Real estate investment trusts have been used in many industries, including the hospitality industry, but gaming remained untouched until Peter Carlino spun off Gaming & Leisure Properties, Inc. (GLPI) from Penn National Gaming in 2013. When the transaction immediately produced value for both Penn and GLPI shareholders, the race was on and both Caesars and MGM created their own REITs. Carlin and Matthew Demchyk, the senior vice president and chief investment officer for GLPI, explain why REITs make a lot of sense in the gaming business and why the potential for gaming REITs is still growing. They joined GGB Publisher Roger Gros and editor Frank Legato in early February from the GLPI offices in Reading, Pennsylvania.

GGB Magazine Podcast

Peter Carlino and Matthew Demchyk

The phrase “skill games” means many different things in different parts of the industry. In mobile gaming, it can be play-for-free games, but the real gold mine is in real money games. Peter Gan heads a company called Royal Wins and has developed mobile real-money skill games that have had great success in the jurisdictions where they are offered. He points out that because there is skill involved, there are different regulatory environments, which sometimes aren’t as onerous as games that depend wholly on chance. He spoke with GGB Publisher Roger Gros in January from his offices in Australia.

Peter Gan

Anthony Cabot is one of the most effective gaming attorneys in the industry, so it was no surprise when he was named Distinguished Fellow in Gaming Law by the UNLV Boyd School of Law upon his retirement. But you can’t keep a good man down, so he’s been able to promote the law school and recently was included in an announcement that Entain, the British iGaming provider, would launch an online gaming program for operators, regulators, lawyers and others who work in and around the global gaming industry. He also addresses what he sees as shortcomings in the approach to problem gambling in Nevada. He spoke with GGB Publisher Roger Gros via Zoom from the law school in January.

Anthony Cabot

Joe Asher keeps changing jobs, but always ends up on top. After bringing his Brandywine sports betting company to Nevada, it was soon bought by William Hill, which in turn was bought by Caesars Entertainment early last year. After a summer at the track, Asher accepted the position of president of sports betting for technology provider, IGT. He explains the path to IGT and why it makes perfect sense for him now. He also gives us his views on the upcoming Super Bowl and how this year may be different with so many sports betting jurisdictions up and running for the first time. And finally he focuses on his first love, horse racing, and explains where he thinks that industry is going. He spoke with GGB Publisher Roger Gros at the IGT offices in Las Vegas last week.

Joe Asher

Andrew Cardno is a legend in the gaming industry. For years, he has been an advocate of being able to access and interpret the millions of data points in the data banks of every casino operator. Cardno has joined with another legend, Ralph Thomas, to create their groundbreaking company Quick Custom Intelligence or QCI. The company has created platforms that enable casino executives to access and interpret data about customers, slot activity, marketing applications and loyalty programs so they can give their players what they want. QCI makes extensive use of artificial intelligence along with blockchain technology to create programs that gaming operators can easily understand and apply. He spoke with GGB Publisher Roger Gros in January from his office in San Diego.

