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Gambling in the USA

Hard Rock Hotel & Casino At Fire Mountain Names New Executive Leaders

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Hard Rock Hotel & Casino At Fire Mountain Names New Executive Leaders
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Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sacramento at Fire Mountain, slated to become the premier entertainment destination in Northern California once open in fall of 2019, announces its team of top-tier executives.

“We are excited to have a great mix of passionate industry leaders joining our Hard Rock Sacramento family,” said Mark Birtha, president of Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sacramento at Fire Mountain. “Some are new to the brand and some are seasoned veterans, but most important is that we have an enthusiastic executive team with over 150 years of collective experience working together to develop and operate what will become a top gaming, entertainment and hospitality venue that provides ‘authentic experiences that rock’ in Northern California.”

Kicking off the property’s new executive team, the vice president of financeChristopher Balaban, is a numbers savvy-guru with over 20-years of gaming experience. Balaban possesses a successful track record of delivering results and value through strategic direction and financial operations leadership. Most recently, he held VP finance positions with Affinity Gaming and Penn National Gaming in the Las Vegas and mid-west regional markets. Additionally, Balaban has held positions with Seminole Gaming in South Florida and Kerzner International in Paradise Island in the Bahamas. Balaban also led hotel and F&B operations, developing a diverse operational background. He has an MBA from Florida Atlantic University and a BS from the University of South Florida.

Joining as vice president of human resourcesRyan Flieger, has been with the Hard Rock brand since 2012, holding leadership roles at both Hard Rock Hotel San Diego and Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas. In Las Vegas, Flieger successfully led a five-year initiative to redefine the property’s mission and core values, while increasing team member engagement to an all-time high. Flieger also played a lead role in talent acquisition, pre-opening training and culture setting for several Hard Rock Hotel expansions. Prior to joining the Hard Rock team, he spent nearly a decade with MGM Resorts where he helped guide the company’s award-winning diversity training initiative and MGM University. During his career, he’s been credited with leading successful internal cultural transformations and greatly improving talent retention. Flieger has been honored with several recognitions for his effective training programs and facilitation, including “Best Overall Trainer,” “Young Trainer to Watch” and was included in a “40 under 40” list of influential Las Vegas professionals.

A native of Las Vegas, Anika Gaskins serves as the vice president of marketing for the new property. An industry veteran, Gaskins has more than 17 years of experience, most recently opening the $1 billion MGM Resorts Springfield casino property as the vice president of national marketing where she was responsible for all loyalty and casino marketing initiatives. She has also held VP of marketing positions with Penn National Gaming, where she developed and executed marketing strategies and led efforts to increase revenue. Prior to joining Penn National Gaming, Gaskins held various marketing positions with Caesars Entertainment on the Las Vegas Strip and Caesars Windsor in Canada. She received her bachelor’s in economics from Washington University in St. Louis and an MBA from Simmons College in Boston.

A casino executive with close to four decades of experience, the new vice president of table games, Paul Mollo, has been with the Hard Rock family since 2008, where he helped usher in the introduction of class 3 table games in Florida. He now joins the team in Sacramento, California. His management philosophy necessitates creating and maintaining a professional work culture that is built on a foundation of trust, respect, confidence and support. Mollo has worked with several gaming companies over the years to open properties, including Harrah’s, Trump Plaza and Borgata in the Atlantic City market. In addition to his table games role, he assisted HBO Productions with casino gaming aspects on “The Sopranos” and was even cast for several extra spots and one speaking role.

The vice president of IT, Matthew Morgan, brings more than 20 years of gaming industry technology experience from the Northern California, Las Vegas and Midwest markets. Morgan’s wealth of expertise in IT strategy, combined with the application of technical innovation, brings both operational efficiency and product differentiation to each property he leads at. Most recently, Morgan served as the chief information officer at The D Las Vegas, where he was responsible for two casino/hotel properties and technical operations of an 11,000-person entertainment venue. He also served as a vice president at Red Hawk Casino, PlayerSoft Technologies and Thunder Valley Casino.  Morgan’s focus over the last decade has been to bring mobile products to the casino market to solve common hospitality-industry problems. In May 2019, he will graduate with an MBA from Southeast Missouri State.

