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Authors
Alan W. Zajic
Alan W. Zajic is a Nevada-licensed security consultant, and teaches security and surveillance for the UNLV and UNR gaming management programs. For more information, go to www.alanzajic.com.
Alex Calderone, Terence M. Dunleavy and Randall A. Fine
Alex Calderone is a director with the turnaround and restructuring firm of Conway MacKenzie, Inc. He specializes in providing financial advisory services to distressed businesses, with a special focus on gaming and hospitality business clients. Calderone has been actively involved in the Greektown Casino Chapter 11 bankruptcy case since April 2008, where he has managed the oversight and implementation of a number of the debtors’ key turnaround strategies. He can be reached at aac@c-m-d.com.
Terence M. Dunleavy is a shareholder in the Chicago office of Vedder Price P.C. Dunleavy is an attorney specializing in gaming commercial and regulatory matters. (Dunleavy wishes to thank his partner Michael Eidelman and associate, Stephanie Hor-Chen, for their invaluable assistance in the preparation of this article.) He can be reached at tdunleavy@vedderprice.com.
Randall A. Fine is the founder and managing director of the Fine Point Group, the gaming industry’s largest strategy consultancy and management company. Fine, a former senior executive at both Harrah’s Entertainment and Carl Icahn’s gaming company, served as the chief executive officer at Greektown Casino, leading the $225 million turnaround of the facility and full recovery of debt by bank lenders. He can be reached at rfine@thefinepointgroup.com.
Barnard Thompson
Barnard Thompson, editor of MexiData.info, has spent 50 years in Mexico and Latin America, providing multinational clients with actionable intelligence; country and political risk reporting and analysis; anad business, lobbying, and problem resolution services.
Bill Zender
Bill Zender is a former casino employee and president of Last Resort Consulting. This article is an excerpt from his new book, Casino-ology, published by Huntington Press.
Blaine DeGracia
Blaine DeGracia is on the staff of Regulatory Management Counselors of East Lansing, Michigan.
Bradley Vallerius
Bradley Vallerius is a freelance writer based in St. Louis, Missouri. He has several years of experience conducting research and journalism for the internet gambling industry.
Caitlin McGarry
Caitlin McGarry is assistant editor of Global Gaming Business magazine and assistant editor of Casino Connection Nevada.
Carolan Pepin
A marketing veteran also based in Las Vegas, Carolan Pepin has been working with companies from beyond the U.S. since her introduction to international business in Chicago with the Japanese conglomerate Panasonic. After being recruited to the gaming industry in 1996, Pepin worked for Aristocrat, Sigma Game and Cyberview Technology. Most recently, she has focused on helping an East European gaming manufacturer with its expansion into the American markets. Pepin can be reached via pepinmarketing@aol.com.
Chris Brammer
Chris Brammer is an associate of Gaming Market Advisors, one of the gaming industry's leading consulting firms. He has over 25 years of experience in the industy, and is well-known as an innovator in casino management, design and marketing.
Cory Morowitz
Cory Morowitz is Chairman and Managing Member of Morowitz Gaming Advisors located in Galloway, New Jersey. Cory has over twenty years of diversified financial, gaming and consulting experience.
Darrin Hoke
Darrin Hoke is the director of surveillance at L'Auberge du Lac Hotel & Casino in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Hoke has also held various positions in security management, investigations and law enforcement, and has developed a number of surveillance classes and programs over the past 10 years as a regular instructor with the University of Nevada, Reno gaming management division.
Dave Bontempo
Casino Connection Sports Editor Dave Bontempo is an award-winning sports writer and broadcaster who calls boxing matches all over the world. He has covered the Philadelphia Flyers in the playoffs, as well as numerous PGA, LPGA and Seniors Golf Tour events, and co-hosted the Casino Connection television program with Publisher Roger Gros.
Dave Palermo
Dave Palermo is a former award-winning newspaper reporter and editor. He currently is a freelance writer and media consultant. He can be reached at dgpalermo@aol.com.
David G. Schwartz
David G. Schwartz (www.dieiscast.com) is the director of the Center for Gaming Research at UNLV and the author of several books, including Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling.
