A new tradition has been established to honor the late Indian Gaming Association Chairman Ernie Stevens Jr. and it got off to a running start.
The first of what is planned to be many IGA Wellness Walk and Run honoring Stevens was held near the San Diego Convention Center with about 100 people in attendance at the 7 a.m. event, some two hours before the conference kicked off for the day.
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Organized by Veterans in Gaming, consisting of military veterans who work in the casino industry, the event honored the spirit of service that guided Stevens’s life. Stevens’s father, Ernie Stevens Sr., was a United States Marine who handed down an example of service and discipline to his son.
This year’s walk featured Dawn Manuelito, a Navajo Nation citizen and founder of Manuelito Health and Wellness Systems, leading participants in honor of her grandfather, Navajo Code Talker PFC James C. Manuelito Sr., a Marine who served during World War II.
Daniel Kustelski, co-founder and CEO of sports betting and technology company Chalkline, helped organize the event as part of Veterans in Gaming. Kustelski is a U.S. Army veteran.
Kustelski said they have done a fun run and walk at the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas for the past five years. Last year marked the first time to hold one with IGA. IGA show Chair Victor Rocha thought it was a good idea to have an event this year to celebrate Stevens and have combine a run, walk, and wellness.
A one mile-walk and 1½-mile run to and from the Convention Center went along the San Diego harbor out to the USS Midway Museum, which made it apropos from a veterans’ perspective, Kustelski said.
“It went so well that we’re going to do it again next year,” Kustelski said. “It’s for a great cause and we were amazed at the turnout at 7 a.m. These shows get long and tiring and people go out at night. People who came out were saying San Diego is so nice and were glad they got up and came down, saw the ceremony, and walked around.”
Veterans in Gaming is a non-profit intended to identify veterans, foster relationships, and build community inside the gaming industry. The group also does outreach for those leaving the military for opportunities in the gaming industry.
Kustelski, who wears a Veterans in Gaming pin during the show, said there’s an instant camaraderie when veterans come together.
“We’re all in it, and there are a lot of opportunities. So we welcome people into that transition,” Kustelski said. “That transition is tough. A lot of them don’t know what they’re going to do, where they’re going to land, and what industries are fun. In gaming, you can do finance, security, tech, and marketing.”