Will Provance serves as the vice president of slot operations and has spent more than 20 years in the hospitality industry, working in operational and leadership roles ranging from restaurants, entertainment, hotel operations and casino gaming. Starting at Station Casinos in Las Vegas, Nevada as a corporate slot analyst, he participated in their Management Development Program and worked his way up to director of slot and ancillary gaming operations at Sunset Station. From there, he was recruited by Mark Birtha to run the VLT (Slot) Operations at Hard Rock Rocksino Northfield Park, Ohio’s No. 1 ranked gaming facility. He was interviewed and featured as a contributor in David G. Schwartz, director of the Center for Gaming Research’s book “Tales from the Slot Floor: Casino Managers in Their Own Words” and was named to the Emerging Leaders of Gaming’s “40 Under 40.”  Provance has a Master of Science degree in hotel administration with a focus in gaming from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, an MBA in international hotel and tourism management from Schiller International University and an executive certificate from Cornell University in customer-driven marketing.

Kaywan Samadani is the vice president of hospitality. His career began in 1990 at Caesars as a room chef at Harvey’s in his hometown of Lake Tahoe. During that time, Samadani opened two buffets, a steakhouse and a noodle bar, along with four casino bars and butler suites. He also assisted with the opening of Harrah’s Rincon (now Harrah’s Southern California) and the rebranding of the Rio in Las Vegas. In 2006, he relocated to Harrah’s St. Louis as director of F&B before being promoted to director of hospitality. Samadani also served as VP of casino services at Horseshoe Cleveland and Thistledown Racino. He moved to Cleveland in 2011, helping to open the property’s Beverage, Buffet, Culinary, Diamond Lounge and Slots operations.  Most recently, Samadani served as senior director of hospitality at Mystic Lake Casino Hotel, where he opened the Mystic Lake Center, a 70,000 square foot convention space. Samadani attended Cabrillo College and the University of California, Santa Cruz.

The property continues to build the employee team ahead of the fall 2019 opening and is expected to create more than 2,000 construction jobs upon its completion, with nearly 750 working at peak times on the project any given day. Upon opening, the property will employ over 1,000 full and part-time team members.  For more information, visit hardrockhotelsacramento.com.

 

About Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sacramento at Fire Mountain:
Set to open in fall 2019, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sacramento at Fire Mountain will feature the latest in live music and entertainment, hospitality, world-class gaming and exceptional cuisine. The property will be Hard Rock’s first Vegas-style casino in California and will offer a hotel with multiple suite options, a large gaming facility with more than 1,800 slot machine and table game positions, along with an outdoor pool and deck area, large meeting space and a vast selection of bars and restaurants. The property will also include signature brand amenities like the Sound of Your Stay® in-room music program, a Rock Shop® and a Body Rock® fitness center. Additionally, the project marks a historic partnership between two Native American Tribes – The Seminole Tribe of Florida, owners of Hard Rock International, and Enterprise Rancheria. Owners of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sacramento at Fire Mountain property, the Estom Yumeka Maidu Tribe of the Enterprise Rancheria is a sovereign Native American Nation offering diverse tribal government services and programs that improve the quality of life for its some 1,000 tribal citizens and surrounding communities in Northern California.

 

About Hard Rock International:

With venues in 75 countries, including 185 cafes, 27 hotels and 11 casinos, Hard Rock International (HRI) is one of the most globally recognized companies. Beginning with an Eric Clapton guitar, Hard Rock owns the world’s most valuable collection of music memorabilia, which is displayed at its locations around the globe. Hard Rock is also known for its collectible fashion and music-related merchandise available in Rock Shops and online at https://shop.hardrock.com. HRI owns the global trademark for all Hard Rock brands including Hard Rock Live performance venues. The company owns, operates and franchises Cafes in iconic cities including London, New York, San Francisco, Sydney and Dubai. HRI also owns, licenses and/or manages hotel/casino properties worldwide. Destinations include the company’s two most successful Hotel and Casino properties in Tampa and Hollywood, FL., both owned and operated by HRI parent entity The Seminole Tribe of Florida, as well as other exciting locations including Atlantic City, Bali, Cancun, Daytona Beach, Desaru Coast, Ibiza, Orlando, Shenzhen and San Diego. Upcoming new Hard Rock Cafe locations include Piccadilly Circus and Oxford Street in the United Kingdom, Kathmandu, Nepal, Kyoto, Japan and Chandigarh, India. New Hard Rock Hotel, Casino or Hotel & Casinoprojects include Amsterdam, Berlin, Budapest, Dublin, London, Los Cabos, Madrid, Maldives, New York City, Ottawa, Sacramento, Dalian and Haikou in China. In 2018, Hard Rock International was recognized as a Forbes Magazine Top Employer for Women and Land Operator of the Year at the Global Gaming Awards. For more information on Hard Rock International visit www.hardrock.com.

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Gambling in the USA

Gaming Americas Weekly Roundup – November 4-10

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Welcome to our weekly roundup of American gambling news again! Here, we are going through the weekly highlights of the American gambling industry which include the latest news and new partnerships. Read on and get updated.

