You would think the opening of a conference and trade show would be a bit stressful for the organizer. Naturally, with more than 300 attendees, a handful of speakers, and dozens of vendors, Deana Scott has her hands full. But neither the word nor the concept of “stress” seems to be in her vocabulary.
“I love it. I love being able to connect with all the different aspects of people in this industry. I love hearing what people are doing.”
When not running the annual Casino Marketing & Technology Conference, Scott’s day job is CEO and owner of Raving Consulting. Raving has a full roster of worldwide clients, but the focus is on Native American casino operators.
During her interview with CDC Gaming, Scott was multi-tasking, taking notes on her iPhone and answering incoming texts. She showed me the long list of items she’s already recorded for next year’s 2025 conference. She began the list about four months ago.
She credits much of her serenity this week to her “incredible” staff of 11, along with 20 or so consultants. She also recruited a handful of family members, from cousins to grandchildren, to work at the registration booth.
Joel Rovics, the CMO at Quick Custom Intelligence, one of the main sponsors, says, “This event seems more educational than many and less of a sales presentation. The very marketing people we want to meet as an analytics company attend this show.”
Scott said the focus of this year’s event is about “how to grow the business, keep the experience fun and motivational for the players, and build loyalty around your property.” Nearly two dozen sessions of speakers or panelists offer suggestions on those topics.
Raving’s consulting work allows them to focus the conference on the most relevant marketing topics. “We’re better able to hear what’s going on and what people want to talk about. We also get to find some incredible presenters that aren’t yet out in front of people.” She adds, “One of the things I love about building the conference content is finding those people in the industry that are working behind the scenes or at a smaller property. They don’t get out as much, but they’re doing incredible work with either less resources or just a different way of thinking.”
Scott also likes to inject fun into the event with games and entertainment. The first evening concludes with a nightclub party and the show closes with a VIP bowling tournament. Of course, there are multiple cocktail parties.
Promotional materials call this event “the longest-running and only conference dedicated to casino-marketing technology, analytics, and host and player development.” Indeed, only a handful of such conferences have survived more than a few years.
Raving’s conference at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, NV, this year is celebrating its 20th anniversary, started by Raving’s founder Dennis Conrad in 2004. There was a two-year break when it went online only during COVID. The event moves to southern California next year and the Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula.
