Lead. He now heads Caesars strategy in this newly developed market.
Cath Burns, Senior Gaming Executive
Cath Burns is an experienced global senior executive with a consistent track record of initiating and delivering high growth, performance improvement and organizational change for Gaming and technology companies, large and small, in general management.
Most recently Burns was Senior Vice President, Gaming Systems at Scientific Games a worldwide leader in content, technology, and solutions that empower gaming, lottery and interactive customers. Headquartered in Las Vegas, with nearly 8,000 employees worldwide, Scientific Games serve customers from manufacturing and operational facilities on six continents.
Prior to that Burns was partner at Partis Solutions, the leading advisory firm providing both consulting and transactional services to the interactive real-money and social gaming industries. Partis Solutions is a sister company to Pentasia, the market leader in interactive gaming recruiting for over 10 years. Partis’ team of 30+ consultants has worked with more than 60 clients, on projects such as iGaming market entry for land casinos and suppliers, real-money strategies for social casino companies.
Prior to joining Partis Burns was CEO, TCSJOHNHUXLEY a leading casino gaming equipment manufacturer and supplier. With more than 20 years experience, holding senior positions in several worldwide gaming and technology companies. She came to TCSJOHNHUXLEY in March 2012.
Prior to this, she served as vice president Asia Pacific for Bally Technologies Inc., since 2006. At Bally, Burns established the company’s Asia Pacific head office in Macau for both its Gaming and Systems business operations. An incisive leader with a talent for driving change and growing profits, she was responsible for expanding the company’s business into new markets creating year-on-year growth with a multi-million dollar turnover. She forged excellent relations with distributors, suppliers and customers internationally as well as managing large-scale systems installation projects for many of Macau’s prestigious casinos. Burns is also credited with achieving the company’s re-entry into the Australia and New Zealand gaming markets.
She started her career at IBM Australia where she was an account and business development manager. From there she was the general manager, Australia and New Zealand and the director, international sales for Video Lottery Consultants for six years.
She was honored with a “2008 Great Women of Gaming – Proven Leader” award and “Leader of the Year (Land Based) at the Women in Gaming Awards 2013. In 2009 and 2010, she was listed in the Top 50 Most Influential People in Asian Gaming.
Burns was born in Canada and graduated from Flinders University of South Australia, with a BA in History & American Studies and from Central Connecticut State University with an MSc in International Studies. She has broad international working experience in Asia Pacific, USA, Macau, Africa, South America and Europe.
Andy Caras-Altas, CEO & Founder, TraffGen Global
Andy Caras-AltasAndy Caras-Altas is CEO & founder of TraffGen Global and is one of the leading authorities in player development marketing tools & technology. TraffGen has casino clients in North America, Europe and Asia. In Macau it is the market leader in Host Management & Player Development tools. Andy has helped to bring Artificial Intelligence, Big Data & Computer Vision to casinos great & small. He has spent two decades in casino gaming as an Exec and also an affiliate. His studies include BSc (Hons) Engineering Physics, MSc Advanced Manufacturing Systems & MBA.
Matt Davey, Chief Executive Officer at SG Digital
Matt Davey is Chief Executive Officer at SG Digital, a new division within Scientific Games which has become a leader in online gaming, sports and iLottery. Matt is responsible for leading SG Digital, which is the combination of two top-tier companies, NYX and SGI, and offers an unparalleled suite of engaging game content and product solutions. Matt was the co-founder of NextGen Gaming and has led NYX since its inception. He took NYX through its IPO and the major M&A activities.
John English, Partner, Global Market Advisors
John English is the Managing Director of Sports Betting and Technology at Global Market Advisors. He specializes in global business development for the regulated gaming industry, with emphasis on technology, content, and distribution, as well as public relations and contract negotiation in regulated gaming. English’s work history contains an extensive background in gaming, including lottery, AWP, slot machines, table games, sweepstakes, systems, and race and sports betting both digital and live.
Ben Fox, Partner, Gameacon
Ben Fox is a partner and producer for Gameacon, a conference that promotes artists in game creation by providing a space for them to showcase their work, the opportunity to reach an audience who craves to see it, and a forum to learn from each other.
Fox has been an entrepreneur his whole life. He is always looking to come up with the best solution to fill a need. When he saw that independent game designers needed an event like Gameacon, he immediately set out to create the most awesome event he could.
