Season: 2019

Clio Knowles is the VP of People for Virgin Hotels, which launched its first property to great acclaim in Chicago in 2015. Clio’s primary focus has been to develop a company culture that focuses on the Virgin Hotels brand values and celebrates their people. This incorporates not just employee engagement and communication, but also focuses on the Virgin Hotels purpose, that everyone leaves feeling better. Virgin Hotels believe that their teammates are the key to an amazing customer experience and believe in recognizing and rewarding that in all teammates.

Previously, Clio held the role of VP, Global Human Resources at Kerzner International, which at the time owned and operated the Atlantis, Paradise Island in The Bahamas; Atlantis, The Palm in Dubai; Mazagan Resort in Morocco and seven luxury resorts globally, under the One&Only brand.

Clio is passionate about people and creating an environment where teammates work hard but also have fun. She is a Global Professional of Human Resources, SHRM and has a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts from Barry University, Miami, Florida.

With 25 years of experience in gaming in the U.S. and around the world, Brandon Knowles is now the executive director of interactive gaming and table games for Aruze Gaming. During that time, Knowles has held various roles in product (slot, table, sports, systems, ETGs, online gaming and more) marketing, sales, and casino operations for companies such as IGT, Scientific Games, Aristocrat, Bellagio, Mirage, London Park Tower and others. Most of his experience in casino operations included an 11-year stint with Mirage Resorts where he helped to open both the Mirage and Bellagio. Knowles holds a bachelors degree and an MBA from UNLV in finance.

Andrew Klebanow is a senior partner at Global Market Advisors, a hospitality and tourism consulting firm. He specializes in market studies, feasibility analysis, and marketing plan and business plan development for casinos and integrated resorts.

He has worked in the hospitality and gaming industries since 1975 and in the fields of casino marketing and business planning since 1991. Prior to forming Global Market Advisors, Klebanow worked in a number of Las Vegas properties. He served as vice president of marketing at Sam’s Town Hotel and Gambling, vice president and general manager at the Santa Fe Hotel Casino and director of marketing at the Hacienda Hotel & Casino.

Klebanow divides his time between his company’s office in Asia and Las Vegas. He is a periodic lecturer at the University of Nevada Reno’s School of Continuing Education and Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration. He has authored over 100 articles, which appeared in Global Gaming Business Magazine, Inside Asian Gaming and Indian Gaming Magazine, and has contributed academic papers to the Cornell University Hotel and Restaurant Quarterly and the UNLV Hospitality Journal. Most recently, he presented a paper entitled “Casinos and the City” at the Third Annual Asia Pacific Conference on Gambling and Commercial Gaming Research in Beijing, China.

Klebanow earned a B.A. at New York University and a Masters Degree from Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration.

Tom Kaplan has been a nationally-recognized and respected name in the food and beverage and hospitality industries for more than 37 years. As Senior Managing Partner of the Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group (WPFDG), Kaplan works alongside the renowned chef, as a trusted partner and company thought-leader. Throughout his tenure with WPFDG, Kaplan has nurtured key strategic partnerships with major casino resorts and luxury hotel brands such as Las Vegas Sands, MGM Resorts International, the Four Seasons, Dorchester Collection, Rosewood, Ritz Carlton, Pendry, SBE, and St. Regis, leading the company to extraordinary growth.

Together, Kaplan and Puck have expanded the company and taken it from several individual restaurants to becoming one of the preeminent restaurant groups in the world, boasting an impressive collection of 27 domestic and international dining establishments. Day-to-day, Kaplan is directly responsible for overseeing business management and strategic development, as well as playing an instrumental role in the supervision of design, construction, philanthropy and social responsibility for the company.

Intimately involved and passionate about community service, with a special focus on public policy, the arts, and the environment, Kaplan is a dedicated philanthropist and currently holds, or has held, numerous leadership positions on a variety of boards and councils.

He currently serves on the Brookings Institution Board of Trustees and is a member of their Metropolitan Leadership Council and Advisory Circle, working closely with Brookings Mountain West at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. He is a Trustee of the University of Nevada Las Vegas Foundation Board. He serves as a Board Director of the Council for a Better Nevada and the Fulfillment Fund Las Vegas. He is a member of the Grassroots Network Committee for the Conservation Lands Foundation. He serves on the Board of Trustees of the Nevada Museum of Art and is a member of its Architectural Search and Selection Committee. He is an Emeritus Board member of the Animal Foundation, served as Vice President of the Puck Lazaroff Charitable Foundation benefitting the Los Angeles chapters of Meals on Wheels for more than 25 years and was a member of the City of Las Vegas Energy Advisory Committee. Kaplan also served on the Board of Directors for the Marshall Retail Group from 2006 – 2015.

Kaplan was named Nevada Restaurateur of the Year by the Las Vegas International Hotel & Restaurant Show in 2005 and one of the “50 Most Influential” in Nevada by In Business in 2008. In 2003, he was in the first induction group of the Las Vegas Dozen which honors men in the Vegas valley for their role in business and community involvement. In 2011, Kaplan was named “Humanitarian of the Year” by Greenspun Media Group’s publication Vegas Inc.

Raised in Stamford, Connecticut and New York City, Kaplan relocated to Los Angeles in 1980 after graduating Magna Cum Laude from Bowdoin College that same year with a Bachelor’s degree in Art History, Visual Arts and a coordinate major in Environmental Studies. He has been a resident of Las Vegas since 1992.

