Season: 2019

A team member for over 35 years, Julie Brinkerhoff-Jacobs is president and CFO for Lifescapes International and effectively focuses on guiding the company towards the future. She is a frequent speaker at industry events and has authored numerous articles on real estate and demographic trends.

A graduate of Cal State University Sonoma, Julie is actively involved in organizations such as the Urban Land Institute (member of Global Program Committee, the Entertainment Council, and Women’s Leadership Initiative), International Council of Shopping Centers, and co-founder of HomeAid America.

Bob 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.

Susan Bonds is co-founder and CEO of 42 Entertainment, leading the innovation evolution, from alternate reality games to deeply immersive entertainment experiences that engage millions of people worldwide, Susan has focused 42 to take advantage of what she calls “true convergence”—the social, technological, gaming and story alignment that enables 42 to give you a role in The Dark Knight, Halo, The Human Preservation Project, or NIN’s Year Zero on an unprecedented scale.

Starting with ilovebees, Susan has developed/produced all of 42’s transmedia experiences, including the critically acclaimed Why So Serious?, Year Zero, Flynn Lives, The Human Preservation Project, Mouth-Taped-Shut, The Vanishing Point and, most recently, Random Acts of Fusion. As a systems engineer by training, she first worked in aerospace at Lockheed’s Advanced Development Projects—the famed “skunk works”—before beginning her career in experiential narrative at Walt Disney Imagineering in 1990.

“Disneyland is about bringing stories to life,” she says. “That’s also true about our multi-platform experiences-you are the star of the story.” As an Imagineer, she developed/produced the groundbreaking Indiana Jones Adventure at Disneyland and Mission: SPACE at Epcot.

Following Disney, she spent two years producing a Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) game at Cyan Worlds—the company behind Riven and Myst, two of the most popular PC games of all time—before launching 42 Entertainment in 2004.

Steve Bodmer has served as an in-house attorney with the Pechanga Office of the General Counsel (“POGC”) for the past 5 years, joining as Deputy General Counsel in 2011 and currently serving as General Counsel.

Steve is an enrolled member of the Edisto Natchez-Kusso Tribe of South Carolina. He received his Juris Doctor from Arizona State University College of Law, where he also received the Indian Legal Program Certificate for extensive study in the area of Federal Indian law.

Prior to joining POGC, Steve worked in Washington, D.C. on Indian law matters, practiced Indian law in the private practice setting in Phoenix, Arizona, and served as General Counsel for a tribe in Central California. In his role as General Counsel, Steve provides legal counsel to the Tribal Council, the Tribal Government and each of its departments.

In addition to his responsibilities over Pechanga Tribal Government legal matters, Steve also oversees the legal affairs of the largest casino and resort in California, the Pechanga Resort & Casino, and provides legal counsel to the Pechanga Development Corporation.

Among other areas of practice, Steve specializes in federal Indian law, gaming law, tribal governance, and tribal economic development. Steve is a founding executive board member of the Native American Bar Association of Arizona and is licensed to practice law in California, Arizona, and Washington, D.C.

With an impressive career spanning nearly three decades, James Beard Award Nominee Elizabeth Blau is the founder and CEO of restaurant development company Blau + Associates, and is widely credited with transforming Las Vegas into the world-class culinary destination it is today. A renowned restaurateur, Blau’s skilled touch defines her work in Las Vegas and around the world.

Jan Jones Blackhurst is a long-time political and business leader who has left an indelible imprint on the lives of millions of people. In 1991, Jan broke the glass ceiling as Las Vegas’ first female mayor. Under Jan’s leadership the city experienced tremendous growth, making her one of the Las Vegas’ most popular mayors to date. She then joined Caesars Entertainment, where she grew the industry’s first Responsible Gaming practices to include an ambassador model for the gaming industry and the first industry code of commitment. Jan is also known and respected for her efforts to create a diverse and inclusive workplace, advancing environmental stewardship, advocating for important social issues and giving millions of dollars to individuals, families, and communities in need.

Under Jan’s Leadership at Caesars Entertainment Corporation:

• Caesars was the first casino in the industry to roll out a code of commitment under their corporate integrity standards
• Energy, water use and greenhouse gas emissions have dropped significantly over the last eight years across the Caesars Enterprise
• Employee diversity has increased, with 41 percent of management positions held by women and 57 percent of employees from diverse backgrounds
• Employee engagement has been its highest, driven by a volunteer program where employees have donated over 400,000 hours a year to both company and community causes

Through Jan’s guidance, Caesars Entertainment has earned a 100 percent perfect score in the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index for 10 consecutive years. Jan has channeled her passion for charitable causes through her role as Chair of the Caesars Foundation, which strengthens communities through philanthropic activities and corporate gifts totaling $66 million since 2013. Jan participates extensively in university speaking engagements and lecture series throughout the country and has also helped establish the International Gaming Institution Center of Excellence at the University of Nevada – Las Vegas.

