As you probably know by now, I have entered a new chapter in my career, having sold assets of Fantini Research to Eilers & Krejcik Gaming led by long-time business associate Todd Eilers.
I’m looking forward to continuing to write this column, continuing to conduct CEO video interviews for Fantini Research, being a full-time investor and pursuing whatever advisory and consulting opportunities come along.
But a time like this leads to thinking back—and considering—the many people who have been an integral part of my journey.
That journey began in the mid-1990s when, as a private investor, I discovered gaming and began investing in casino operators such as Harrah’s, Station Casinos, Hollywood Casinos and Ameristar.
It led to meeting similar investors who became friends and still share information and ideas.
It also led to meeting the gaming industry’s leaders. One of the first was Stan Fulton, founder and CEO of Anchor Gaming, whose Wheel of Fortune slot machine literally changed the industry. Another was Anchor executive Mike Rumbolz, who succeeded Fulton as CEO and who is entering his own next chapter having turned over the CEO job at Everi to Randy Taylor.
When I began Fantini’s Gaming Report, Stan and Mike were among the first subscribers. Stan remained a subscriber until he died. Mike, who sent a gracious congratulatory note to me about the sale, subscribes to this day.
The first investment professionals to subscribe were analysts Steve Kent of Goldman Sachs, now retired, and Jason Ader of Bear Stearns. Jason, now a renowned investor, remains a subscriber.
The industry was much smaller then. Executives throughout the country invariably came from Las Vegas or Atlantic City. My sister-in-law and her late husband, Dr. Sam Stetzer, were prominent in the Atlantic City area. As such, when I visited with GMs at casinos in Illinois or Louisiana or elsewhere, they were often Atlantic City guys and we discovered common acquaintances.
One of my favorite stories from those years was when Ameristar held the biggest fireworks display ever in the Midwest to celebrate the opening of its expanded St. Charles, Missouri, casino.
My friend Jim O’Connor was St. Charles city manager. At the ceremony, he wanted to personally welcome Ameristar founder and CEO Craig Neilsen to his city. Craig, a quadriplegic, was isolated from the crowd of VIPs, protected by nurses and security guards. City manager or not, Jim wasn’t allowed into the cordoned off area. He was sent scurrying back.
However, Craig saw me and, with the two fingers he could move, motioned for me to join him. “Jim,” I said, “follow me.” We made it through the roped off area and I said, “Craig, let me introduce you to your host, the city manager of St. Charles.”
Another moment was meeting Gavin Isaacs fresh upon his landing in Las Vegas to take over then-troubled Aristocrat in the Americas. I might have been the first person who Gavin met in the U.S. outside Aristocrat. It was evident from the get-go that Gavin was the right guy for the job. I also met his team members Kent Young and Laura Olson-Reyes. All three have been long-time subscribers.
Two men who stand out are Monarch CEO John Farahi and Caesars Executive Chairman Gary Carano.
Monarch’s one property was the Atlantis in Reno. I had been told John was a hands-on manager who demanded meticulous cleanliness. When I came down the escalator from the skybridge into the casino on the way to meeting John, the first employee I saw was a woman cleaning the fronds of a plant by hand. A few feet away, a man was cleaning the felt of a blackjack table by hand. For John, hands-on was literal.
Gary ran Eldorado, a small family company with a casino and part ownership of two others in downtown Reno. Behind his desk was a giant photograph of a Dallas Cowboys quarterback, arm arched about to launch a pass. The QB was brother Glenn. The family pride was obvious.
Today, John continues to run a growing company and he and I will be visiting Monarch’s newest property in a few weeks. Gary, who also was kind enough to send a congratulatory message to me, now leads the largest casino company in America.
There are many other stories to tell about many other people in this industry and no space to tell them here. However, as a Delawarean, I have to mention two members of the First State club: slots expert Frank Legato, who lives in my old Delaware neighborhood, and sports betting executive extraordinaire Joe Asher, who likes to say, “It all goes back to Delaware.”
Most important, of course, are the people of Fantini Research. Three of them have been along for most of the ride.
Dee Wild started as my second employee, after myself. Dee is a Jersey Girl. That showed especially in her early days when she was surprised at the courtesies shown by strangers in little Dover, Delaware, compared to the gruffness often met in North Jersey.
However, Dee is a Delaware girl now. She takes personal interest in our clients, a trait they much appreciate. Dee now runs Fantini’s Gaming Show among her responsibilities.
Laura Briggs followed Dee as our third employee. Thankfully, she has remained with Fantini Research even as her Air Force husband, Patrick, has been transferred to Florida and Alaska and Texas. Laura is now Fantini’s Director of Public Policy and editor of Fantini’s Public Policy Review.
Ashley Diem followed a few years later. A history major fresh out of college, she was hired during an economic recession and was just glad to get a job not waiting tables. Today, Ashley is group publisher and executive editor of Fantini’s Gaming Report. She never saw such a job coming in little Dover, Delaware.
As mentioned at the start, the story now, however, is about the future, and that includes being my own portfolio manager.
My newest position is in Inspired Entertainment, which is led by Lorne Weil. Lorne has been a subscriber since his days as CEO of Scientific Games, as has his investor relations director Aimee Remey, who first subscribed when she was a junior analyst working with Larry Klatzkin at Jefferies. (All three are still subscribers. There’s a theme here: Once you subscribe, you’re in for good.)
Lorne also was kind enough to send a congratulatory note: “Congrats. Now you’ll have even more money to buy our stock!”
And so I did.
