The Robert L. Hunter International Problem Gambling Center has some of the highest success rates when treating problem gamblers. Using methods developed by Dr. Hunter prior to his death in 2018, the center is able to ease problem gamblers away from their afflictions and prepare them for further treatment. Stephanie Goodman, formerly a chief of staff for her ex-father in law, Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, has become educated in the nuances of the gambling treatment world, and has developed a six-week program that gets them ready for the next chapters in their lives. She spoke with GGB Publisher Roger Gros at the center in Las Vegas in December.

Stephanie Goodman

Gaming in Ireland has been operating in a grey area since the early 2000s when British-style membership clubs began to be established. A new set of gaming regulations has been set up recently along with a new regulatory scheme. JJ Woods has been consulting on gaming projects around the world for more than 30 years and is the unqualified expert on gaming in Ireland. While he is optimistic that the new regulations will help grow the Irish gaming industry, he says specifics are few and far between because lots of issues need to be decided. He spoke with GGB Publisher Roger Gros from his office in Dublin in January. (Listen to podcast abv., or view the video at the bottom).

GGB: Why don’t you give us a little thumbnail of what gambling in Ireland looked like before the recent regulatory reforms were considered?

JJ Woods: Somewhere around the late ’90s or 2000, the law was circumvented when private members’ clubs started to open all over the country. This was the first time that live gaming was offered, largely blackjack and roulette. Prior to that was a large amount of slot machine arcades. And there’s a bit of a confusion there, because some of them were amusement arcades, which meant in the beginning they had to be almost like children’s games. But as things progressed, they amounted to having actual gaming. This dates back to the 1950s.

This was probably one of the biggest mistakes that hopefully the Irish government will now correct. Because for the last 60 years, we actually broke the first rule of any gaming legislation, which is to protect the young and the vulnerable.

Were these private member clubs similar to the to the private clubs in the U.K.?

Very much so. Some of them are awful. Some of them were actually quite beautiful. The ones I consulted on, they’re very much like gentlemen’s clubs with very good service, beautiful plush carpets, brass fixtures, lighting right over the pictures, that type of oak room style.

And how about the High Street bookmakers?

If we go back to the early 2000s, PaddyPower, which is now Flutter, basically became a monopoly. So they were allowed to proliferate. And it’s very important to remember as well, even though online sports betting dominates today, every single one of those companies in that space had a retail presence on the street.

What spurred the recent regulatory reforms?

Research into regulation started when they actually printed a research paper in July 2013. The truth of the matter is my first submission goes way back to Bertie O’Hearn, when he was the prime minister of this country. He requested that I do a submission on gambling to the government back in 2007.

But I can’t think of any one event that happened where they said, let’s get this done, except to say gambling grew exponentially during Covid, especially online gaming. So I think that’s probably one of the pushes that said we need to do something.

So what is possible under these new laws in terms of gambl

JJ Woods

When Hard Rock International bought the Mirage from MGM last year, they needed someone with Hard Rock and Las Vegas experience. They got it when Joe Lupo was named to lead the transition from the Mirage to Hard Rock Las Vegas. Lupo spent the formative years of his career in Las Vegas working for Boyd Gaming before heading to Atlantic City to help run the Borgata. When Boyd exited its relationship with MGM over the Borgata, Lupo signed on with Hard Rock, where he led their most successful casino in Tampa and then came to Atlantic City to open the new Hard Rock on the Boardwalk. He spoke with GGB Publisher Roger Gros at the Hard Rock offices in Las Vegas in December.

Joe Lupo

Everi has a long history in payment processing and currently owns Central Credit, a credit reporting agency for gaming used by casinos around the world. Therefore, Everi also processes more payments for gaming than any other firm and its dominance in that field currently extends to the recent cashless phenomenon sweeping the industry. But Everi is much more than just payments. It has a robust compliance program and after buying Multimedia Games more than 10 years ago, is a big player in the slot manufacturing field. Randy Taylor took over as president and CEO from Mike Rumbolz a year ago and hasn’t missed a beat. He spoke with GGB Publisher Roger Gros from the Everi office in Las Vegas in November.

Randy Taylor

The American Gaming Association has a long history with research. From the first annual “State of the States” report to the most recent survey focusing on illegal gaming and its costs to the industry, the data presents a valid picture of gaming in the 2020s. David Forman joined the AGA over five years ago and now, as the vice president of research, he’s responsible for all the studies released. He spoke with GGB Managing Editor Jess Marquez to talk about how research is conducted at the AGA, at G2E in Las Vegas in October.