Before joining Caesars in 1999, Jan served two terms as Mayor of Las Vegas. She was the city’s first female chief executive and one of its most popular mayors, having been re-elected in 1995 by a 72 percent margin. While in office, Jan presided over an unprecedented period of economic, social and cultural expansion. She spearheaded a massive and redevelopment effort in the city’s once-neglected downtown neighborhood and was among the first mayors in the country to advocate for LGBT rights and issues as early as 1991.

Jan serves on the Board of Directors for the U. S. Chamber of Commerce, and the Global Fairness Initiative. Additionally, she serves on several boards as chairwoman including the Nevada Resort Association, Las Vegas Stadium Authority, and is also a member of the Women’s Leadership Board at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

She has received many recognitions and accolades including the Americanism Award from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the Woman of Diversity Award for “100 Years of Influence – Women Shaping the First 100 Years of Las Vegas”, Outstanding Service in a Land-based Industry from Totally Gaming, PR News CSR Professional of the Year and was named by the Las Vegas Business Press as one of its “Women Who Mean Business.” Jan has been honored by the American Diabetes Association and the “I Have a Dream” Foundation, and named Humanitarian of the Year in 1998 by the Muscular Dystrophy Association. In 2014, she was one of the first women to be inducted into the American Gaming Association (AGA) Gaming Hall of Fame. More recently, she has earned the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Latin Chamber of Commerce, the Dom Pérignon Award of Excellence from UNLVino, the Diversity Hero Award from PR Week and was honored by ACLU for Community Equality.

Jan Jones Blackhurst holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Stanford University and attended the University of Southern California’s School of Food Marketing Management.

Max Bichselm is US Director at Kambi. Bichsel oversees a data and sports betting services operation that is at the core of legal sports wagering.

Prior to joining Kambi in 2018, Bichselm was Sales Director at Selligent, and held executive positions at Powa Technologies and HookLogic Inc.

He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Texas Christian University — M.J. Neeley School of Business.

Mark Birtha was appointed President of Hard Rock Sacramento in 2018. He holds overall responsibility of the premier gaming, dining and entertainment destination.

Birtha is a seasoned veteran in the gaming and hospitality field with more than 25 years of experience, most recently as the president of Hard Rock Rocksino Northfield Park where he oversaw the operations for the market-leading and award-winning property.

Since the start of his career, Birtha has been dedicated to operations and development at leading casino and hotel companies across the U.S., including Hard Rock International, Mirage Resorts, Las Vegas Sands, Station Casinos, Marriott International and Starwood. He has also managed operations in destination, regional and local markets, as well as Native American Gaming enterprises.

Prior to joining Hard Rock International, Birtha was vice president and general manager at Station Casinos. Before his tenure with Station Casinos, Birtha was president of Sol Casinos and the AVA Amphitheater, where he focused on the strategic vision for the organization. In addition, he oversaw the design, construction and operations of Casino Del Sol’s $130 million Four Star/Four Diamond hotel resort expansion development.

Along with leading Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sacramento at Fire Mountain, Birtha is also the main point of contact in the new partnership between The Seminole Tribe of Florida, owners of Hard Rock International, and Enterprise Rancheria – marking a historic partnership between two Native American Tribes.

Birtha holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the Hotel School at Cornell University, along with an impressive resume of honors and achievements throughout his career. He has been recognized as a G2E “Industry Executive Ambassador,” in 2015, as one of the “Faces of Cleveland 2016,” a 2017 Human Rights Campaign Ohio honoree/speaker, the honorary chair of the 2017 Urban League of Cleveland’s 100th Anniversary Gala, a 2017 Susan G. Komen NE Ohio “Pink Tie Guy” award recipient, the 2018 Employer Support of Guard and Reserve of Ohio honoree and keynote speaker and a 2018 Urban League of Akron “President’s Award for Community Leadership” recipient.

Jeffery Berns is Executive Director of Casino Operations and Director of Slot Operations at Morongo Casino Resort & Spa.

Berns has over 16 years in the casino industry, serving as Slot Director at Casino Pauma, as well as a Slot Director at two gaming properties under Gila River Gaming Enterprises.

Dike Bacon is a principal and the planning and business development leader at HBG Design, a leading gaming and hospitality planning, architecture and interior design firm. In this role, Bacon is focused on influencing and aligning the firm’s expertise, multiple disciplines and national presence with client objectives and vision. His direct professional practice experience spans 38 years.