THE AGENDA
BY ROGER GROS , PUBLISHER
Naming Names
One of the advantages of being in the gaming industry over the past 40 years has been watching talented people climb the ladder to become presidents , CEOs , chairmen — leaders of their companies and organizations .
Starting even before I covered gaming as a journalist , the people I connected with as a dealer and part-time supervisor at Caesars Atlantic City , the Golden Nugget and Showboat — many of the people who were my supervisors , pit bosses and executives — have taken that route . So I can say I knew them when . Even with very little experience in the industry at that time , I could recognize when someone was special in the way that they treated their employees and their bosses .
When I was working as a baccarat dealer at Caesars , our casino president was Terry Lanni . His availability to his line employees was extraordinary . We could come to him at any time with our concerns — and you ’ d best believe we had a lot of them in the early days of Atlantic City gaming — and he would calmly listen . If he could help , he did so . If not , he ’ d explain why . And of course everyone knows how high Terry rose in the industry , becoming one of the legendary leaders of MGM .
And when I was recruited to deal baccarat at the Golden Nugget a couple of years later by my now good friend Arte Nathan , I had the chance to meet the man who invented so much in the gaming business , Steve Wynn . When we dealers were sitting at a dead baccarat game — the “ big ” game , not the singledealer table in today ’ s world — he ’ d sit down and just talk to us . I learned so much from him — it was like a master ’ s degree in gaming . And the people who worked for him had the same respect for all the employees . Yes , I know in hindsight this may sound silly , but times were different back then .
When I started covering gaming with Casino Journal , we took an employee-friendly approach . Our publication was distributed in the employee lounges of the Atlantic City casinos and our mission was to make their lives better . So we ’ d interview the leaders of the casinos to get their perspective of where the industry was going and how employees could participate . And I think we did our job . Even today in almost every gaming jurisdiction around the world , you ’ ll find folks who got their start in Atlantic City and now are the leaders in their particular regions .
At the Sands in Atlantic City , I met the “ power trio ” of Bill Weidner , Brad Stone and Rob Goldstein , who made that little casino a dynamo . They later joined Sheldon Adelson and propelled Las Vegas Sands into a worldwide gaming behemoth , turning sleepy Macau into the world ’ s most successful gaming destination . Goldstein still leads this important company . Most of the top executives in Atlantic City at that time went on to become leaders of their corporations .
When Casino Journal transformed into a true gaming trade publication , I got to meet the people who truly led the worldwide industry such as Adelson , Barron Hilton , Kirk Kerkorian , Arthur Goldberg and many others . That continued when I left Casino Journal to form Global Gaming Business .
And credit also goes to the manufacturing / vendor side of the industry . I had the honor of interviewing Si Redd , the inventor of video poker and founder of IGT ; Chuck Mathewson , who took that company to dizzying heights ; John Acres , who has more patents than any single gaming individual ; Len Ainsworth , the man who went from making dental equipment to building slot machines for now-industry giant Aristocrat and later for a company that carries his name ; James Maida , who went from a B-level regulator to found Gaming Laboratories International ( GLI ), which tests and authenticates all gaming technology ; Gary Platt , who revolutionized casino seating ; and many more .
And let ’ s not forget the people who actually built these casinos — the architects , designers and builders . Lots of them got their start by working with Steve Wynn , including Joel Bergman , Paul Steelman , Brad Friedmutter , Roger Thomas , DeRuyter Butler and more . Dick Rizzo with Perini Builders was the one to make it happen .
I didn ’ t mean for this column to be the namedropping extravaganza it became — and apologize to anyone who I didn ’ t mention . My point was that every one of the names mentioned here started at the bottom of their companies or their craft , and the opportunities that they grasped on their way up the ladder are still there . Talented people , people with a true love for the industry , people who “ get ” it , are the people who will succeed and rise to a prominence equal to or greater than anyone mentioned in this piece .
Vol . 23 • No . 7 • JULY 2024
Roger Gros , Publisher | rgros @ ggbmagazine . com X : @ GlobalGamingBiz
Frank Legato , Editor | flegato @ ggbmagazine . com X : @ FranklySpeakn
Jess Marquez , Managing Editor jmarquez @ ggbmagazine . com
Monica Cooley , Art Director mcooley @ ggbmagazine . com
Terri Brady , Sales & Marketing Director tbrady @ ggbmagazine . com
Beck Kingman-Gros , Associate Publisher & COO bkingros @ ggbmagazine . com
Lisa Johnson , Communications Advisor lisa @ lisajohnsoncommunications . com X : @ LisaJohnsonPR
Columnists Maureen Beddis | Julia Carcamo | Frank Fantini
Contributing Editors Jill R . Dorson | Marese O ' Hagan Bill Sokolic twitter : @ downbeachfilm | Buck Wargo ______________
EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Rino Armeni , President , Armeni Enterprises
• Dike Bacon , Principal / Partner , HBG Design
• Lauren Bates , President , Global Gaming Women
• Mark A . Birtha , Senior Vice President & General Manager , Hard Rock International
• Brendan Bussmann , Principal , BGlobal Advisors
• Alex Dixon , CEO , DRA / Q Casino
• Daron Dorsey , Executive Director , Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers
• Sally Gainsbury , Director at Gambling Treatment & Research Clinic & Professor of Psychology , University of Sydney
• Stephen Martino , Vice President & Chief Compliance Officer , MGM Resorts International
• Bill Miller , President and CEO , American Gaming Association
• Walt Power , CEO , Grand Ho Tram
• Rob Russell , Senior Gaming Analyst , Regulatory Management Counselors PC
• James Siva , Chairman , California Nations Indian Gaming Association / Vice Chairman , Morongo Band of Mission Indians
• Michael Soll , President , The Innovation Group
• Kresimir Spajic , Chief Executive Officer , Betfred Sportsbook
• Katherine Spilde , Executive Director , Sycuan Gaming Institute , San Diego State University —————— GGB Magazine 1000 Nevada Way • Suite 204 • Boulder City , NV 89005 702-248-1565 • 702-248-1567 ( fax ) www . ggbmagazine . com
The views and opinions expressed by the writers and columnists of GLOBAL GAMING BUSINESS are not necessarily the views of the publisher or editor .
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GLOBAL GAMING BUSINESS is published monthly by Clarion Gaming International , LLC . Printed in Nevada , USA . Postmaster : Send Change of Address forms to : 1000 Nevada Way , Suite 204 , Boulder City , NV 89005 Email : subscriptions @ ggbmagazine . com
Official Publication
4 Global Gaming Business JULY 2024