David Forman

One of the few states that really understood sports betting during the legalization process was Michigan. Brand Iden, now the vice president of government affairs for Fanatics Betting & Gaming, formerly in a similar position with Sportradar, was the state senator in Michigan who really drove the process. And by including iGaming in the package, Michigan immediately vaulted to the top of the list when it comes to states that are getting the most out of online gaming. Iden explains how the bill was handled and what hurdles he had to overcome to get it passed. He spoke with GGB Publisher Roger Gros at G2E in Las Vegas in October.

Brant Iden

BetMGM is a partnership in the U.S. between MGM Resorts and the British gaming company, Entain. In 2018, when Adam Greenblatt, on of GGB's 25 People to Watch from the January 2023 issue, took over as CEO, there was something of a divide between the two but his previous expertise in finance and M&A made a difference and today he says the relationship couldn’t be better. BetMGM is consistently one of the top three sports betting sites in the U.S. and moving up every month. But the strict compliance regulations in every state means that must be job-one to every operator, and with the recent seamless launch of BetMGM into the Canadian province of Ontario bears that out. He spoke with GGB Managing Editor Jess Marquez in December.

Adam Greenblatt

Earle Hall was just named one of GGB’s 25 People to Watch for 2023, and it was a long time coming. Hall has been in gaming for more than 20 years figuring out how data can improve operations, customer service, and technology in the industry. Axes.ai provides anti-money laundering services, player loyalty efficiencies, marketing campaigns, real time rewards and promotions and transparent transactions. Hall, who’s background is in the Canadian military, is an inspirational leader whose impact on gaming is only going to get stronger. He spoke with GGB Managing Editor Jess Marquez in December.

Earle Hall

David Rebuck has been retiring from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement for several years but he can’t get out. The state’s chief regulator, he was appointed in 2011, coinciding with a change in regulatory structure in New Jersey that gave the DGE complete investigative power in that process. Since then he’s presided over the legalization of online gaming, the sports betting lawsuits that led to the PASPA decision by the Supreme Court in 2018, and becoming the first state to introduce sports betting outside of Nevada. He’s now served two governors and anticipates his retirement sometime in 2023. He spoke with GGB Publisher Roger Gros at the DGE offices in Atlantic City in August.

David Rebuck

Mike Bean was named CEO of Desert Diamond Casinos & Entertainment in April 2021. Desert Diamond is the casino arm of the Tohono O’odham Gaming Enterprise, which operates four casinos in Arizona. He has extensive experience in gaming working for Mohegan Sun, Foxwoods and Harrah’s Entertainment, and was most recently the CEO of the Saginaw Chippewa Gaming Enterprises in Michigan. Bean recently was responsible for the opening of the Desert Diamond West Valley Casino in Glendale. He spoke with GGB Publisher Roger Gros at G2E in October. (Listen to audio above or view the video below).

GGB: You just replaced your temporary casino in the West Valley with the permanent Desert Diamond. What’s special about this facility?

Mike Bean: It’s a nice new product in a great location. Over the past year we’ve spent a lot of time partnering with what’s referred to as the Westgate Entertainment Center. It has State Farm Stadium where the NFL Cardinals play. We recently became the naming partner for the arena nearby, so that is now Desert Diamond Arena. And within the Westgate Entertainment District, there are lots of shopping outlets, bars and restaurants. We are part of that area and it’s really nice to have that full entertainment zone next to our casino.

Give us some background of Desert Diamond Casinos.

We have four casinos. We have two in the Tucson market, one in Tucson itself, another one that is about 10 miles to the south, Sahuarita. And then we have the West Valley Casino, which is in Glendale, really basically adjacent to and practically part of Phoenix. And then we have a smaller casino in a town called Ajo, which is in the southwestern part of the state. We also have an opportunity to build a fifth casino as a result of the more recent compact renewals in Arizona. And the nation has acquired land to do that, and that land is pending being taken into trust. And while that’s occurring, we are planning for the ground-up build for that operation.

Tell us what you found when you arrived at Desert Diamond. Was there a lot of work that could be done?