David Sofer
Harvard-educated polymath David Sofer is an expert on casino gaming specializing in baccarat. Appointed to teach Zuan Xin's Baccarat Great Learning in the U.S., he is the featured baccarat columnist for Baccarat, Hong Kong's gaming lifestyle magazine. Contact Sofer at dsofer888@bigstring.com.
David D. Waddell and Douglas L. Minke
David Waddell is an attorney and president of Regulatory Management Counselors, P.C. Waddell's areas of practice include gaming law, Title 31 compliance, business, tax and municipal law. He also sits on the editorial board for the Gaming Law Review and Global Gaming Business and has been listed in Best Lawyers in America for gaming. He can be reached at 517-507-3859, or at waddell@rmclegal.com.
Douglas Minke is an attorney with Regulatory Management Counselors, P.C. Minke's areas of practice include general business law, gaming supplier licensing, commercial litigation and creditors' rights. You can reach Minke at 313-221-9380, or minke@rmclegal.com, or online at www.rmclegal.com.
David Schugar & Craig Ghelfi
David Schugar, owner of Equity Gaming LLC, has worked in gaming for over 30 years, including operations in Nevada, Michigan, Mississippi and Indiana. His career includes 10 years with Mandalay Resort Group as vice president and general manager.
Craig Ghelfi, senior director of Conway Mackenzie, began in the family-owned Golden Gate Hotel Casino in Las Vegas. After earning a B.S. in business administration at Arizona State, Ghelfi operated casinos in Nevada, Mississippi, West Virginia, California and Michigan, where he was the CEO of Detroit's Greektown Casino.
Dean Macomber
Dean Macomber is president of Macomber International, Inc. With 35 years of diversified experience in the gaming industry ranging from dealer to president, development to operations involving mega-destination resorts to locals-oriented casinos in numerous domestic and international venues, Macomber provides executive-level consulting in the areas of strategic and business planning, feasibility and all other project development phases, and pre- and post-opening management and profit improvement engagements. He can be reached at macomberinc@gmail.com.
Desmond Lam
Desmond Lam, Ph. D., is a senior research fellow with the Division of Business in the School of Marketing at the University of South Australia. Lam's speciality lies in Chinese gaming psychology and behavior. He has written extensively on gaming-related issues. This article is an excerpt from his new book, The World of Chinese Gambling, available at his website, www.desmondl.com.
Dino Guiliano
Dino Guiliano is Principal & Managing Director at DGSA International--collaborators and partners in planning and executing the international growth initiatives of the world’s premier gaming and hospitality firms. DGSA is based in San José, Costa Rica with affiliate offices throughout Latin America. He can be reached at dguiliano@dgsa-international.com.
Dino Juliano & Daniel Sanson
Dino Guiliano is principal and managing director of DGSA International Strategy Advisors in Costa Rica. DGSA and its regional affiliates provide strategic and tactical resources supporting the international growth initiatives of the world's premier gaming and hospitality firms.
Daniel F. Sanson is a seasoned Brazilian lawyer and the CEO of BetConsult, a DGSA regional affiliate based outside of Sao Paulo, Brazil. BetConsult offers expert advice to foreign and domestic gaming clients on matters of corporate law and taxation in Brazil, and offers general corporate advisory services for foreign gaming firms looking to do business in Brazil and surrounding markets.
Douglas Minke
Douglas Minke is an attorney with Regulatory Management Counselors, P.C. Minke’s areas of practice include general business law, gaming supplier licensing, commercial litigation and creditor’s rights. You can reach him at (313) 221-9380, minke@rmclegal.com, or online at www.rmclegal.com.
Erin Jones
Erin Jones is the marketing and PR manager for Marketing Results, a gaming industry pioneer in high-tech consumer database marketing. She can be reached at 702-361-3850 or via email at jonese@marketingresults.net.
Frank Catania
Frank Catania is president and a principal in Catania Consulting Group, Inc. of New Jersey, a consulting firm with extensive experience in gaming issues. An attorney, he is of counsel to Catania & Associates, Law Offices, L.L.C. Catania served as assistant attorney general and director of the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement; vice president and compliance officer, Players International; deputy speaker of the New Jersey General Assembly; partner in the law firm of Catania and Harrington; and counsel to Catania & Associates, LLC.
