The UNLV Gaming & Hospitality Education Series will open its second year on Feb. 21st looking ahead to the gaming scene in Las Vegas in 2020 and beyond.
The day-long event is the first of six episodes held throughout 2019 on the campus of UNLV. One exception with a visit to Southern California in May. The sessions will be televised over the Internet and available for replay.
Next month’s session is titled: “The Road To 2020: Keeping Pace with Gaming & Vegas Changes,” from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with a reception following the final panel discussion.
Major changes are coming to Las Vegas and the gaming industry in 2020, according to Roger Gros, publisher of Global Gaming Business and one of the sponsors of the educational series. In Las Vegas, 2020 marks the opening of the $1.8 billion Las Vegas Stadium, home to the NFL’s Raiders, the $4 billion Resorts World Las Vegas, the 18,00-seat MSG Sphere entertainment facility, and the multi-million-dollar Circa Las Vegas casino resort in downtown.
Gros said the opening of the new casinos and relocation of the Raiders and other entertainment options “will turn the Strip on its head.” In gaming, changes in technology will accelerate and “begin moving at the speed of light as we enter the new decade,” Gros added.
The Road to 2020 will prepare operators, suppliers, regulators and educators for what lies ahead
“From new ways to play casino games to shifting demographics to a reconfigured casino floor, gambling in 2020 and beyond will change fundamentally,” Gros said. “We wanted to start with a bang. Once we turn to 2020, there’s a lot of changes going on.”
John Restrepo, president of RCG Economics, will kick-off the session, giving the economic outlook for Las Vegas in 2020.
The second session outlines the Las Vegas casino and entertainment projects under construction as convention facilities being built by Caesars Entertainment and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
Nehme Abouzeid, president of LaunchVegas, will moderate a panel discussion that includes Jan Jones Blackhurst, executive vice president, public policy and corporate responsibility with Caesars Entertainment, and Derek Stevens, CEO of the D Hotel & Casino, who’s building Circa.
The third session talks about the shifting demographics of the new Las Vegas visitor of who is coming, why are the coming and what are they doing when they’re here.
Oliver Lovat, CEO, managing director with Denstone REA, will moderate the discussion with Stephen Hill, CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
During the afternoon, a session titled, “The New Casino Floor: Technology & Design Intersect,” will center on the speed of technology in the casino industry, which has trailed other business sectors. Gros said regulators are moving at a faster pace to approve technology that’s impacting the design of the casino floor that hasn’t changed in decades.
Mark Birtha, president and CEO of Hard Rock Casino in Sacramento will moderate the discussion that includes Debi Nutton, vice president, casino administrator with Wynn Resorts.
“The casino is going to change remarkably with the technology advancing so quickly,” Gros said. “I’m not sure people know how that’s going to change the casino floor itself.”
In the midafternoon, there will be a panel discussion on staging themed events to create excitement for casino customers. Roberta Perry, vice president, business development with Edward Technologies will moderate the discussion with features Eddie Sotto, founder of Sotto Studios.
The day wraps up with a session titled: “The Diverse Organization: What It Really Means to Lead ‘Like A Woman.’”
The moderator is Christie Eickelman, vice president, global marketing with GLI. The panel members include Eileen Moore, regional president – Cromwell, Linq, Flamingo and Harrah’s Las Vegas; Phyllis Gilland, senior vice president and general counsel with Golden Entertainment, and Ann Simmons Nicholson, president/CEO with the Simmons Group.
Future UNLV series in March will focus on operators versus manufacturers and an April series will discuss table games and electronic table games
In May, the UNLV series will travel to California and the Morongo Resort & Casino, where tribal gaming executives can learn about the latest trends in slot machines, how non-gaming amenities can set you apart from your competitors, how finance and cash transactions are getting increasing attention from state and federal governments, and how investment in new technology will provide a dramatic return on investment.
There will also be a panel of the leaders of Southern California casinos and tribes.
After the summer break, the series will resume in September on casinos differentiating themselves with food and beverage. The final event of 2019 is in October and will deal with customer service and human relations.
The series is a cooperative effort between the UNLV William F. Harrah College of Hospitality, Casino Connection Intl., LLC, publishers of Global Gaming Business (GGB) Magazine, and Applied Management Strategies. Other sponsors include Konami Gaming, the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers, Caesars Entertainment, GLI, and Interblock.
The Las Vegas episodes are held at UNLV’s Stan Fulton Building-International Gaming Institute.
The Feb. 21st session costs $299 to attend and $149 for those who want only the webinar.