It’s a well-run company and I’m fortunate to be part of it. When I got there we were still getting out of Covid. So the change that the team and I focused on was really doing our best to be responsible, but get ourselves back to what we call normal operations. And this past year was the first year since Covid where we are having a true benchmark for our business, even though planning and budgeting were difficult. So that’s where a lot of the focus has been. Because it’s such a well-run company, my focus will be on some refinement of the operations, but really on the growth. We ultimately hope to grow that Glendale property. It does not have a hotel, so we plan to add a hotel, a spa, convention space, entertainment, and more bars and restaurants. We want to make it more of a regional destination.

Obviously, the Phoenix market is the largest market in the state. I was in the tempo

Mike Bean

Legalizing sports betting in Indiana was one of the smoothest and most efficient processes in all the states. A reasonable tax rate, fees and regulations have proven to be a success story in the state. Senator Jon Ford steered that process through the state Senate and now he’s looking to do the same with iGaming. He spoke with GGB Publisher Roger Gros at the winter conference for the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States (NCLGS) at Resorts World in Las Vegas in December. (Listen to podcast above or view video below).


GGB: Indiana had a very successful launch of sports betting, particularly when you view the debuts in other states. Why was it so smooth in Indiana?

Jon Ford: I think one of the big reasons was conferences by NCLGS, where a lot of our legislators like myself got educated. And then we spent a lot of time on educating the General Assembly. We even brought the University of Nevada, Las Vegas out to Indiana to hold a class. So, the key was educational.

Did you model it after any specific state?

We took bits and pieces from a lot of different states, and definitely looked at New Jersey, especially for the regulating side.

(Division of Gaming Enforcement Director) Dave Rebuck in New Jersey is very open to counseling other states in terms of their regulations. They had it pretty much nailed right from the start.

They’ve had years of experience, so why not go to the best place that was operating at the top of the game?

What were some of your challenges in getting the bill passed?

Probably the biggest one was, did we really need to do this now? Was there that many people betting on sports? To me, that was kind of a silly argument because everybody’s been betting on sports for a long time, and we knew it was going on. There was also some controversy with the leagues at the time because it was so new. I think the leagues felt they should get a piece of the gaming dollars. So navigating that was an issue. And finally, obviously, Indiana is a very conservative state, and overcoming some of the religious objections was also a hurdle.

What were some of the compromises you had to make? You have a very reasonable tax rate. The fees were also pretty reasonable to get a license. But obviously there were other people that had wanted to raise it as high as possible.

The argument for me for keeping the rates low was we really wanted to get rid of the illegal market. So we believed if we keep taxes low and keep the barriers to entry low, that we could draw more of that illegal business into a regulated market.

The licensing process was an important part because we needed the integrity of gaming to be as high as possible, because otherwise people will start believing that the games aren’t fair.

What kinds of stipulations did you put in for responsible gaming to protect people who might have problems with gambling?

Geofencing was really a key piece. Obviously we need to do that to meet federal rules, but then we put in the

Jon Ford

Colin Ferris has a long history in the iGaming industry. Prior to joining Playtech as their iGaming product director, he was with IGT for 11 years as their head of content - interactive casino. His challenge with Playtech, which is one of the dominant suppliers of iGaming products in Europe and other parts of the world, is to bring their products and services to a U.S. audience. Playtech is going all out to penetrate the U.S. market, one in which Ferris is very familiar. He spoke with GGB Publisher Roger Gros at G2E in Las Vegas in October.

Colin Ferris

Steve Wynn was the first one to use fine art in a casino setting when he built the Bellagio and included a Fine Art Gallery. Since MGM has owned the property that effort has only increased. Demecina Beehn, the curator and manager of MGM Resorts’ art collection, explains how the gallery introduces many visitors to fine art, and also the company’s reasoning for including art in every one of its properties. She spoke with GGB Publisher Roger Gros for the cover story of GGB’s annual supplement on non-gaming amenities, Casino Style magazine, in November.

