It was a memorable week in Biloxi as the Southern Gaming Summit (SGS) returned with a new vigor and enthusiasm and featured the inaugural class of the Mississippi Gaming Hall of Fame. The conference was held for the first time under the sole ownership of the Mississippi Gaming & Hospitality Association (MGHA), which bought out its former partner following last years SGS.
“The MGHA is proud to present the Southern Gaming Summit each year, and this year’s event was particularly meaningful to us,” said Larry Gregory, the executive director of the MGHA. “Since we own the show now, we are directly responsible for its content, which we designed to benefit the industry and highlight all the opportunities available to both commercial and tribal casinos in our region.”
In a transition year, the SGS was held at the Beau Rivage in Biloxi, a smaller venue that encouraged networking and interaction between attendees, speakers and exhibitors.
“We’re very pleased with the results,” said Gregory. “Our exhibitors got to meet their customers in a very relaxed setting, and our attendees were able to easily mingle with speakers, creating a unique and powerful networking opportunity.”
The highlight of the SGS was the Mississippi Gaming Hall of Fame Gala on the final night. With Mississippi gaming approaching its fourth decade, the creating of the Hall was a natural evolution, says Gregory.
“We had so many deserving nominees that it was very difficult to narrow down the recipients,” he says. “But with the votes of our 28 member casinos, the honorees were all very deserving and appropriate. And of course we have a long list for consideration in the future.
The SGS conference kicked off with a welcome reception sponsored by VizExplorer and Rymax Marketing. Revelers took over the pool area at the Golden Nugget and a lavish spread was provided by General Manager Chett Harrison and his staff.
The next morning, a keynote speech by American Gaming Association President and CEO Geoff Freeman, who delivered his refined message surrounding the legalization of sports betting in the U.S. Freeman contended that no matter what the Supreme Court decides in its upcoming decision, the issue has momentum because PASPA has failed so miserably. He also said that partnerships are the key to success for sports betting, something DFS failed to recognize in its U.S. launch several years ago.
“We’re working with the leagues to see if there’s a deal to be had. I encourage you to look at it through that lens as well,” he said.
Later, a sports betting panel brought together moderator, attorney Dan Wallach, along with Joe Asher, the president of William Hill U.S.; Laila Mintas, the deputy president of Sportradar; Tommy Shepard, an attorney with Jones Walker, and Seth Young, the director of interactive gaming for Foxwoods.
“By the time the 2018 NFL season begins, it’d be shocking to me if Mississippi casinos weren’t booking bets,” Wallach said. “They need the right outcome, but then, once the regs are issued, it’s going to move quickly.”
Mintas said her company is there to educate the participants in the market.
“When we first speak to the leagues, there’s really a lack of knowledge of how the betting market works, how the integrity systems work, and what is really needed,” she said. “And we’ve see that from many of the states, as well… If the system you set up cannot compete with that big black betting market, people will keep betting with illegal bookmakers, instead of coming into the legal market. That’s a real risk that we see.”
Another panel focused on the possibility of the legalization of gaming in Georgia. Featuring state Rep. Ron Stephens, the sponsor of a bill that would do just that, other panelists gauged the interest in the legislature. Part of the hurdle is that it takes a two-thirds vote of each house to approve the bill— 120 of the 180 members of the House and 38 of the 56 state senators.
Moderator Ryan Soultz, director of governmental affairs for the Boyd Gaming Corporation, was joined by Chris Anulewicz, a partner with Balch & Bingham; and Jeff Morris, vice president of public affairs and government relations for Penn National Gaming. Most panelists agreed that an amendment may be approved by the legislature and a vote held in 2020. And a gaming commission could be set up by 2021 and it would be off to the races.
The important organization Global Gaming Women organized the lunch this year featuring a presentation from Phyliss Anderson, the first female chief of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. Anderson compared the progress of women in gaming to the @MeToo movement that has sunk some very high profile officials, including gaming’s Steve Wynn.
“The women’s movement easily parallels the efforts under way in Indian country,” Anderson said. “We seek voices to be heard, and we only want justice, representation and fairness.
“As a female in leadership, and a mother and grandmother to girls, I tell you that I celebrate and cheer these women on as they speak out.”
Anderson gave a history of her tribe, dating back more than a century when it refused to participate in the disastrous “Trail of Tears” that doomed many Choctaws to death and took others to Oklahoma. She credited her mentor, Chief Philip Martin, who transformed the tribe for 32 years before being ousted in 2007. She drew chuckles when she recalled a saying that Martin frequently repeated.
“Chief Martin often said, ‘If you want to get something done, get a woman on it.’”
The highlight of the day, however, was the induction of the first class of the Mississippi Gaming Hall of Fame. Attended by more than 500 people, they came to honor the pioneers in the Mississippi industry:
- • Lyle Berman, co-founder of Grand Casinos, who not only played a role in the development of Mississippi gaming but also played a major role in the development of Indian gaming in Minnesota. Berman has a previous commitment so his award was accepted by longtime executive and now the general manager of the Silver Slipper in Mississippi, John Ferrucci.
- • Bernie Goldstein, founder of the Isle of Capri Casinos (named for a small island off the coast of Biloxi), who opened the first casino riverboat on the Gulf Coast. Goldstein died in 2009, and his award was accepted by his son, Robert.
- • William S. Boyd, executive chairman of Boyd Gaming, who came east from Las Vegas to develop a casino named after his father—Sam’s Town, in Tunica—and who also helped to develop Indian gaming in Mississippi;
- • Tommy Gollott, then and now a member of the Mississippi state Senate from Harrison County, who was instrumental in writing and promoting the legislation that approved casino gaming in the state, especially the dockside element.
- • Jack Binion, who, like Boyd, is the son of a gaming legend, who recognized the potential for gaming in the south, and whose Horseshoe casino in Tunica quickly became the most successful casino in the state.
- • Rick Carter and Terry Green, two local developers who figured out how to make the most of the new industry, opened the Copa casino in a converted cruise ship in the early 1990s, and who now own the Island View Casino Resort.