To compete with the rigors of the hospitality world, Kaplan enjoys hiking, running, cycling, and skiing. His passions include architecture, art, music, travel as well supporting the new NHL Vegas Golden Knights hockey team all shared with his wife, Liz and son, Austin.

Melissa Joseph is Director of Human Resources (HR) at AGS, a publicly listed gaming technology supplier traded on the New York Stock Exchange. She has responsibilities for recruiting, employee engagement, onboarding and training, employee relations, compensation, and benefits.

Joseph has held numerous HR roles during her more than five years with AGS, including Senior HR Manager and Manager – HR and Engagement. During her tenure, AGS has grown from 200+ to 750+ employees worldwide.

Before joining AGS, Joseph served 7 years in HR and Gaming Compliance roles for Colossal Gaming/C2 Gaming, which was acquired by AGS in 2014. Her prior experience in the hospitality industry as a manager and owner of restaurants in the Las Vegas Valley started her on her HR career path.

She earned a Bachelor of Science in Human Services from University of Phoenix and a Professional in Human Resources (PHR) certification from HR Certification Institute (HRCI)

Joseph serves on the Board of Directors of Spread the Word Nevada, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to advancing childhood literacy within low-income communities. She is also a member of the Society for HR Management and supports the Global Gaming Women organization.

Jeff Jordan is a casino executive and inventor with deep expertise in gaming technology and casino operations. Jordan has deep experience in large integrated casino and hotel resorts and gambling technology companies.

Before becoming Executive Director of Loyalty & Rewards for PlayStudios, Jordan was Chief Operating Officer for GameCo, Inc.; Vice President Product Management and Development for Bluberi; Vice President New Product Creation at Walker Digital Table Systems, LLC; Global Sr. Director Commercial Strategy for Aristocrat; and Principal for Jordan Gaming Consulting Group, among other positions.

Gene Johnson has over 25 years of gaming industry experience in the disciplines of technology, quality assurance, market research, casino marketing, and strategic planning and analysis. His industry career began in 1989 working in Atlantic City casinos. In 1997 he founded EE Johnson Research, a marketing and consulting firm specializing in qualitative insight into player behavior, quantitative surveys and data analysis, and customer service enhancement. In 2012 his company became part of Spectrum Gaming Group, and in 2016 he created Gaming Knowledge Partners, a network of industry experts.

Gene holds an MBA from the University of Phoenix, a BA from Washington College, and a CQA from the Quality Assurance Institute.

John James is Chief Operating Officer at Morongo Casino Resort & Spa.

Before joining Morongo in 2015, James held several prominent positions in the casino industry, including Chief Executive Officer for Gila River Gaming Enterprises; Managing Partner at Leopard Gaming; COO at Seminole Gaming Inc.; and General Manager at Pechanga Resort & Casino and Station Casino.

Rob Jacks joined Agilysys in 2015 as Vice President of Professional Services, and was promoted to Chief Information Officer in 2018.

As a senior IT executive, Jacks has 25+ years experience in healthcare, manufacturing, hospitality, software development, retail, telecommunication, gaming, and distribution and consulting sectors. He 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.

Jacks 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.

He holds a BBA in Accounting from the University of Montevallo as well as an MBA from Samford University.

In January, London-based SBTech, a leading sports betting and gaming technology supplier, appointed former Scientific Games CEO and Vice Chairman Gavin Isaacs as its new non-executive chairman.

Isaacs will use his 20 years of gaming experience across a series of senior management positions to further grow the company’s rapidly expanding U.S. presence. Since the market opened in mid-2018, SBTech has completed and gone live with several partnership agreements with leading casinos in regulated states including New Jersey and Mississippi.

Isaacs spent four years as CEO and board member of Scientific Games and was responsible for championing game-changing mergers and acquisitions and growing the global lottery and gaming supplier from $1.3 billion to $2.9 billion revenues in just two years, before moving to the position of vice chairman of the board.

“I was approached by a number of companies since leaving Scientific Games,” Isaacs said. “However, I chose to join SBTech due to its superior technology, high standards across every discipline, entrepreneurial approach and incredible ambition and potential to grow further across a wide variety of regulated markets including the U.S., where I am based and have an extensive network, knowledge and experience.

“The business has already made significant inroads into the newly regulated U.S. sports betting market, and I am extremely excited to be able to help and advise the senior management team to expand that even further across 2019 and beyond.”

Isaacs, a qualified lawyer, has a proven track record of successfully leading and establishing companies on strong growth trajectories. Prior to joining Scientific Games in 2014, he was CEO of SHFL Entertainment, where he grew the company to record revenues, globally expanded its slot business, and created a series of commercial opportunities in specialty table-game brands both in land-based casinos and online.

“We’re thrilled that someone of Gavin’s caliber, credibility and experience has chosen to join SBTech. This is a huge coup for the business,” said Richard Carter, CEO of SBTech. “Gavin’s two decades of successfully leading, transforming and acquiring some of the biggest businesses in the gaming sector will be a massive advantage for us, particularly in the U.S., where we have already partnered and gone live with several large brands across multiple states and where there are many more opportunities to grow.”

Isaac also spent five years as COO and executive vice president of the former Bally Technologies, eventually leading the negotiations to buy his former employer while at Scientific Games in November 2013 for $1.3 billion, a 37 percent premium in share price and at sector-high multiple. Prior to joining Bally, Isaacs spent seven years with Aristocrat Technologies in several roles including president, managing director and marketing and business development in Las Vegas, London and Sydney.