Demecina Beehn

The pandemic hit every company in the gaming industry hard and for TCSJohnHuxley it was no different. Tristan Sjöberg , the executive chairman, explains how he used the time to re-think the direction of his company. TCSJohnHuxley is now involved in online gaming supplying the hardware needed to make a visual impact for companies engaged in the live dealer space. He also talks about innovations at the table games, something the always sets TCSJohnHuxley apart from its competitors. He spoke with GGB Publisher Roger Gros at G2E in Las Vegas in October.
GGB Podcast sponsored by IGT.com

Tristan Sjöberg

London’s Hippodrome casino is one of the most unique in the world. With a history dating back over a century, the Hippodrome was a theater for much of its existence, hosting such events as vaudeville shows, circuses, aquatic extravaganzas, nightclubs and more. When Simon Thomas and his father Jimmy, who recently passed away, took over the property in 2009, they embarked on a complete restoration project that transformed the property into what it is today: one of England’s finest casinos. Simon Thomas sat down with GGB Publisher Roger Gros at G2E in October to talk about the past and the future of the Hippodrome.

Simon Thomas

Industry veteran Harald Neumann was named chief executive officer at Ainsworth Game Technology in September 2021, following a five-year tenure in the same position at Novomatic, Ainsworth’s majority shareholder. Since his appointment, Neumann has been focused on growing the North and Latin American markets, and the company’s historical horse racing (HHR) revolution has been a big part of that growth. Neumann spoke with GGB Editor Frank Legato at the Ainsworth booth at the G2E trade show in October. (Listen to podcast above, or see video below.)


GGB: Let’s start with some of the results—your earnings for fiscal year 2022 are up 38 percent, net income up to $11.8 million. What were the most critical contributors to these results?

Neumann: Well, the most critical was that the world recovered from Covid—I think that was the most important one. And of course, our U.S. piece has contributed more than 50 percent of our success; Latin America has recovered, Australia is becoming better and better, so in total, the recovery from Covid and of course our HHR business in the U.S., which also contributed a lot to our profitability.

How important are the Americas for Ainsworth, and what do you do to maintain growth in these markets?

We have defined three key markets for us: No. 1, U.S.; No. 2, Latin America; and No. 3, Australia. So you can see U.S. and Latin America are the first two. The U.S. is the biggest market by far in the casino area—we are quite successful already in the high-denomination area, and we want to increase our installed bases in the low-denomination area, and of course HHR should increase. Latin America is important for us, even though there are always some challenges, like in Mexico with the recent tax increase and smoking ban. But nevertheless, these markets are very important.

How has your commitment to R&D expanded and improved your product roadmap?

When I joined the company, this was priority No. 1, because the company will only survive if we are providing the right games to our clients. We hired a new CTO, David Bollesen, and we have two new studio heads in Vegas and in Australia. All of them are already contributing to our success. We debuted three games at G2E, Treasure Spirits, Ca$h Stacks Gold and Ultra Shot Gold, which are already indicative of the direction Ainsworth is going.

What have been the initial results back from the low-denomination additions?

We have already launched the games I mentioned in Sydney, and they are showing quite good results at the Star Sydney. We have had the experience that there’s a high probability that games which are successful in Australia will be successful in the U.S. We’ve really gotten quite positive feedback about the performance of our games, so I believe that we are going in the right direction.

Of course, we have to talk about HHR, where you’ve dominated the space. How have you been able to implement HHR development alongside your traditional offerings?

It

Harald Neumann

While Bally’s is a very recognizable name in the casino industry, it’s current iteration is relatively new and has a much loftier goal that previous versions. Soo Kim bought the brand from Caesars when he was running Twin Rivers, a relatively small casino company based in Rhode Island. Kim has set a path to Bally’s becoming a true omnichannel gaming company that excels in online gaming, sports betting, land-based gaming and sports entertainment. Kim says it’s been more difficult and has taken more time than he originally estimated, but believes his company is on the right path. He spoke with GGB Publisher Roger Gros at G2E in Las Vegas in October.

Soo Kim

Shape Games is the industry’s leading front end provider, focused on driving customer engagement and retention through the delivery of its customizable, fully native frontend technology to leading operators in regulated markets. Morton Tonnesen, the CCO of Shape Games, explains how his company has been working with the sports betting platform provider Kambi on specific projects, but the time has come for the two companies to join together. The recent acquisition of Shape by Kambi will benefit the company  by providing its customers with state-of-the art player-facing technology. He spoke with GGB Publisher Roger Gros at G2E in Las Vegas in October.

Morten Tonnesen

Penn National Gaming had been the leading regional gaming company for at least the past decade, but in the last few years, it has embraced an omnichannel approach to the business. Jay Snowden, the president and CEO, has taken an aggressive stance in positioning the company for growth in the digital field without taking his eyes off the land-based casinos. He spoke with GGB Publisher Roger Gros at G2E in Las Vegas in October. (For complete podcast listen to the audio above or view the video at the bottom of this article).