Jason Gastwirth, President of Entertainment, Caesars Entertainment
Jason GastwirthJason Gastwirth is President of Entertainment at Caesars Entertainment, where he is responsible for the live entertainment programming across the company’s close to 50 venues nationwide—with Caesars recognized as the #3 live entertainment promoter in the world based on ticket revenues—as well as the company’s brand alliances/sponsorship and tv and film production divisions inclusive of oversight of Caesars Entertainment Studios. Gastwirth spearheaded the successful launch of the world-class Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood that launched Britney Spears in the world’s first pop resident show as well as residencies featuring Jennifer Lopez, Lionel Richie, Pitbull and Backstreet Boys.
Prior to joining Caesars, Gastwirth served as the Chief Marketing Officer of the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas where he oversaw property marketing, hotel sales, revenue management, e-commerce, public relations, entertainment, sponsorship and call center operations. Gastwirth also worked at Las Vegas Sands Corp. as Vice President of Casino Marketing and Corporate Entertainment where he was responsible for expanding the VIP gaming customer base while negotiating entertainment deals for the company’s properties in Las Vegas, Macao and Singapore.
Before joining the hospitality and entertainment industry, Gastwirth held strategy positions in San Francisco and New York at Gap Inc. and management consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton. He earned his bachelor’s degree in government with honors at Harvard University and his MBA at Stanford University.
Gastwirth was recognized as “40 Under 40” by Vegas Inc. magazine in 2012. He has a wife and three daughters, and serves on the Southern Nevada Public Television Board of Directors, the American Cancer Society’s Southern Nevada Leadership Board, and gala organizing committee for the Tyler Robinson Foundation.
Alex Igelman, Executive Chairman, Millennial Esports
Alex Igelman is the executive chairman and founder of Millennial Esports Corporation. He is a seasoned gaming attorney and strategist with a focus on Esports and gaming.
Nick Ippolito, President, Player Development Systems, Inc.
Nick Ippolito has 25-plus years of extensive experience in the gaming industry. He has a proven record of leading, developing and coaching casino employees. Ippolito has extensive knowledge and experience in casino player development, casino marketing, casino sales, player development, slot marketing, national casino marketing and branch office management.
From his roots in Atlantic City to the vast experience on the Las Vegas Strip, leading up to the last five years, Ippolito has spent countless hours teaching player development in diverse outer markets and local properties all over North America and internationally.
Ippolito formulates, designs and executes his uniquely branded curriculum (one-on-one training and seminars) in telemarketing casino guests and player development. The telemarketing curriculum is not only formulated and designed specifically for calling casino guests, but it’s also completely casino-host friendly.
Rob Jacks, Vice President Of Professional Services, Agilysys
Rob Jacks was named Vice President of Professional Services at Agilysys in June of 2015 and is responsible for building and delivering a high-caliber team of quality solution specialists that cater to the needs of Agilysys customers. Prior to joining Agilysys, Rob worked as a Senior IT Executive with 25+ years’ experience in healthcare, manufacturing, hospitality, software development, retail, telecommunications, gaming, as well as distribution and consulting sectors.
Rob serves as a part of casino and gambling executives organizations including, Tribal Net Board, University of Oklahoma CMISS, IBM Business Analytics Advisory Board, the International Association of Gaming Advisors and The Gaming and Leisure Board. He is the recipient of multiple awards for his contributions including: The Premier 100 Information Technology Leader 2009 – Computer World Magazine; the 2011, 2012, & 2013 IBM Business Champion – Business Analytics; and the 2011 Ventana Research Leadership Award.
Rob has a BBA in Accounting from the University of Montevallo as well as an MBA from Samford University.
Marilyn Janssen, Vice President, Marketing Operations, Caesars Entertainment
Marilyn Janssen is the VP of marketing operations for Caesars Entertainment where she works on bringing innovative marketing technology to life. Janssen knows that data insights coupled with real time marketing is key to changing customer behavior. She was the project manager for the first real time customer relationship marketing system for Caesars which sparked her passion for technology innovation. She has gained a vast amount of knowledge across the gaming industry having worked in finance, revenue management, information technology and marketing for Caesars. Marilyn holds a degree in economics from the University of Chicago.