Frank Fantini
Frank Fantini is editor and publisher of the Fantini's Gaming Report. Free 30-day trial subscriptions to Fantini's Gaming Report are available by calling toll free to 1-866-683-4357 or online at www.fantiniresearch.com.
Frank Legato
Frank Legato is editor of Casino Connection and also editor of Global Gaming Business magazine. He has been writing on gaming topics since 1984, when he launched and served as editor of Casino Gaming magazine. Legato, a nationally recognized expert on slot machines, has served as editor and reporter for a variety of gaming publications, including Public Gaming, IGWB, Casino Journal, Casino Player, Strictly Slots and Atlantic City Insider. He has an B.A. in journalism and an M.A. in communications from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA. He is the author of the recently published book on gaming, How To Win Millions Playing Slot Machines... Or Lose Trying.
Frank Bellis and John Ceresani
Frank Bellis and John Ceresani are the principals in the Pharos Group, LLC. Both have been senior executives in several of the gaming industry’s largest companies. To contact them, call 609-577-7853 or 609-335-8795 or visit www.pharosgroup.net.
Giulio Coraggio
Giulio Coraggio is an internet and gaming lawyer qualified both in Italy and in England and Wales. He is a senior associate in the Intellectual Property, Media and Technology Department of DLA Piper, one of the largest international law firms.
Greg Jones
Greg Jones was associate editor of Global Gaming Business magazine and managing editor of Casino Connection Nevada until September 2009.
Jeffrey Lowenhar
Dr. Jeffrey Lowenhar is president of Gaming Research, Inc., a boutique marketing research firm in Las Vegas focused on serving the worldwide gaming industry. As an executive, researcher and consultant, Lowenhar has been responsible for completing almost 300 major gaming research assignments worldwide over the past 20 years. He can be contacted at 702-889-3100, GamResInc@aol.com, or visit the website GamingResearchInc.com.
Jeffrey Lowenhar and Andrea Jones
Dr. Jeffrey Lowenhar is president of Gaming Research, Inc., a boutique marketing research firm in Las Vegas focused on serving the worldwide gaming industry. As an executive, researcher and consultant, Lowenhar has been responsible for completing almost 300 major research gaming assignments worldwide over the last 20 years. He can be contacted at 702-889-3100, GamResInc@aol.com, or through the website www.GamingResearchInc.com.
With more than 20 years of market research experience in the casino and hotel industry, Andrea Jones brings an extensive array of analytical management, research project supervision and data analysis talents to Gaming Research, Inc. With a B.B.A. from Iowa State University, Jones worked for a boutique marketing research firm in Philadelphia before joining GRI as a principal in the firm.
JJ Woods
JJ Woods is director of operations for Atlantic Casino Consultants, which he founded in 2005. Woods was born in Ireland but left in the 1970s to live in London, where he started a career in banking. He later trained in the casino industry, and over the last 25 years, Woods has dedicated his career to the design, opening and management of casinos around the world.
John Restrepo
John Restrepo is president of the Restrepo Consulting Group LLC, one of the dominant and most authoritative sources of information, research and strategic advice related to the economic, demographic, and real estate development of Nevada and the Southwest. For more information on RCG, visit the firm’s website, www.rcg1.com.
John Schadler
John Schadler is managing partner and Jim Gentleman is senior vice president of strategy and account management at SK+G, a full-service marketing agency based in Las Vegas that specializes in leisure and lifestyle brands. Clients include MGM Mirage, Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa/Water Club, Trump Hotel Las Vegas, Montage Laguna Beach, Montage Beverly Hills, The Grand Del Mar, L'Auberge du Lac Casino Hotel (Lake Charles, Louisiana), Lumiere Place (St. Louis), and Belterra Casino Resort (Vevay, Indiana). The company may be reached at 702-478-4000 or contactus@skgadv.com.
Jonathan Stein & Steve Gallaway
Jonathan Stein is a gaming lawyer and business litigator in Santa Monica, California. Stein increasingly is asked to restructure complex financial relationships without litigation. He is a member of the Board of Governors for the 4,000-attorneys Beverly Hills Bar Association, chairs its 500-attorney litigation section, and is a member of the International Association of Gaming Advisers.
