East Coast Gaming Congress - Day Two Recap

Day Two of The East Coast Gaming Congress was insightful because the panels were tackling issues that had the old guard vs. 21st Century thinking. I shuttled between Gender Equality in the Gaming Industry and Atlantic City.. And North Jersey?  They were in adjacent areas so I was able to cover both.

Virginia McDowell

The Gender Equality Panel consisted of Jan Jones Blackhurst,Vice President of  Government Relations at Caesars Entertainment, James Allen, CEO of Hard Rock International and Jane Bokunewicz,Assistant Professor of Tourism Management from Stockton University.  The moderator was the esteemed Virginia McDowell, President  and Board Chair of Global Gaming Women. This session should have been held by itself.  The turnout was light but the message was powerful. Women are underrepresented in management positions and are paid substantially less than their male counterparts. But the message and the numbers do not resonate unless they are heard by everyone. Most of the attendees were women and minorities. The data supports that companies that are diverse do better than one's that are not. Companies that have women in position of leadership are making more money than those where only men are present.

 

The Atlantic City ...And North Jersey panel had the most fireworks. The groups were divided by the trio that wanted a gaming expansion into North Jersey and one that was opposed. The Atlantic City group wants to maintain the momentum that they have by citing the increases in hotel occupancy and revenue over this time two years ago. They feel that casinos in North Jersey would derail that growth.

The North Jersey supporters of Jeff Gural and Paul Fireman, the two primary investors of the proposed Meadowlands and Jersey City project respectively, think that they are going after a market that Atlantic City does not have presently. No happy medium was reached.

 

The Casino Floor of Tomorrow gave a glimpse at what everyone thought the future gaming floor would look like. The consensus of this panel was that while we can't forget about our present customers, we must allocate a percentage of our space that will engage a younger crowd.

Geoff Freeman

Geoff Freeman, President & CEO, American Gaming Association, requested that the gaming industry do 3 things. The industry should expose the problems, see the opportunities and unify the stakeholders. This includes Sports Betting and Daily Fantasy Sports.

Part Two of the Day 2 recap will be on my Facebook and Twitter  mediums.


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East Coast Gaming Congress and I Gaming Preview

This week, the 19th Annual East Coast Gaming Congress and I Gaming institute will be held at the Borgata Casino Hotel in Atlantic City. This is the top gaming conference on the east coast. The dates are May 27-28.   I will take the opportunity now to preview this event.

The 1st day is dedicated to IGaming. This subject is the hot topic that every gaming operator in the country should be talking about. What looked like something that was not in the foreseeable future 4 years ago is now part of the landscape in New Jersey, Delaware and Nevada. The expansion into 3 of the most populous states in the country will be part of the discussion for sure. Those states are California, Pennsylvania and New York.

There are 3 panels the 1st day. One gives the recap of what I Gaming has done so far. A second panel takes the legislative view of what may happen within the next 18 months. I have a Q&A with Senator Lesniak that will cover some of the points from this panel. I am extremely interested in the following session.

CHALLENGES & OPPORTUNITIES*

While significant challenges remain for commercial iGaming in the United States to overcome, attractive opportunities beckon.  How are the issues encountered during the rollout being addressed?  How great is the opportunity for social games and how will they impact legalized casino and poker iGaming?  Are improvements necessary from the player’s perspective? What is the potential for US iGaming and how can it be achieved?  An expert panel of operators, vendors, and player advocates discuss the problems and potential solutions required to fulfill the promise of legalized Internet gambling.

Moderator:

Victor Rocha, Owner & Editor, Pechanga.net

Speakers:

Jon Friedberg, President & CEO, Overlay Gaming
Joe Pappano, CEO, Vantiv Gaming Solutions
Kim Little Sutherland, Director, Identity Management, Lexis Nexis
Dana Takrudtong, Vice President of Sales, GameAccount Network

 

Day Two has two panels that piqued my interest. The first is a group that deals with the Mid Atlantic Region.

THE MID-ATLANTIC: APPROACHING SATURATION?

Sponsored by eMarker

In the $8.7 billion Mid-Atlantic gaming market, as one state expands, another contracts, leaving the aggrieved state to expand its gaming offerings. And so the arms race continues in the Mid-Atlantic, where the word “saturation” is used frequently amid continuous industry and political activity over the last 10 years. Stakeholders from Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia will discuss how much growth – if any – is left in this six-state area.

Moderator:

Ken LeFevre, Managing Partner, Pathfinder Resouces, LLC

Speakers:

Yuri Cameron, Director, Market Planning, LexisNexis
Wendy Hamilton, General Manager, SugarHouse Casino
Bill Hayles, Vice President & General Manager, Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course
Helene Keeley, Member, Delaware House of Representatives
Lou Kirven, Director of Corporate Development, Empire City Casino
Edward Sutor, President & Chief Executive Officer, Dover Downs Hotel & Casino.

 

The second panel is about Marketing and relating to our next and new customer. The group that is able to unlock this door will be the leader of the gaming industry.