Christopher Justice, President, Global Payments Gaming Solutions
Lana Kotur, Senior Director, Customer Success, VizExplorer
Based in Las Vegas, Lana Kotur is the senior director of customer success for VizExplorer, an industry leader offering Operational Intelligence solutions to the casino, sports, and entertainment industries.
Kotur leads a team of industry specialists encompassing all aspects of VizExplorer’s Customer Success program from the sales cycle through the successful completion of all engagement objectives. Prior to joining VizExplorer Kotur’s more than 17 years of progressive leadership experience in the casino industry spans all aspects of casino operations including hotel, casino marketing, and training departments, for Caesars Entertainment. It is there where she developed her interest and expertise in marketing and player development analytics. Kotur received her MSA from Lindenwood University.
Gregory Lisa, Partner, Hogan Lovells US, LLP
Gregory Lisa is a partner at Hogan Lovells US, LLP, a global law firm. He uses his extensive firsthand experience in anti-money laundering and consumer protection to help financial institution clients navigate the complex regulations and expectations of regulators, examination teams, and law enforcement agencies, civil and criminal. He specializes in anti-money laundering, particularly in the casino and FinTech space.
Before joining Hogan Lovells, Lisa was the Interim Director of the Office of Compliance and Enforcement at the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the Treasury Department’s lead regulator for overseeing and enforcing anti-money laundering laws. Lisa also served as the Chief of the Money Services Businesses and Casinos Section within FinCEN’s Enforcement Division. During his tenure, he supervised and conducted a number of investigations, supervisory exams, and enforcement actions across FinCEN’s broad jurisdiction.
Prior to his work at FinCEN, Lisa helped to “stand up” the Office of Enforcement at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Before then, he served at the U.S. Department of Justice for 12 years, first in the Civil Division, and then for almost 10 years in the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Racketeering Section as a federal prosecutor investigating and prosecuting organized crime, public corruption, violent crime, and money laundering.
Lisa is an Advisory Committee Member of the Institute for Certified Gaming Industry Professionals (ICGIP). He is the author of several gaming-related publications, and a frequent speaker and panelist at casino conferences, including the Casino Essentials Annual Las Vegas Anti-Money Laundering Conference; the Global Gaming Expo (G2E); the Niagara Falls AML Seminar and Workshop; the 2018 Tribal Casino BSA/AML Working Group; the American Gaming Association’s Anti-Money Laundering Summit; and other gaming-related events, seminars, and conferences.
Mark Lipparelli, Founder Gioco Ventures, LLC
Mark Lipparelli is a former member of the Nevada State Senate and the founder and CEO of Gioco Ventures, LLC, a gaming software company established in 2007.
Lipparelli has a long history in the gaming industry, having served as Chairman and Board Member of the Nevada Gaming Control Board. He served as an Executive Vice President of Planning and Strategy of Bally Technologies, Inc. He served as a senior executive for several publicly traded gaming manufacturers including Bally Technologies, Shuffle Master and Casino Data Systems.
Lipparelliis is a Member of the Board of Directors for Golden Entertainment Inc., and has served as a Board Trustee for the University of Nevada Foundation as well as Board Member and Vice Chairman for Gaming Standards Association.
Lipparelli served as Republican Senator for the state of Nevada from 2014 to 2016.
Charlie Lombardo, Casino Consultant and former Senior Vice President of Slots for Seminole Gaming and Caesars Palace
Charles Lombardo is a former senior vice president of gaming operations at Seminole Gaming, Florida, and senior vice president of slot operations for Caesars Palace, Bally’s and Paris Las Vegas.
Lombardo is presently a gaming consultant and a special gaming advisor to Seminole Gaming and Hard Rock International. Primary responsibilities for Seminole and Hard Rock may include all aspects of new property openings, expansion projects for existing casinos, game development, analytics, regulations and compliance.
As a gaming consultant, he has provided operational guidance and control on all aspects of casino and slot operations, including changes to new and present casinos, expansions, floor layouts, product selections, analytics, marketing, regulations and new opportunities. Lombardo has assisted casinos as a consultant in several gaming jurisdictions on new casino construction, expansions, remodels and renovations including the final selections of all slots and gaming products. He is knowledgeable in Class II and Class lll Gaming. He has over 40 years of experience in the casino gaming industry.