Steve Gallaway is principal of Gaming Market Advisors, one of the gaming industry's leading consulting firms. GMA specializes in portfolio analyses, private equity and investment banking advisory services, marketing audits, player reinvestment strategies, feasibility studies, business and marketing plans and socio-economic impact studies.
Joshua Gold
Joshua Gold is an attorney and principal of Anderson Kill & Olick, P.C. He has represented numerous corporate and non-profit policyholders in various industries, with recoveries for his clients well in excess of $1 billion. His practice involves matters including international arbitration, directors’ and officers’ insurance, insurance captives, business income and property insurance, commercial crime insurance, and data security. He can be contacted at 212-278-1886, or by email at jgold@andersonkill.com.
Judith Shapiro
Judith Shapiro is a Washington, D.C., Indian law attorney who has been active in the Class II regulatory process. She can be reached at 202-723-6400 or by email at jshapirolaw@earthlink.net.
Justin Cohen
Justin Cohen is a partner at Internet Marketing Inc., a full-service online marketing consulting firm that focuses on assisting its clients with interactive marketing and strategic planning to increase online exposure, improve conversion rates, and help businesses grow revenue and profits. Cohen manages the firm’s Las Vegas Gaming and Hospitality office and oversees all aspects of the company’s business operations in the Southwest and mountain regions. He can be reached at justin@internetmarketinginc.com or 702-835-6986.
Lance Boldrey
Lance Boldrey is a member of the Lansing, Michigan office of the Dykema law firm. He leads the firm's Indian law practice, with an emphasis on gaming, economic development and state-tribal relations. His work includes performing due diligence on tribal gaming projects and proposals for consultants, developers and gaming management companies. Boldrey can be reached at 517-374-9162.
Larry Klatzkin
Lawrence Klatzkin is managing director of Jefferies & Co., responsible for equity and high-yield coverage of more than 60 companies in the gaming industry.
Leslie Lohse
Leslie Lohse is the chairwoman of the California Tribal Business Alliance Board of Directors. She has served as tribal council treasurer of the Paskenta Band since 1998. Lohse has chaired and sat on numerous committees over the years and currently serves on the California Native American Heritage Commission, California International Relations Foundation, and Tehama County Girls, Inc.
Loretta A. Tuell
Loretta Tuell is a partner with the Washington, D.C., law firm of AndersonTuell, LLP. Tuell has practiced federal Indian law for 14 years. She has experience in viewing the legal and policy issues in Indian Country from three different perspectives: Capitol Hill, the administration and the private sector. She served as legal counsel for Senator Daniel K. Inouye on the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and as special assistant and counselor to the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs. She directed the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Office of Tribal Operations and has served as legal counsel to a nationwide base of American Indian tribes. Tuell is a member of the Nez Perce Tribe of Idaho.
Marjorie Preston
Marjorie Preston is a contributing editor of Global Gaming Business magazine and managing editor of Casino Connection Atlantic City.
Mark Balestra
Mark Balestra is the director of publishing for Clarion Gaming. A veteran of 11 years in the online gambling business, Balestra is the editor and co-creator of Interactive Gaming News (www.iGamingNews.com) as well as the editor and co-author of Internet Gambling Report, a legal guide to interactive gambling.
Marlene Reyes
Marlene Reyes is executive vice president and chief client officer of the Fine Point Group, the gaming industry’s largest strategy consultancy and management company. She has over 10 years of gaming industry expertise in both operations and marketing with operators including MGM Mirage, Harrah’s Entertainment and Resorts International, where as corporate director of brand and loyalty marketing, she spearheaded the development of the operator’s multi-property CRM application and loyalty program.
Maryellen Muir
Maryellen Muir is the regional sales manager of business intelligence systems for Bally Technologies. Muir can be reached at 702-417-5764, or via email at mmuir@ballytech.com.
Matt Landry
Matthew Landry, vice president of strategic consulting, joined the Innovation Group in 2003. His work with clients has extended across 32 of the United States and across five continents. Recent engagements include an analysis of VIP gaming across Asia and the impacts further expansion in the region will have on existing destinations. Prior to joining the Innovation Group, Landry worked in the venture capital industry. He can be reached at mlandry@theinnovationgroup.com.