Andrew Cardno

Cynthia Kiser Murphey had a long and distinguished career with MGM Resorts, leading its human resources efforts for 15 years and later as president and CEO of New York-New York in Las Vegas from 2008 until May 2020. She was recently hired as the general manager of the Palms Casino Hotel in Las Vegas, which is now owned by the San Manuel tribe of Southern California, the first Las Vegas casino resort owned and operated by a Native American gaming venture. The Palms will reopen in the spring. Murphey sat down with GGB Publisher Roger Gros on the day after the deal with previous owner Station Casinos closed. GGB: What attracted you to the Palms? Cynthia Kiser Murphey: I think the Palms is a very unique, and a bit of a boutique asset for our community and for our industry, and there are tremendous opportunities to leverage everything that the Palms has. A meticulous job was done to remodel and to carefully think about how to reenergize and refresh it. So it’s a real opportunity to take what’s here. Station bought the Palms three years ago, and they were able to put half a billion dollars into renovating it. It’s a beautiful property; it’s still almost brand new. What do you have to do to open the doors? Well, first and foremost, hire back 1,200 Las Vegans—get 1,200 Nevadans back to work. That’s super important. There’s a bit of work to do operationally too. When we were with the Gaming Commission yesterday, I made reference to “If you leave your TV turned off for a couple years…” So the sportsbook needs technology as well as other areas of the resort. We also need to do some work in the back of the house to refresh some of the employee areas, and make that more consistent with the values of the San Manuel organization. The tribe’s values are a really important message to the employees. There have always been these great themed suites on the property. They had the Playboy suite, they had a basketball suite. They’ve got swimming pools in some of the suites. Are you going to continue still to offer those kinds of themes? The suites are a really exciting thing, and when we bring on a new executive to send them on the tour they are very impressed. They’re outstanding, and they are in great condition, and just the experiences we can bring to guests will be really, really amazing. So, I look forward to that. You must appeal to locals to be successful. Will you offer what they want—good video poker, reasonable table game rules, a buffet and a progressive players club? Very much so. We’re looking at that, and I think what I’ve learned so far about the Palms is there was a lot of geography based on the different entryway doors, so that will be kind of an interesting play on how to merchandise the gaming floor, and really to look at different day parts and look at different customer segments. Embracing the Las Vegas community will be extremely important. Obviously you didn’t get the Station database when you bought the place, but how are you planning to build a new database of customers? We’re working on some plans right now to start building that, and that’s obviously going to be a core component of the Palms. And doing it deliberately. This market has changed a lot. The pandemic changed all of the market conditions, so what do we do to respond to that and really come out with something fresh and new for the customer? That will be a very big focus of our team. Another thing that the Palms has always been famous for is its food and beverage. When Station opened, they had a couple of celebrity chefs like Michael Symon Mabel’s BBQ. What kind of plans do you have for the food and beverage outlets here? Well, Michael Symon is definitely a big part of it. He actually came to see us; we just met with him recently in Mabel’s. A few members of our team went to Cleveland a few months ago to enjoy his amazing barbecue. We’re also very excited about the steakhouse, Scotch 80 Prime. And really adding an element that I believe was initially intended—we know what Scotch 80 means if you live in Las Vegas; it’s in a historic neighborhood of Las Vegas, and we’ll celebrate that, tying that to the fame of that steakhouse. I’m super excited about doing that. Tell us about how you plan to build an executive staff. You have this great background in human resources, so what are your plans to recruit some of the executives you want to bring in here? We’re going to be a small and mighty team of people, working hard to bring together people with the right skill set with the right approach and philosophy. It’s very important for us to be completely aligned with the values of San Manuel, and the rich history and the culture, the real commitment to people, the real humble approach to how we do business, and finding the right people will be crucial. And that’ll be my job in the next 90 days—to get that group fired up and get everybody lined up with all the things we needed to do to get open. This is the first hotel casino in Las Vegas that’s owned by a Native American tribe. Actually, their hospitality arm, we have to make that designation. But that must be exciting, to be able to take the lead in something that’s really groundbreaking like this. The moment of history is not lost on me. It’s very symbolic and very important for San Manuel and for GHA—the Gaming and Hospitality Authority—it’s very important that we do this right. And we have a legacy to create for them, and we own that. And we’re going to do everything we can to honor them and to represent them and to be the kind of property that they can be proud of.

Cynthia Kiser Murphey

VizExplorer was one of the first companies in the industry to focus on analytics and how they can be interpreted for the benefit of both the operator and the customer. David Patent joined in 2018 after a career in the operations side of gaming, including stints with Rush Street Gaming and Harrah’s Entertainment. Using his experience as an operator, he has been able to fine tune the VizExplorer products in ways that have produced results for his clients. He explains how VizExplorer can use information contained in the databases of all casinos to improve player development and create actionable strategies. He spoke with GGB Publisher Roger Gros at the VizExplorer offices in Las Vegas in November.

David Patent

Inspired Entertainment was a groundbreaker in virtual sports, simulated games with great graphics and unique betting systems. The company also has operations in several European countries and is incorporating its games in many of the lottery platforms around the world. Brooks Pierce has been president and chief operating officer of Inspired since 2018 and along with the CEO Lorne Weil, a former leader of Scientific Games, has directed the growth of the company into new and synergistic parts of the gaming industry. He spoke with GGB Publisher Roger Gros at G2E in Las Vegas in October.