Latest News

PENN Entertainment and ESPN announced that account linking between ESPN BET and ESPN is now available for customers, creating an even more deeply integrated media and betting experience. By linking accounts, fans now have the ability to seamlessly track upcoming, live and settled bets within the ESPN app and on ESPN.com. With this product enhancement, ESPN BET will soon bring fans more personalised bets and timely promotions based on their favourite sports, teams, players and fantasy rosters.

Accel Entertainment Inc. has announced that it has completed the acquisition of 85% of the ownership interests of Toucan Gaming LLC and LSM Gaming LLC, two Louisiana-based route operators and owners of multiple licensed video poker establishments (collectively, “Toucan”), for approximately $40 million. The combined business will operate as Toucan Gaming throughout Louisiana and will be led by Stan Guidroz, an industry-leading gaming executive and current CEO of Toucan Gaming. Mr. Guidroz owns the remaining 15% of Toucan’s ownership interests and will lead the Accel team supporting Toucan’s continued growth.

INTRALOT S.A. has announced the undertaking of a new project between the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC), the sole lottery operator for the Government of British Columbia in Canada, and INTRALOT, its US subsidiary, for the provision of an online lottery platform. The project also includes the digitalisation of the existing land-based network. The solution will be based on the Player X platform, part of the Lotos X ecosystem, and adds to the company’s overall partnership with BCLC, which has been extended until 2028.

BetMGM Poker has become the third US operator to offer multi-state online poker. The company has merged its player pools in Michigan and New Jersey. Both states are a part of the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement, which allows online poker networks to share liquidity and players in participating markets. The two-state network went live Wednesday afternoon after morning maintenance.

Betsson Group has celebrated its success at the SBC Awards Latinoamérica 2024, winning two prestigious awards: Sportsbook Operator of the Year and Leader of the Year, which was awarded to Kevin Saliba, Commercial Director (Business Development) for Latin America. This marks the second consecutive year Betsson has earned the Leader of the Year accolade, following Andrea Rossi’s win in 2023 – an achievement that underscores Betsson’s consistent leadership in the region.

Partnerships

Play’n GO has announced a new operator partnership with renowned gaming brand Hard Rock Digital for their top-rated Hard Rock Bet online casino platform in New Jersey. The Hard Rock brand is synonymous with entertainment worldwide, and this partnership will see Hard Rock Bet players in New Jersey gain access to hit Play’n GO titles such as Piggy Blitz, Book of Dead and Rise of Olympus 100.

SCCG Management, a global leader in gaming innovation and advisory, has announced a strategic partnership with Chata.AI, a technology provider specialising in self-service, proactive analytics that enables businesses to access real-time insights without requiring extensive technical expertise. This partnership introduces Chata.AI’s technology to the gaming industry, providing operators with powerful tools to streamline decision-making and increase operational efficiency.

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Gambling in the USA

Gaming Americas Weekly Roundup – October 28-November 3

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Welcome to our weekly roundup of American gambling news again! Here, we are going through the weekly highlights of the American gambling industry which include the latest news and new partnerships. Read on and get updated.

Latest News

Elray Resources Inc. has announced a significant milestone in the company’s growth strategy. The company has completed the sale of proprietary technology to 180 Life Sciences Corp. (NASDAQ:ATNF), a NASDAQ-listed company in exchange for preferred stock convertible into a 40% stake in ATNF and warrants to purchase 3 million shares of ATNF common stock, the conversion/exercise of which is subject to stockholder approval. The technology stack contained within Elray’s technology package will assist ATNF in launching an iGaming Blockchain casino.

PrizePicks, the largest daily fantasy sports operator in North America, has announced that it has been awarded Daily Fantasy Sports Operator Licenses in Delaware and Missouri. The company will launch Arena, its innovative peer-to-peer fantasy sports contest, in both states. With these new state launches, Arena will now be available in 15 states across the US.

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (Board) unanimously voted to renew the Category 2 stand-alone casino license of Wind Creek Bethlehem LLC, operator of Wind Creek Bethlehem casino in Northampton County. In making the decision, the Board determined that Wind Creek Bethlehem LLC had fulfilled the obligations under its previously approved casino operator’s license and therefore qualified to have its license renewed for an additional five-year period.

Aristocrat announced that the company was the first international slot and online technology company to be granted a Gaming-Related Vendor license by The General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA), the federal entity overseeing commercial gaming activities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This announcement grants Aristocrat the ability to provide the company’s land-based electronic gaming machines (EGMs) and online games and technology solutions to commercial gaming operators licensed by the GCGRA.

