Season: 2019

Michael Volkert is a senior executive with almost two decades of gaming and hospitality experience. He has a strong track record of starting, opening, and improving profitability of gaming resorts. During his tenure he has opened two luxury megaresorts and developed RFP’s for expansion in to several markets both domestic and international. Michael has had the opportunity to work in a high-end destination market as well as gaining local and regional experience. He has worked or had assignments in Las Vegas, Singapore, Macau, Detroit, Biloxi, and Florida.

Michael is currently the Senior Vice President of Relationship Marketing for Venetian/Palazzo. Previously Michael was the President of Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood. In this role, he successfully repositioned the brand and grew EBITDA. Prior to this role, Michael was part of the pre-opening team that developed, planned, and opened Aria Resort & Casino. Aria is a 4,004 room luxury resort located at the heart of City Center with over a billion dollars in revenue. Building on this experience, Michael also opened Bellagio Resort & Casino. During his tenure with MGM Resorts, he had responsibilities for marketing and casino operations at both the property and corporate level.

The combined opening, operational, and marketing knowledge has developed a strong foundation of skills in market assessment, gaming operations, strategic planning, and brand building.

Missy Tracy is the Municipal Relations Coordinator at Ho-Chunk Gaming Madison and a tribal member of the Ho-Chunk Nation. Her career spans three decades in business with 22 years of management experience. For the past ten years, Missy has worked for Indian country in Public Relations, Training, Regulation and Community Relations. She was the Senior Public Relations Manager for Ho-Chunk Gaming’s site in Wisconsin Dells wherein she executed an award winning strategic public relations program which won accolades from the Central Wisconsin Community Action Council, the Red Cross, and the Baraboo Chamber of Commerce. Missy has served as the Seminar Director at the National Indian Gaming Association (NIGA Seminar Institute) in Washington, D. C. Missy continues to serve on the board for the Wisconsin Council on Problem Gambling since 2009 in addition to serving on five local boards in the Madison community.

Rikki Tanenbaum joined San Manuel Casino in 2018 as the Chief Marketing Officer.
In her current position, Tanenbaum leads revenue generation functions including strategic marketing, casino marketing, brand marketing and entertainment.

Prior to joining San Manuel Casino, she was Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of the Gaming Division for Landry’s Golden Nugget Casinos.

Tanenbaum has spent her career in the casino and hospitality industry, and has led marketing teams at MGM Resorts International, Viejas Casino & Resort, Penn National Gaming, and Caesars Entertainment.

Tanenbaum received her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania and earned a Master of Hospitality Administration from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). She also holds a Master of Business Administration from Duke University.

She currently serves as Vice Chair of the Executive Committee of The Animal Foundation’s Board in Las Vegas and also serves as Chair of the Global Advisory Board of the William F. Harrah College of Hospitality at UNLV.

Vic Taucer is president of Casino Creations, a Las Vegas-based consulting and training corporation. Casino Creations advises & consults with casinos, regulatory agencies, educational institutions and governments worldwide on the implementation& operation of casinos and surveillance operations.

As a consultant, Taucer sets ups new casino operations in jurisdictions worldwide. An integral part of opening new casinos in the casino consulting business for over 30 years, Casino Creations has worked with over 600 clients in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australia, offering advice, consulting, training, staffing, financial and management services. These clients consist of casinos, governments, law enforcement, educational and financial institutions.

A former casino educator, Taucer recently retired after 14 years as a tenured professor of casino management for the University and Community College System of Nevada. Professor Taucer taught and designed many of the casino training courses offered in the University System of Nevada. The author of many casino instructional textbooks, his manuals on Dealing and Supervision, along with his book, Table Games Management, is used in training worldwide.

Prior to his foray into casino education, training and consulting, Taucer was an accomplished casino manager and executive in numerous Las Vegas casinos, including Caesars Palace and the MGM.Vic began his gaming career as a Las Vegas craps dealer in 1974 and spent almost 20 years in the casino industry holding positions from entry level to senior casino managerial posts.