Oliver Lovat, Founder and Managing Director, Denstone REA
Oliver Lovat is a founder and current Managing Director of Denstone REA. By training he is Chartered Surveyor (FRICS Property Finance and Investment) with demonstrable track record in real estate investment and asset management across Europe.
Lovat is visiting faculty and lecturer on Strategic Marketing at Cass Business School, City University of London, Property Performance Measurement and Asset Management at the University College of Estate Management and The PLuS+ Centre for Executive Education at the UNLV.
He has spoken at conferences including G2E, ICE, GiGSe and has featured in publications as diverse as Gambling Insider, The Investment Property Forum Journal and Global Gaming Business.
Lovat holds a BA in politics and international relations, an MSc in real estate investment from the University of Reading and an MBA from Cass Business School in London with a focus on strategy and finance. His published academic work is on strategic competitive advantage and the behavior and attitudes of millennials.
Having spent 15 years in London, Lovat moved to Las Vegas in 2015. He is active in his community and acts as a vice president of the Economic Club of Las Vegas.
Michael McNamee, President, Bay Group Consulting
Michael McNamee is president of Bay Group Consulting. McNamee has held executive marketing roles with Caesars World, Ameristar Casinos, Sun International and American Gaming. With over 34 years of experience in the gaming industry, McNamee has a reputation for repeatedly creating improved profits for underperforming properties and programs. He has built and developed great casino marketing teams through his career. McNamee’s vast experience has led to operational innovations and breakthrough programs in marketing such as the centralized, brand wide player development program at Ameristar Casinos (referenced as a new standard for measurement in the industry).
McNamee has consulted in numerous gaming jurisdictions throughout the United States as well as international ventures in Australia, Canada, South Africa, and South America. He earned his MBA from Temple University and is a Certified Professional Life Coach. McNamee is the author of the popular casino industry book, Understanding Casino Marketing, which has been endorsed both nationally and internationally by universities and marketing professionals alike.
David Norton, Chairman and Chief Marketing Officer, GALE
David Norton is the chairman and chief marketing officer of GALE, which helps clients transform their businesses by bringing together the expertise of a top management consultancy with the creativity of an ad agency, backed by strong digital and data analytics capabilities.
Prior to that, Norton spent 12+ years at Harrah’s/Caesars Entertainment as the chief marketing officer, where he was the architect of the company’s loyalty program Total Rewards, its CRM capabilities and analytic approach that are well-known and respected. He also led brand, advertising, digital, multi-cultural marketing, hotel revenue management, sales, retail stores and entertainment. He was recognized as the CMO and Direct Marketer of the year in 2010 by CMO Magazine and Target Marketing respectively.
Prior to Harrah’s he worked at MBNA and American Express, and he is a member of the board of directors of a diverse set of companies including Home Care Assistance, Buzz Points, NVision Lasik Centers, Learners Edge and Carepoynt. He has a BS in Finance from Boston College, an MBA from Loyola in Baltimore and a Masters in Technology Management from the University of Pennsylvania
In November 2017, David released a book with McGraw Hill called The High Roller Experience, which provides insight on the marketing, analytic and digital expertise and organizational processes required to transform the customer experience and enhance marketing efficiency.
Joe Pappano, Senior Vice President, Worldpay
Joe PappanoJoe Pappano is Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Worldpay Gaming. His responsibilities include corporate business development, strategic sales, process improvement, administration, long-term vision, and overall direction for Worldpay Gaming.
Joe joined Vantiv in 1992 and possesses in-depth knowledge of all facets of the payments industry from merchant acquiring and card issuing, to agent banks and mobile payments. His primary focus is on helping Casino, iGaming, Lottery, ADW, and Social Gaming operators build strategic payments programs.
Melissa Price, Senior Vice President, Caesars Entertainment Corporation
Melissa Price leads a centralized team at Caesars Entertainment that drives product strategy (table games, slots, systems), new innovation and experiential offerings across 40 domestic casinos. Recent work driving centralized strategies earned her the Excellence in Leadership Award, which is the highest honor Caesars employees can receive and the winners are personally selected by Caesars CEO.
Price is a seasoned executive in the gaming industry with broad experience as both a supplier and operator. She has been active as a board member with the Gaming Standard Association (GSA) and participated on the G2E Advisory Board. She is the recipient of the 2011 Great Women in Gaming, Proven Leader Award. She is a regular speaker at industry events and recently added inventor to her list of accomplishments.