Partnerships

SCCG Management, a leading global advisory and consulting firm in the gambling industry, has entered into a strategic partnership with Slot Machines Unlimited, a premier provider of refurbished slot machines and gaming equipment. The partnership between SCCG Management and Slot Machines Unlimited leverages both companies’ strengths: Slot Machines Unlimited’s expertise in refurbished gaming equipment and SCCG’s deep industry insight, global network and strategic growth capabilities. The collaboration will enhance Slot Machines Unlimited’s international sales and service operations, ensuring gaming establishments worldwide have access to high-quality slot machines and support.

Galaxy Gaming Inc. has announced that the Galaxy Operating System (GOS) is now live on over 50 ships worldwide with Carnival Corporation & PLC, the world’s largest leisure travel company. Since the installation, tables powered by GOS have awarded over $5 million in jackpot payouts to players. GOS is the jackpot progressive system for all Carnival Corporation ships, including Carnival Cruise Line, Holland America Line and Princess Cruises. Launched in 2024, GOS is the next-generation game management system developed by the industry’s leading table game experts.

The hottest new game from Aristocrat Gaming, Phoenix Link, is now live on casino floors, with Yaamava’ Resort & Casino being the first in North America to offer the highly-anticipated game. As the next evolution of the international hit game, Dragon Link, Phoenix Link features player-favourite mechanics from top games with all-new themes, features and bonuses.

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Gambling in the USA

Gaming Americas Weekly Roundup – October 21-27

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Reading Time: 2 minutes

Welcome to our weekly roundup of American gambling news again! Here, we are going through the weekly highlights of the American gambling industry which include the latest news and new partnerships. Read on and get updated.

Latest News

Bally’s Interactive, the digital and sports betting division of Bally’s Corporation, announced the official launch of the Bally Bet Sportsbook app in Tennessee, marking its expansion into the tenth state. This milestone comes on the heels of recent successful Bally Bet launches in Massachusetts and Maryland. Sports enthusiasts across the Volunteer State can now revel in the comprehensive offerings of the Bally Bet sportsbook app. With a wide array of betting options, including spread, money line and total bets, as well as in-game betting and same game parlays, Tennessee sports fans will have an unparalleled wagering experience.

ESE Entertainment Inc., a gaming company that provides a range of services to leading video game developers and publishers, has announced that it has acquired Bombee Global Entertainment (Bombee Americas), the North American arm of Bombee Event Production AB, (Bombee), a global production company specialised in live production, special effects, broadcast and event management for the gaming sector. Bombee has successfully collaborated with ESE to bring its premier event production services and world class customer service to North America and beyond. The North American arm of Bombee, Bombee Americas, will continue to grow and scale in this new organisational structure under ESE, while maintaining its entire team and global support.

Matthew Wantman has become the overall champion of the PokerGO Tour PLO Series II presented by PLO Mastermind. Wantman secured the prestigious honor after an impressive showing at PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas, outperforming a talented field of the best PLO players in the world to earn the $10,000 PGT Passport bonus. The PGT PLO Series II featured a series of high-stakes pot-limit Omaha tournaments. Wantman’s consistent performance set him apart from the competition and solidified his spot atop the leaderboard.

Partnerships

SYNOT Games has announced its further expansion into the Colombian market through a partnership with BetPlay. This alliance highlights SYNOT Games’ commitment to increasing its presence in Latin America and providing its engaging and innovative games to a wider audience. Through this partnership, BetPlay’s online platform will feature a curated selection of SYNOTGames’ top-performing titles, including fan favourites like Aztec Jaguar, Diamond Fever, Realm of Lions.

Internet Sports International, a global provider of turnkey race and sportsbook software solutions, announced its partnership with the We-Ko-Pa Casino Resort in Fort McDowell, Arizona. Through this consultancy, ISI is powering the casino’s sportsbook and retail sports wagering operations on its gaming floor with its award-winning system. WKP Sportsbook is currently operating, allowing patrons to elevate their excitement by wagering on their preferred sporting events with up-to-the-minute odds and live action. The automated sportsbook kiosks provide access to a wide range of sports propositions for both the beginner and expert bettor.

Aristocrat Gaming, a leading designer, manufacturer and distributor of regulated slot games, announced it is now a promotional partner for Princess Cruises, one of the world’s most iconic cruise lines. Through this exciting collaboration, Aristocrat Gaming will design innovative gaming experiences for guests onboard Princess ships as well as create promotions with land-based casinos that offer Princess cruises as rewards.

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