As vice president of casino operations at MGM Grand, London Swinney is responsible for all gaming at the property, including slot machines, table games, sports book and more. Before joining MGM Grand, she was vice president of table games at Luxor, Excalibur and New York-New York, as well as being the director of casino operations at New York-New York. She attended UNLV studying finance and holds a bachelors degree from Bellevue University in business administration and management. Swinney, who has 25 years of experience in gaming, is also a member of Global Gaming Women.

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.

Derek Stevens is the owner and CEO of the D Las Vegas, Golden Gate Hotel & Casino, Downtown Las Vegas Events Center and Circa Resort & Casino, a new integrated resort casino coming to Fremont Street Experience in December 2020. Stevens has played a pivotal role in the revitalization of Downtown Las Vegas by investing in and spearheading major remodels of properties throughout the area.

A Detroit native, Stevens received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan and earned an MBA from Wayne State University. Prior to planting his roots in Las Vegas, Stevens had a desire to make a difference in the gaming and casino industry and wanted to learn more about it from an operator’s perspective.

Golden Gate—Las Vegas’ original casino hotel—was Stevens’ first investment in Downtown Las Vegas in 2008. Attracted to its renowned history, Stevens led Golden Gate through several major expansions – including a five-story luxury tower with 16 suites, an expanded casino floor with a high-limit gaming area, two premium penthouses and extended outdoor bars. In 2019, Golden Gate will also house its very own sportsbook.

Continuing to fuel his passion for Downtown Las Vegas, Stevens acquired Fitzgeralds Hotel and Casino in 2011. In October 2012, he debuted the D Las Vegas, which instantly became a Downtown hotspot. This included two distinct themes in the D’s unique two-level casino – a high-energy party atmosphere and a throwback “Vintage Casino,” complete with Las Vegas’ only Sigma Derby racing machine. He also imported two restaurants from his hometown: Detroit’s iconic American Coney Island and Joe Vicari’s Andiamo Italian Steakhouse, a classic steakhouse which added a new caliber of fine dining to the area. The 38-story property boasts 629 rooms and suites and is home to LONGBAR – the ultimate sports viewing destination and longest bar in Nevada.

In 2014, Stevens acquired the former Clark County Courthouse building and transformed it into the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center, an outdoor venue space that can accommodate up to 11,000 guests and features a state-of-the-art stage, sound and lighting. Downtown Las Vegas Event Center has hosted numerous events including Charli XCX, Daughtry, TLC and Goo Goo Dolls, as well as a host of festivals and sporting events.

Stevens journey will continue with the announcement of the first ground-up integrated resort concept in Downtown Las Vegas since 1980—Circa Resort & Casino. Circa will bring a new energy to downtown while celebrating the timeless spirit of the city. The property will boast 777 rooms and a collection of thoughtful amenities, including a stadium-style sportsbook, multi-tiered pool amphitheater, range of eclectic restaurants, the longest outdoor bar on Fremont Street Experience, a rejuvenating spa and a two-level casino with state-of-the-art slot and table gaming options.

Since 2008, Stevens has served on the Fremont Street Experience Board of Directors and is continuing to introduce entertainment and gambling attractions that have enhanced the way guests experience Downtown. He is proud to be a part of the exciting changes happening in the historic neighborhood and looks forward to continued investment in the area’s bright future.

Valerie Spicer brings over 30 years of gaming experience to Trilogy Group, most recently as Executive Director of the Arizona Indian Gaming Association (AIGA) where she worked extensively in the tribal, private and public sectors of the growing industry. As Executive Director of AIGA, Spicer managed the day- to-day operation of an organization that represents as many as 18 Tribal governments and their respective gaming facilities.

Before taking the lead at AIGA, Spicer was CEO of Gaming Strategies Group where she promoted business development with tribal enterprises, governments and consulted for tribal and individually owned businesses. She was the Vice President and General Manager of Borrego Springs Bank in San Diego, California for five years, and worked to promote the tribal enterprise structure for the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians. Spicer excelled with fortune 500 companies such as American Express, Ceridian, and Comdata Corporation in the areas of new business development and customer service.