Her career has been focused on operational leadership including the following experiences:
• Management of annual budgets up to $200 million
• Broad leadership scope of 100+ direct/indirect/stakeholders
• General Manager of a custom manufacturing facility
• Thirteen restaurants openings
• Entrepreneur, opening and operating two retail business
• Real estate management
Tim Richards, Chief Product Strategy Officer, Everi Holdings Inc.
Tim Richards is Chief Product Strategy Officer at Everi Holdings Inc. His long career in the gaming industry includes General Manager at Gaming Systems International, VP of Marketing at Progressive Gaming International Corp., Director of Table Games for International Game Technology (IGT) and VP of Product Management for Interblock-USA.
In 2011, Richards joined Global Cash Access and served as SVP of Product Development and later GM/SVP Interactive Solutions.
Richards joined Everi Holdings in 2015 as SVP Payments Innovation and became Chief Product Strategy Officer two years later. He is a graduate of the University of Nevada-Las Vegas with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Hotel/Motel Administration/Management.
Lee Richardson, Founder and CEO of Gaming Economics
Lee Richardson graduated with an MBA from the University of Strathclyde and is a fellow of the UK Chartered Institute of Marketing.
Richardson held senior marketing and commercial roles with the Hertz Corporation in both the UK and Europe, while over the past 15 years has had CEO/COO positions with Tote Direct, Coral-Eurobet plc, Chartwell Games International, Boylesports and ONEworks. During this time, he has managed trading rooms in the UK, Gibraltar and Ireland, and led the team that developed the Tote Scoop6, the first new TV horseracing bet in 25 years.
Currently, Richardson is the founder and CEO of Gaming Economics, an international e-gaming consultancy and advisory business. He is also a business mentor with Bright Ideas Trust, an award-winning UK charity that provides start-up finance and business advice for young entrepreneurs.
Robert Rippee, Director, Hospitality Lab, UNLV International Gaming Institute
Robert Rippee is the Director of the newly formed Hospitality Lab at the International Gaming Institute.
Rippee is a technology and hospitality consultant with Elysian LLC. He is the former senior vice president of marketing for Las Vegas Sands Corporation. He brings more than 25 years of innovation experience in hospitality along with a powerful network of advisors and mentors across venture capital, big tech, big hospitality, and gaming. He serves as a board advisor and consultant to several early stage technology startup companies. Rippee has provided CXO consulting and mentoring to both startups and growth stage enterprises as well as consulting services on innovative thinking and product development to mature brands.
Rippee holds an MBA in Operations Management from the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business and an undergraduate degree in Finance from The University of Wyoming. Throughout his business career, he has received several prestigious industry awards and he’s been tapped as a thought leader and asked to lecture at organizations as diverse at the Luxury Marketing Council in Manhattan to The Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University.
He is a Veteran, serving as a Pilot in the United States Navy.
Anna Romanova, Senior Vice President, Europe/Middle East Marketing, Aria Las Vegas
Anna Romanova is senior vice president of Europe/Middle East marketing at Aria Las Vegas. She is the recognized casino expert on player development in those regions. After studying at the University of Foreign Languages in Moscow, Romanova worked for London Clubs in the U.K. She later moved to Las Vegas and worked in a series of casinos including the Sheraton Desert Inn, Mirage, Bellagio and Caesars Palace. She has also studied at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Vic Salerno, President, USBookmaking
Victor Salerno is a 38-year veteran of the race and sports book industry in the state of Nevada. Salerno was the chairman of the board and chief executive officer of American Wagering, Inc., until the company was sold to William Hill in July 2012. American Wagering, Inc. operated over 90 sports book operations in Nevada, in addition to Computerized Bookmaking Systems, which provided a computerized wagering and accounting systems to most of the casinos in Nevada. Upon the sale of American Wagering, Salerno became chairman of the board of William Hill US until February 2016.
Salerno currently serves as president of USBookmaking and USFantasySports. Launched in June of 2016, USFantasy Sports is a provider of state regulated Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) contests in Nevada and Colorado. USFantasy Sports is a skill-based daily fantasy wagering platform that combines elements of the traditional regulated pari-mutuel system with traditional DFS contests, which creates a fair, easy and transparent environment for all contestants. Just like in DFS, players score points based on their performance in a live game and participants can enter contests for athletes to Win, Place or Show among other multi-selection contests. USBookmaking is a sports book operator with an agreement in New Mexico to operate a sports book for the Santa Ana Pueblo.