 

THE NEXT GENERATION OF GAMBLING

Sponsored by BMM Test Labs

Casino companies, iGaming operators, and game developers are seeking to tap into the fast-growing online segments of social and skill games, where games once played for fun are intersecting with bona fide gambling. Millennials glued to their mobile devices are driving this trend, which leads to critical questions: What will the casino of 2025 look like as gaming, gambling, and mobile intersect on the floor? Are these games a threat or an opportunity for traditional land-based casino operators? Are regulators in current i-gaming states equipped to test and control these new games? Experts from five different perspectives lead the discussion in this engaging panel.

Moderator:

William J. Pascrell, III, Partner, Princeton Public Affairs Group

Speakers:

David Chang, Chief Marketing Officer, Gamblit Gaming
Jeff Connors, President, Traffic Generation Limited
Kurt Freedlund, President, Lotto Interactive
Travis Foley, Executive Vice President, Operations – Americas, BMM Test Labs
Peter Yesawich, Vice Chairman, MMGY Global

I'll give my mini forecast of what I see coming from the 3 aforementioned panels.

I Gaming is the way to game in the future. Less emphasis on the personal social interaction and more connectivity through mobile and broadband. The opportunities for job creation and expansion are tremendous.

The Mid Atlantic Market is at slightly above saturation point. There is no growth in West Virginia and Delaware. Pennsylvania and New Jersey will rely on new games and innovations to grow the market.

The Next Generation customer is not a slot player. He or she is a social game player. The skill based component must be part of what appeals to a millinial customer. By 2025, there could conceivably be a casino within every major city in the United States.

Geoff Freeman

The  Keynote Luncheon Address will be given by Geoff Freeman, President & CEO, American Gaming Association.

Three of the 2015 sponsors of the 19th East Coast Gaming Congress include Drexel University,Stockton University and Fairleigh Dickinson University.

I will provide tweets from the active participants thru out the conference. For the entire lineup of  #ECGCiGI ,go here.

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2015 Jersey Shore Cast

I attended the Jersey Shore cast last Friday at Stockton University Carnegie Building in Atlantic City. There were two panel discussions. I found them both interesting. The following are excerpts from a press release from Stockton's News and Media Relations Director Maryjane Briant.

                          .

The way forward for Atlantic City is to diversify its economy, agreed panelists at the Carnegie Center event, sponsored by the Lloyd D. Levenson Institute of Gaming, Hospitality & Tourism (LIGHT).

 

 

The first panel was an academic one with Busler, Tyrrell and Cooke, and moderated by Dr. Israel Posner, executive director of LIGHT.

 

The second, with industry experts Wieland, Pepenella and Joseph Kelly, president of the Greater Atlantic City Chamber of Commerce, was moderated by LIGHT’s new associate director, Felicia Grondin.

 

“This is a transition period and this is a good thing,” said Kelly. “”Starting to diversity is the key.”

He noted that the 85,000-square-foot Bass Pro shop just opened in Atlantic City and that Harrah’s is investing in a major new convention facility, showing confidence that the area will rebound.

 

Beyond that, Kelly said existing properties in Atlantic City should be repurposed as higher education facilities with a “renewable” customer base, as new students start their educations each year.

 

Busler said the city should attract or expand health care facilities, which along with the cultural and educational attractions of a university, would lead more Baby Boomers to retire here.

 

“Meds and Eds,” said Busler, summing up that redevelopment strategy.

 

Kelly said casinos, conventions and tourism events will always have a place in Atlantic City’s diversified economy. The Chamber sponsors the Atlantic City Air Show, which provides $42 million in economic impact in the region, he said. This year, it will be held in September, extending the season.

 

If Revel reopens this summer that would change the picture, but it is unclear whether that will happen, both Tyrrell and Busler said. “The hope is that Revel reopening would grow the market, but the reality is, it may take away from some of the other casinos,” Busler said.

 

Tyrrell also noted that LIGHT issued its quarterly report on Atlantic City Tourism Performance Indicators today, which found that despite the closing of casinos in the last year, much of the gaming-related business remained “captured” in the Atlantic City market.

 

“Per property performance for the remaining casinos in the Atlantic City market increased,” the 2014 year-end report found. Click to read the full report.
 



Stockton University acquisition of  Showboat

 

I want to take the balance of this post to address the elephant in the room. Stockton is involved an acquisition of Showboat Casino. This would immediately revitalize Atlantic City with the "Eds" part of the redevelopment. Add the appeal of staying near the beach to a college student versus inland. The chance to do an internship that is catered to the theoretical perspective and real world application. There should be a way to accommodate education in a gaming environment. UNLV is embraced by Las Vegas.  Atlantic City could open up some of the restrictions that presently stifled development and diversity. The old model does not work anymore.

 

Here are some of the latest events planned for the shore. They include Summer Festivals and New Places to Eat at the Beach. I want to thank Dr. Posner for inviting me to this event. Stockton is known for providing the metrics of projecting trends that are relevant to Atlantic City and New Jersey. Expect more innovation from the East Coast Gaming Congress in Atlantic City from Borgata Casino on May 27-28.

                                            
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