GGB: A lot of things have changed since we’ve seen each other. The first is the name of the company. Why did you do that?

Jay Snowden: We changed it for several reasons. We’ve evolved so much as a company over the course of the last three or four years. We were predominantly a regional gaming company, and we spun off all of our real estate in 2013 and 2014. So what we’ve been really focused on is evolution into more of an entertainment company.

We are now owner of two of the best sports media brands in North America, with Barstool Sports and theScore. We also now are operating in 14 states as an online sports betting operator, and a handful from an online casino perspective. So we felt like National Gaming Inc., didn’t really describe who we are anymore, and we felt “entertainment” was broadly more appropriate for us. And so the name change made a lot of sense, and it really speaks to not just the company we’ve become, but I think importantly where we’re going as a company.

Tell us why buying Barstool and theScore made sense for the company.

That’s something that we knew we needed to do as a company, because regional gaming in and of itself isn’t high growth. And we consider ourselves a growth company. We felt like once PASPA was overturned in May 2018, that opened the door for us to really think differently about the company going digital, and to really focus on an omnichannel strategy because we have structural advantages.

We own the brands that you mentioned. Those aren’t joint ventures. We’re not just investors. And we also own our brick-and-mortar assets and those licenses. So we can get customers, whether it’s through online sports betting or a casino visit or online gaming, or really loyal followers of our sports media assets and brands and the content behind those brands, bring them into the ecosystem and then introduce them to all of the other offerings that we have and do cross sale. That’s why I feel strongly that any business sector you look at, if you don’t have a very compelling digital and/or omnichannel strategy, you’re facing extinction in the relatively near future. So we needed to pivot, we’ve pivoted, we’ve embraced it, and here we go!

You recently announced expansions of some of your properties on the land-based side. What was that all about?

It’s another part of our strategy for growth. And you have to remember that even though a lot of the focus for the industr

Jay Snowden

Seasoned gaming veteran Joe Billhimer was named executive vice president of Cordish Gaming Group two years ago to direct the expansion of the company into Pennsylvania with the opening of the Live! Philadelphia and the mini-casino Live! Pittsburgh. Building the Philadelphia project during the pandemic was a challenge but well worth it, as both casinos have achieved remarkable success over a very short period. Billhimer spoke with GGB Publisher Roger Gros in a suite on the top floor of Live! Philadelphia in September. (Listen to complete podcast above or see video below).


GGB: Let’s talk about the location of Live! Philadelphia and what it was designed to be.

Joe Billhimer: Well, we are in the Stadium District of the city that has stadiums and arenas for the four major professional sports, and I believe we have transformed the Stadium District into a great place to come watch sports. This is a full resort destination with a tremendous location right off I-76 and right off I-95. We have great access in and out. We wanted to create in the Cordish style a great resort destination in a regional market.

What’s it like when there’s a football game across the street?

It’s controlled chaos in the Stadium District. When the Eagles play, they sell out, so there are a tremendous number of fans who go through this facility on game day. We also have Phillies, Sixers and Flyers game days a lot more often, but an Eagles game day takes on a special meaning and requires a lot of preparation from our team members.

You’ve got some beautiful rooms in this hotel. How has your ADR and occupancy rate been?

Our occupancy rate and our ADR have been well beyond our expectations, even during the pandemic. Obviously, we have a great spot here from a regional standpoint, but even locally we get a lot of staycations here. We haven’t gone after the four-diamond status yet but we certainly are a four-diamond type property. It’s as nice a hotel product as there is in Philadelphia in the luxury set.

You’ve also got some very nice meeting space. How has that been received?

It’s been working great. I don’t want to keep going back to pandemic, but that first eight or nine months was very difficult to attract groups. But since then, the city of Philadelphia as well as our property have seen a revitalization of that segment. We’ve been continuously booking, and our 2023 is looking great. We’re starting to even see repeat groups coming back now because they know what to expect. And on the sports side, it’s a great way for a public company to host a board meeting. We have a group come in from St. Louis when the Cardinals are playing here. They have a meeting and then go to a game. It’s been a great sales tool for us.

How has the sportsbook worked for you and your deal with FanDuel?

We were really looking for the integrated experience, not only just being a sportsbook, but being a sportsbook that had the amenity of sports and social and food. Our Spo

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