Matt Sodl
Matt Sodl is president, managing director and co-founder of Innovation Capital, an investment banking firm headquartered in Los Angeles. The firm has a practice dedicated to the gaming, leisure and hospitality industries where it provides expert merger and acquisition, corporate finance, restructuring and valuation advisory services to middle market companies in the $20 million to $500 million value range. To receive a copy of the recent webinar presentation "Distress in the Gaming Industry" presented by Innovation Capital, the Innovation Group, Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Bowne and Global Gaming Business, contact Sodl at msodl@innovation-capital.com or 310-335-9191.
Max Rubin
Max Rubin is one of eight living members of the Blackjack Hall of Fame and the award-winning author of Comp City: A Guide to Free Gambling Vacations. With nearly 40 years in the gaming industry as a casino veteran, he has designed and developed several table games as well as innovative table game tournament concepts.
Michael Gore
Michael J. Gore, MBA, J.D. has been involved in gaming in Asia at senior management levels since 1990. He has worked as a surveillance director, a VP of casino operations, a casino marketing manager, an executive director of operations, and as a CEO at different Asian and Australian regional gaming properties. He recently helped write the winning casino submission in Singapore for the Genting Group. He can be reached at mikegore33@aim.com.
Michael Soll
Michael Soll is an executive vice president for the Innovation Group, the industry's premier consulting and advisory firm. One of gaming and hospitality's most recognizable brand specialists, Soll's experience includes senior-level management positions with such organizations as Caesars Entertainment, Hard Rock Café International and Starwood Hotels & Resorts. He can be reached at the Innovation Group's Orlando office at 407-702-6648 or at msoll@theinnovationgroup.com.
Mick Roemer
Mick Roemer is president of Roemer Gaming, a gaming content, marketing and product development firm in Las Vegas. He is a veteran of the slot industry, having held executive positions at International Game Technology, Electronic Data Technology, Power Technologies and Bally Technologies.
Nicole Wolf
Nicole Wolf is a freelance writer and marketing enthusiast based in Las Vegas who enjoys putting under-appreciated companies on the map.
Paul Heretakis
Paul Heretakis, RA, vice president of Westar Architects, has over 15 years of experience overseeing hospitality design and mixed-use, master-planning projects throughout the world. Heretakis can be contacted at pheretakis@wagnarchitects.com.
Randall A. Fine
Randall A. Fine is the managing director of the Fine Point Group, one of the industry’s leading strategic consulting and management companies, which serves clients that generate more than $5 billion in gross gaming revenue. A former senior executive at both Harrah’s Entertainment and Carl Icahn’s gaming company and the former chief executive officer of the $350 million Greektown Casino, Fine holds both his undergraduate and MBA degrees from Harvard University. He can be reached at rfine@thefinepointgroup.com.
Richard Thalheimer
Dr. Richard Thalheimer has been involved in many areas of business and economic research for over 30 years. He is president of Thalheimer Research Associates, Inc., an economic research and consulting firm in Lexington, Kentucky, founded in 1983.
In addition to his consulting business, he was a professor in the Department of Equine Business at the University of Louisville from 1989 through 2006. Thalheimer has consulted with, and generated economic research reports for, many entities in the racing and gaming industries, other industries, and local, state and national governments.
Robert Rossiello
The art director for Casino Connection Atlantic City, Robert Rossiello is an artist, a photographer, and a free-lance writer. His work has been published in several literary magazines and his visual art has been exhibited throughout the Jersey shore. In addition to his creative direction in Casino Connection, he also contributes articles for The Tides, Monthly Mixologist and Multimedia sections.
Robert Russell
Robert Russell is the gaming analyst with Regulatory Management Counselors, P.C. in Michigan. Russell assists casino suppliers, operators and financial institutions with license, compliance and business planning issues.
Roger Gros
Roger Gros is publisher of Casino Connection International, LLC. Global Gaming Business magazine, Casino Connection Atlantic City and Casino Connection Nevada are among the monthly publications Gros publishes. Prior to joining CCI, Gros was president of Inlet Communications, an independent consulting firm. He was vice president of Casino Journal Publishing Group from 1984-2000, and held virtually every editorial title during his tenure. Gros was editor of Casino Journal, the National Gaming Summary and the Atlantic City Insider, and was the founding editor of Casino Player magazine. He was a co-founder of the American Gaming Summit and the Southern Gaming Summit conferences and trade shows. He is the author of the best-selling book, How to Win at Casino Gambling (Carlton Books, 1995), now in its third edition. Gros was named “Businessman of the Year” for 1998 by the Greater Atlantic City Chamber of Commerce.