Salerno is a legend in the race and sports book industry and is credited with initiating projects that grew Nevada sports wagering to its current success and popularity, including: first computerized book making systems (CBS), first sports bookmaking network hub operation in Nevada (Leroy’s), and recently expanded the sports wagering business with the launch of the very successful Leroy’s mobile sports wagering app. He also pioneered the development and use of self-service race & sports kiosks. On behalf of Nevada gaming industry trade associations, Salerno served as president of the Nevada Association of Race and Sports Operators, and as a member of the Nevada Pari-Mutuel Association’s Rates Committee. Mr. Salerno was inducted in 2015 into the American Gaming Association’s exclusive “Gaming Hall of Fame.”
Omer Sattar, Co-founder and Executive Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at Sightline Payments LLC
Omer Sattar is co-founder and executive vice president of strategic initiatives at Sightline Payments LLC and served as its executive vice president. Sattar has over eight years operations experience in the gaming payment industry. Sattar, for the past two years served as the president of UB Ventures a service provider to the prepaid card industry. Prior to this role he was a senior vice-president of operations for Global Cash Access Inc. (GCA). In this role he had P&L responsibility for over $500 million in revenue. Sattar was an integral part of the team that successfully launched GCA’s products and services in Macau, France, Switzerland, Belgium, and South Africa. Prior to joining GCA, Mr. Sattar served as a vice president of product development and sourcing at Phoenician Imports, Inc. In this capacity Sattar has extensive experience living and working in mainland China. Sattar started his career in debt capital markets and healthcare corporate and investment banking with Wachovia Securities.
Elena Shampaner, Vice President, Strategic Initiatives, Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc.
Currently, as vice president of strategic initiatives at Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc., Elena Shampaner oversees the company’s growth initiatives within non-gaming areas (F&B, retail). She works cross-functionally throughout the company to analyze the marketplace and shape the company’s strategies to capture profitable non-gaming revenue growth. Prior to joining Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc., Shampaner held various business development roles at Caesars Entertainment and MGM Resorts International. Holds a Ph.D. and a Master of Science in Hospitality Administration from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Angela Segovia, Director, Product Marketing, Everi Payments
Angela Segovia is Director, Product Marketing at Everi Payments, responsible for the development and execution of overall positioning, messaging and integrated marketing for all cash access, compliance and intelligence products. Before moving into her current role, Angela was integral to leading the execution of Everi’s interactive payments efforts in the iLottery space as well as various special projects.
Prior to joining Everi, Angela held a variety of senior positions in the education, telecom and technology industries. She earned a Master of Library Science degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo and a Master of Arts in Educational Counseling degree from the University at Phoenix.
Dr. Stowe Shoemaker, Dean of the William F. Harrah College of Hospitality and a Lincy Professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Dr. Stowe Shoemaker (Ph.D., Cornell University) is the Dean of the William F. Harrah College of Hospitality and a Lincy Professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, with extensive background in pricing, revenue management, consumer behavior, and customer loyalty programs. He has worked with British Airways on their pricing strategy and trained all their revenue managers. He also worked with Accor, Hilton, Landry’s, and Hyatt on their loyalty programs.
During his career, Dr. Shoemaker has helped game developers test market new casino games (both slot machines and table games), developed programs to measure customer satisfaction, modeled the success and failure of marketing promotions, and developed segmentation strategies based on motivations for gambling.
Dr. Shoemaker’s research has won numerous awards, and he has published two marketing textbooks: Marketing Leadership in Hospitality and Tourism: Strategies and Tactics for a Competitive Advantage and Marketing Essentials in Hospitality and Tourism: Foundations and Practices.
Since 1996 Dr. Shoemaker has been on the executive education faculty of Cornell University where he has taught courses in strategic pricing, revenue management, strategic marketing for hotels and restaurants, and customer loyalty.
Dr. Shoemaker has incorporated his knowledge of hospitality to help healthcare professionals work on patient satisfaction. He held a joint appointment at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and is currently working with them on other research. Locally, he is working with UNLV Medical School.
