The agenda and list of speakers for the 21st annual TribalNet conference and trade show have been finalized. Gaming and hospitality, security, and leadership are among the topics for the virtual format taking place on Nov. 10 and 11.
The gaming sessions deal with in-room and hospitality technology, cashless gaming, sports betting successes and failures, meeting guest expectations, and igaming technology and successes.
The leadership sessions include leading through a crisis, leadership styles, and the long-term impact of the coronavirus on the workplace.
The security sessions focus on cybersecurity threats.
Here is the link to the agenda.
The opening keynote speaker is Andy Masters, an award-winning author and international lecturer who will talk about leadership. The keynote speaker on the second day is Robert Tucker, president of the Innovation Resource Consulting Group, who will discuss innovation strategies for shaping the post-pandemic future.
To kick off the gaming track on Nov. 10, Larry Fretz, the Native American technology, gaming, and hospitality lead at Info-Tech Research Group, will talk about guest expectations for hotel-room technology and what tribes can do to deliver the best experiences.
Kevin Smith, the director of marketing and communications for SBC, will headline a discussion on sports betting. He will be joined by Sheila Morago, the executive director of the Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association; Valerie Spicer, founding partner with the Trilogy Group; and Witek Wacinski, vice president of strategy and development with BetMGM.
A roundtable discussion on Nov. 10 will revolve around the changing guest expectations specific to technology and meeting those challenges with customer interaction and touchpoints. The discussion will include Patrick Tinklenberg, vice president of information technology at Sycuan Casino; Steve Neely, general manager Rolling Hills Casino; and Virgil DeBrosse, information-technology senior account manager of the Chickasaw Nation.
On Nov. 11, Rick Alprin, managing partner of KPMG, will host a session on cashless gaming and its potential return on investment for tribes around customer spending habits and marketing. He will update where tribal gaming stands in terms of cashless and mobile wallets.
In another session, Marcus Yoder, senior vice president of sales with GAN, will talk about online gaming, ranging from social casinos to on-premises mobile and statewide igaming.
The conference works for every time zone, with a starting time of 11 a.m. Eastern for five one-hour learning sessions that end at 4 p.m. Eastern. They’re available on replay for 30 days. To register, click here.
The conference will also host a tradeshow that goes beyond the timeline of the educational sessions and starts on Nov. 9. Here is the list of participants.
Mike Day, founder and CEO of TribalNet, an organization that brings together tribes and resources, said the conference will return to Dallas in 2021 after missing out this year due to COVID-19. The virtual conference, however, is creating an opening for more people to participate, thanks to the lack of travel and hotel expenses.
“Because we’re seeing a big increase in attendance, both on the attendee side and at the virtual trade show with almost 60 exhibitors, we decided to add a bonus day to kick it off on Nov. 9,” added Shannon Bouschor, TribalNet’s director of operations. “There is no added cost. That will give people a day to explore and check out what’s going to happen and plan their agendas. The trade show will be open that day as well from noon to 4 p.m. Eastern. They can connect with solution providers on the floor, do product demos and chat with each other.”
Besides the gaming and hospitality track and one on leadership, Day said the security track will be important for the tribal gaming industry.
“Security is really important in gaming, especially with all the breaches of casinos,” Day said. “We’re seeing the ones that are made public, but there’s a lot more going on. We’re working on how we can band together as an industry to prevent that by sharing security information. We want to help prevent (the breaches) from happening in the future.”
Day said the virtual platform resembles walking into a large convention center. People will feel like they’re at the event. There will also be a greater chance to network than at in-person conferences.
“We’re going to be talking a lot about how things have changed because of the pandemic,” Day said. “Those are hot topics. We’ll discuss some of the unique ways people have put things in place to get around that. We’re going to focus on the technology that’s making that work.”
The leadership sessions focus on crises. In one case, tribes hadn’t moved quickly to the cloud, but the crisis has forced that to happen, Day said.
“The pandemic has forced them to jump into it with both feet,” Day said. “Some pretty big changes are going on where they have to figure out how to manage and deal with things they weren’t dealing with before.”
A gaming advisory board, made up of tribal casino executives across the country, put together the gaming agenda, Bouschor said.
“We’re not just a conference. We’re also an organization based on leadership and the connecting we do for the industry,” Bouschor said. “The conference is one way we do that. For us to push forward this year and put this conference on is because we are a network.”
TribalNet plans six regional events during the first and second quarters of 2021.