Roy Student and Carolan Pepin
Roy Student is a longtime gaming and hospitality executive who currently utilizes his key expertise and experience as a sought-after consultant and speaker to the international casino and gaming industry from his base in Las Vegas. He has been the force behind the successful U.S. market entry for companies coming from Asia, Europe and South America. Student can be contacted at srsgsi@yahoo.com.
A marketing veteran also based in Las Vegas, Carolan Pepin has been working with companies from beyond the U.S. since her introduction to international business in Chicago with the Japanese conglomerate Panasonic. After being recruited to the gaming industry in 1996, Pepin worked for Aristocrat, Sigma Game and Cyberview Technology. Most recently, she has focused on helping an East European gaming manufacturer with its expansion into the American markets. Pepin can be reached via pepinmarketing@aol.com.
Scott Fisher
Scott Fisher, Ph.D. is managing director for gaming consultant The Innovation Group. Fisher assesses international markets, from their cultures and growth potential to the unique industry regulations and competitive threats. He can be reached at the company's New Orleans office (504-523-0888) or via email at sfisher@theinnovationgroup.com.
Steve Karoul
Steve Karoul is a recognized authority in the areas of international casino marketing and casino junket operations. Karoul has lived in South Africa, Istanbul, Hong Kong, Bangkok and the Philippines and has also conducted casino-related business in over 90 different countries around the world. Karoul is a leading independent casino marketing consultant, with a comprehensive website, www.euroasiacasino.com. He may be reached at 1-860-536-1828 or by e-mail at: skaroul@comcast.net.
Steven Rittvo
Steve Rittvo is chairman of the Innovation Group of Companies-a group of affiliates whose broad range of expertise and experience covers almost every aspect of the casino/resort economic development process: The Innovation Group to consult, Innovation Capital to finance and advise, Innovation Project Development to coordinate build-out, Innovation Marketing to position and Innovation Management to operate. Rittvo can be reached at 970-927-1400 or srittvo@theinnovationgroup.com.
Sudhir Kale
Sudhir H. Kale, Ph.D., is the founder of GamePlan Consultants, a company that provides high-level consulting and training on the marketing of casinos. He is also a professor of marketing at Bond University. For more information, email skale@gameplanconsultants.com or visit his website, www.gameplanconsultants.com.
Ted Keenan
Ted Keenan, director of product management for Bally’s Systems Division, is primarily responsible for iVIEW DM and the Elite Bonusing Suite product lines. Prior to joining Bally in 2007, Keenan held executive roles in the online gaming and arcade industries. To reach him, call 702-584-7700, or email tkeenan@ballytech.com.
Thomas Lim
Thomas Lim is an Asian marketing specialist working with CDC Consulting. He has worked with Sun International, Harrah's Entertainment, Mohegan Sun and the Trump Organization in international marketing positions. He can be reached at 1-702-277-2780 or at Thomaslim@earthlink.net.
Todd Sims
Todd Sims is vice president, systems operations, for Bally Technologies. He is responsible for the division's day-to-day operations, as well as managing several system products. He can be reached at 702-584-7700, or via email at tsims@ballytech.com.
William R. Eadington and Meighan R. Doyle
Bill Eadington is a professor of economics and director of the Institute for the Study of Gambling and Commercial Gaming at the University of Nevada, Reno. He is an internationally recognized authority on the legalization and regulation of commercial gambling, and has written extensively on issues relating to the economic and social impacts of commercial gaming. Eadington can be reached at eading@unr.nevada.edu.
Meighan R. Doyle is an independent graphic artist in Reno, Nevada, who preferentially devotes her time to projects involving gambling. She can be reached at hbschopenhauer@gmail.com.
Willy Allison
Willy Allison is president of World Game Protection, producers of the World Game Protection Conference, March 1-3 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Allison can be reached at willy@worldgameprotection.com.