Rahul Sood, CEO, Unikrn
Rahul Sood is the CEO and founder of Unikrn, a gaming and esports company based in Seattle.
He was also the founder of luxury computer creator VoodooPC (est 1991), Voodoo was acquired by Hewlett-Packard. Sood spent 18 years as an entrepreneur before joining Microsoft. At Microsoft he worked with startups and entrepreneurs, and created and lead Microsoft Ventures. He is also an investor and advisor at Vrvana and on the board of advisors for Razer.
Sood resigned from Microsoft in November 2014 to build Unikrn, an esports company with offices in Berlin, Seattle, Sydney and soon to be Las Vegas.
Tom Soukup, Sr. Vice President & Chief Systems Product Officer, Konami Gaming
Tom Soukup is responsible for the development of all components of the comprehensive SYNKROS casino management system. He oversees Konami’s systems product vision to provide accurate, robust, real-time casino enterprise management to properties of all specialties and sizes. Soukup joined Konami Gaming, Inc. in 2001 with more than 20 years’ experience in the field of computer science including a position as a senior systems engineer in advanced technology. He is also the author of the book Visual Data Mining: Tools and Techniques for Data Visualization and Mining. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in computer science and holds a master’s degree in Mathematics and Computer Science.
Steve Sirianni, Vice President of Slot Operations and Marketing, MGM Grand Hotel & Casino Las Vegas
Steve Sirianni is vice president of slot operations and marketing at MGM Grand Hotel & Casino Las Vegas. Sirianni has a long and successful career in the casino industry, having served as vice president of slot operations and marketing at Monte Carlo Resort & Casino, as well as director of slot operations at Bellagio. He was director of database marketing and a slot marketing manager at ARIA Resort & Casino. Before that he served as slot operations assistant manager for MGM Resorts International.
Sirianni is a graduate of University of Nevada Las Vegas Lee Business School.
Kevin Sweet, Vice President Of Slot Operations and Marketing, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas
Kevin Sweet serves as vice president of slot operations and marketing at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, where he oversees the corporate slot strategy, including the casino layout, purchasing of machines, the rewards program and all slot marketing events, for the 3,027-room resort located at the heart of the Las Vegas Strip. Sweet has played an integral part in the new strategic direction of the 100,000-square-foot casino as well as the redesign of its Identity Membership & Rewards program.
From a young age, Sweet always knew he wanted to work in the gaming industry. His passion for the field paired with his slot operations knowledge and experience has allowed him to elevate the casino’s current offerings for players while providing an unparalleled gaming experience for every guest. In just a few months, Sweet reinvented the resort’s Identity Membership & Rewards program to ensure that it gives gamers significantly more for their play than any other property on the Las Vegas Strip. Additionally, Sweet has increased the number of favorable games on the casino floor that allow for higher bets from players.
Prior to joining The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Sweet was the vice president of corporate slot performance at Seminole Tribe of Florida. In this role, he was responsible for the corporate slot strategy for seven casinos with more than 12,500 slot machines and a combined yearly net slot win of over $1.6 billion. Through his leadership, Sweet helped the casino save nearly $3 million in lease fees each month by spearheading a strategy of purchasing slot machines rather than leasing gaming products.
Additionally, Sweet was the executive director of global slot operations for Las Vegas Sands, where he oversaw a $40 million slot budget for a number of the company’s jurisdictions including Macau, China and Singapore. He has also served as director of slot operations at Aria Resort & Casino where he oversaw the management for all corporate progressives, capital budgeting, property allocations and participation contract negotiations. Sweet also worked as a slot operations manager at Bellagio Resort & Casino and Treasure Island Hotel & Casino.
Sweet graduated magna cum laude from West Virginia University with a Bachelor of Science in business administration.
Ayman Taha, Vice President, Enterprise Technology Solutions & Innovation, MGM Resorts International
Ayman Taha recently joined MGM Resorts International as vice president of enterprise technology solutions and innovation, heading solutions development, information management and enterprise architecture.
Taha comes to MGM Resorts with more than 23 years of experience in information technology. He spent the last 17 years serving in various leadership roles with Avnet, Inc.—one of the world’s largest distributors of electronic components and embedded solutions—and worked most recently as the company’s vice president and head of global digital transformation, innovation and solutions delivery. He successfully led the delivery of multiple award-winning solutions. Among the awards he brought to Taha are the Innovation Award in IT Transformation in 2012 from SoftwareAG, and the CIO100 award for leading the delivery of an in-memory enterprise booking and pricing engine in 2015.