Brooks Pierce

After 25 years as a deputy district attorney and a judge in the Nevada District Court, Jennifer Togliatti has a new challenge. She was appointed in October 2021 as the first woman to chair the Nevada Gaming Commission. The commission is the final step in the regulatory process whether it’s licensing, regulations or sanctions. The Nevada Gaming Control Board makes recommendations that the commission can either affirm or deny. Togliatti says she’s use her judicial experience and rely on the staff of the control board to educate her on the sometimes complicated technology of gaming. She spoke with GGB Publisher Roger Gros via Zoom in December.

Jennifer Togliatti

GAN has been involved in social gaming, iGaming and now sports betting for more than 10 years. But it’s a new division focused on sportsbetting has brought in some cutting-edge technology with the purchase of Coolbet, a European B2B and B2C company. Richard Veltri, one of the founders of Coolbet is now the COO of GAN Sports, and Rob Lekites, who came over from Twin Spires, the sports betting arm of Churchill Downs, is the vice president for GAN Sports. While Coolbet has some B2C activity in Europe, in North America it’s strictly concentrating on B2B, with a technology that will allow clients of GAN Sports to stand out from their competitors. Lekites and Veltri joined GGB Publisher Roger Gros on Zoom in November to explain what makes their platform so different.

Richard Veltri and Rob Lekites

Ray Pineault was promoted to president and CEO of Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment, in May 2021. He took over a company with ambitious projects and an operational expertise second to none. Pineault explains why the Inspire project in Incheon, South Korea, will be his focus for at least the next two year, and why MG&E backed out of a partnership to build an integrated resort outside of Athens, Greece. He talks about the company’s first involvement in gaming in Las Vegas, operating the casino at the new Virgin Las Vegas hotel, and how milestones were reached at the Mohegan Sun flagship hotel in Connecticut and Mohegan Sun Pocono in Pennsylvania. He also reveals why the company has a head start in iGaming due to their experience in New Jersey where they operate Resorts Atlantic City. He spoke with GGB Publisher Roger Gros via Zoom from his offices in Connecticut in December.

Ray Pineault

When it comes to esports, the casino industry is confused. While it’s a demographic casinos would like to attract, the method of bringing them in is still uncertain. Whether it’s esports arenas, lounges or tournaments, the success of those elements are still in doubt. One area that has much potential is betting on esports. Marek Suchar is the co-founder and managing director, partnerships of Oddin.gg, a Czech-based company that provides the framework for esports wagering. He explains why betting on esports is largely done online and how casinos can capitalize on these opportunities. He spoke with GGB Publisher Roger Gros at G2E in Las Vegas in October.

Marek Suchar

Jason Ader has a long history in gaming starting as a Wall Street analyst in the 1980s. He later became the chief gaming analyst for Bear Stearns and then moved on to the investor side of the business. He formed SpringOwl Asset Management a few years ago and has played a major role in the development of companies like Las Vegas Sands, and has recently turned his attention to online gaming. His membership on the board of Playtech has resulted in the company becoming a sought-after acquisition target and is now helping Japan’s Universal Entertainment, owner of the Okada integrated resort in Manila, to go public. He spoke with GGB Publisher Roger Gros from his home in Florida in November.

Jason Ader

Art Paikowsky was recently named as president of the International Center for Responsible Gaming (ICRG). He brings decades of experience in charities and non-profits, and is rapidly getting up to speed on gaming. Paikowsky assumes his duties as concerns about responsible gaming ramp up with the rapid spread of sports betting in the U.S. He explains that the new participants in this side of the industry need to get committed to research and treatment of problem gambling by funding the work done by the ICRG. He spoke with GGB Publisher Roger Gros at G2E in October.

Art Paikowsky

Arnold Snyder is a legend in the gaming industry. A professional gambler and one of seven original members of the Blackjack Hall of Fame, Snyder launched the magazine Blackjack Forum, which was the bible for blackjack players for over 20 years. He recently published his ninth book on gambling, Radical Blackjack, in which he outlines his strategies, locations and individuals that were previously not mentioned in any of his other books. He’s speaking at the World Game Protection Conference, February 15-17 at the Tropicana in Las Vegas. He spoke with GGB Publisher Roger Gros at the Las Vegas offices of his publisher, Huntington Press, in October.

Arnold Snyder

The GGB Podcast features interviews with leaders in the global gaming industry.

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GGB Magazine Podcast

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