In his current role at MGMRI, Taha is responsible for driving technology product strategy and innovation by defining and executing the technology vision for the company, leading the enterprise architecture organization in setting technology standards; solutions delivery and lifecycle management of home grown technologies; and enabling MGMRI become a data driven organization through collaboration with the enterprise analytics organization.
Taha brings a wealth of information technology knowledge in solutions architecture, integration, enterprise data management, solutions delivery and IT operations across diverse areas of technology.
Taha attended ASU in Arizona for an MS degree in computer science and AAST in Alexandria, Egypt for a BE degree in electronics and communication.
Ralph Thomas, Ph.D, Chief Data Scientist, VizExplorer
Dr. Thomas is Chief Data Scientist at VizExplorer, a software company specializing in operational intelligence solutions for casinos. A gaming industry veteran, Dr. Thomas has substantial experience implementing analytics into single and multi-property gaming companies to drive tangible and measurable gains to the bottom line.
Prior to joining VizExplorer, he was the VP of Strategic Analysis and Database Marketing at Seminole Gaming, where he helped oversee seven properties in the Florida market. He also spent four years in various roles at Station Casinos in Las Vegas. He understands gaming from raw data up through casino operations, giving him a unique, 360 degree view of the industry, which he applies daily in the development of VizExplorer solutions. His specialties include areas of Data Warehouse and Business Intelligence Tools, Casino Marketing, Database Marketing, Strategic Analytics, Casino Gaming Operations, Casino Gaming Floor Design. Dr. Thomas has a B.A. & M.S. of Mathematics from the University of Chicago, a M.Phl. of Mathematics from Princeton University, and a Ph.D. in Pure & Applied Mathematics from UNLV., the first such Ph.D. awarded in the state of Nevada.
Kurt Williams, Co-Founder and CEO, Casino Cash Trac
As the co-founder and CEO of Casino Cash Trac (CCT), Kurt Williams leads the development and execution of the company’s long-term strategy. He enjoys being engaged directly with CCT’s customers and brings a hands-on approach to solving problems, developing strategies and improving processes that will enable CCT’s customers to advance towards operational excellence.
Williams is a CPA and has 20 years of experience in accounting, finance, business valuation, business consulting and business management. Prior to founding CCT, he got his introduction into the gaming industry while conducting forensic audits for casinos and providing turnaround management for troubled casinos.
Brian Wyman, Ph.D, Principal, Innovation Analytics
Dr. Brian Wyman, Principal Consultant at Innovation Analytics, is an analytics and data science executive with over a decade of experience transforming data into actionable intelligence, insights, and ultimately bottom-line results. He holds a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Michigan and specializes in advanced modeling and predictive methods, which he uses to develop creative and innovative ways to improve financial performance. Brian’s career has spanned industries ranging from hospitality to finance, most recently overseeing marketing and gaming analytics for Pinnacle Entertainment.
Jackie Yee, Senior Asian Player Development / Marketing Executive
Jackie Yee has decades of experience in Asian player development. He started his career at Caesars Atlantic City and Caesars World where he rose to become vice president of Far East operations during his seven years with the company. Later, he joined Sun International as senior vice president for Far East operations, promoting that company’s South African casino resort. He’s also worked as a junket operator, a marketing executive and a consultant for Asian-themed slot content. Most recently her served as vice president of Far East marketing for SLS Las Vegas. Today, he consults with several casinos on developing Asian play and setting up operations to serve the Asian customer.
Alvin Zayas, Director of Cage & Credit Operations, Pechanga Resort & Casino
Al Zayas is director of cage and credit operations for Pechanga Resort and Casino. A U.S. Army veteran, Zayas started his career in the banking industry for 10 years becoming the leader of branch operations and manager of the of the largest cash vault in the state of Nevada. Now, with 32 years in the gaming industry all in cage and credit operations, Zayas has worked in almost every casino environment. He has managed the openings of three gaming properties, and directed the first California Native American credit department. Zayas has received four certifications from the American Institute of Banking, including “Advanced Banking Management”. He has attended Clark Country Community College and UNLV.
