Gambling in the USA

LAS VEGAS – RE-LAUNCH OF THE STRIP, an important discussion at Sports Betting & Casino Summit North America 2020

Published

6 years ago

June 18, 2020

Reading Time: 6 minutes

The top industry companies have all confirmed their interest to join the Sports Betting & Casino Summit North America (Virtual Conference), which will open its virtual doors between 23-24 June

The virtual seats are limited, so hurry and register now to secure your seat(s)! REGISTER HERE

Lasvegassun.com has released an interesting editorial which is titled “Sights and sounds of Vegas give us hope for a full recovery”, and we can directly tie this piece with one of the most interesting land-based industry related panel discussions at Sports Betting & Casino Summit North America (Virtual Conference).

After the Bellagio fountains are now back to life with a playing of “Simple Gifts” to honor the Las Vegas front-liners who have protected the city during the pandemic, MGM Resorts International made another spot-on choice for the follow-up song. This is of course an anthem of the fabulous city, “Viva Las Vegas”.

Las Vegas is already booming and WADE VANDERVORT, of Lasvegassun.com wrote it so beautifully as we would not change anything:

“…it was a godsend to see waters dancing, lights twinkling and guests coming through the doors in the resort corridor and downtown. After 78 days of eerie quiet, Las Vegas took its first steps to recovery.

It’s a moment of hope and a reminder that our community has rebounded from crisis and tragedy before.”

Besides the Bellagio fountains, the gondolas are also gliding along the faux canals at The Venetian.

Up and down Las Vegas Boulevard, from Wynn Las Vegas at the north end to New York-New York and MGM Grand on the south end, gamblers are sliding bills into slot machines and wagering chips at blackjack and roulette tables.

Life is slowly returning to normal in Sin City.

As mentioned above, at Sports Betting & Casino Summit North America (Virtual Conference) we will discuss the subject, and the “LAS VEGAS – RE-LAUNCH OF THE STRIP” panel discussion has some very important guests who are joining us on the 23rd of June to share their insights.

The panel discussion is joined by Jay Kornegay (Vice President Race & Sports Operations – Westgate LV Resort & Casino), Seth Schorr (CEO of Fifth Street Gaming and Chairman of Downtown Grand Hotel & Casino) and Matthew Holt (President at U.S. Integrity), and will be moderated by Benjie Cherniak (Managing Director of SG Digital’s Don Best Sports group).

Do not miss this unique opportunity to attend a virtual conference that gathers all North American gaming industry experts for 2 days of discussions and networking. Register your seat now!

Jay Kornegay – Vice President Race & Sports Operations – Westgate LV Resort & Casino

Jay Kornegay is Vice President of the LVH – Las Vegas Hotel & Casino SuperBook. He has more than 26 years experience in the race and sports book industry. Jay graduated from Colorado State University in 1987 with a bachelor’s degree in Restaurant Business Management. Always intrigued by gaming, Jay moved to Nevada later that year to start his path in that field.

Starting in Lake Tahoe and soon afterwards moving to Las Vegas, Jay has worked at four major sports books. He opened the Imperial Palace sports book in 1989, which soon turned into one of the more popular sports books in the state of Nevada.

In 2004, Jay took the reins of the LVH SuperBook. As the world’s largest race and sports book with over 30,000 square feet, the SuperBook is one of the top sports books in Nevada. Over the years, the SuperBook has won numerous awards and often represents the Las Vegas market with national media outlets. It is known for its aggressive nature and being a player-friendly book by offering fair odds to guests. The LVH SuperBook is also known for offering Nevada’s largest wagering menu by posting many 2nd/3rd tier sports, as well as having an international flavor. In addition, the SuperBook hosts the “SuperContest,” which is recognized as the most prestigious pro football handicapping contest. For the fourth consecutive year, the “SuperContest” set a record for number of entries and marked the most entries ever this past football season at 1034.

Jay resides in Las Vegas with wife Pam, daughter Cara and son Nicholas. He is also well known for shooting a 36 on the front nine and a 59 on the back nine.

Seth Schorr – CEO of Fifth Street Gaming and Chairman of Downtown Grand Hotel & Casino

Seth Schorr is CEO of Fifth Street Gaming and Chairman of Downtown Grand Hotel & Casino. The urban casino resort is the embodiments of Schorr’s vision to create a downtown Las Vegas hospitality experience delivering a superior guest experience and a genuine sense of community.

Since beginning his career in gaming and hospitality in 1991, Schorr served as an integral member of the Wynn Resorts team, developing the international marketing department in Macau, the interactive gaming division, and The Wynn Collection of Fine Art. Earlier in his career, Schorr also worked in numerous capacities at Mirage Resorts including positions at Bellagio Hotel & Casino, The Mirage Hotel & Casino, and Treasure Island Hotel & Casino.

Schorr and his partner, Jeffrey Fine, co-founded Fifth Street Gaming which owns and operates five casinos. The principals of Fifth Street Gaming also control, through its affiliate, the LEV Restaurant Group, a food and beverage operation that owns and manages more than 50 restaurants in the Las Vegas area and Southern California including The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Jamba Juice, Lobster ME, JaBurritos, Daily Kitchen, Evel Pie, and Golden Tiki.

In early 2015, Schorr was introduced to the world of eSports and lead the effort of developing the first fully integrated eSports program in a casino resort at The Downtown Grand. The Downtown Grand’s eSports program has included weekly eSports contests, team residencies and sponsorships, a weekly broadcast and professional tournaments. Schorr sits on the board of GameCo and advised on the development and launch of the world’s first video game slot machine. In 2017 Schorr launched Commercial Streaming Solutions which developed a patent-pending media platform, KonekTV, that provides streaming content, including Esports and sports betting content, to retail venues. Schorr is a founder of the Nevada Esports Alliance and continues to be a leader in the convergence of Esports and sports gambling. Schorr is the co-founder of The Strategy Organization: a Modern Gaming and Hospitality consulting firm.

Schorr is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, is a member of YPO and sits on numerous boards including those for The Las Vegas Natural History Museum, Nevada Restaurant Association, Jewish Federation of Las Vegas, the Advisory Board of The Smith Center for Performing Arts, One Night for One Drop and was appointed by Governor Sandoval to serve on Nevada State Board of Museums & History. He is also an executive board member and Chairman of the Communications Committee of the Downtown Las Vegas alliance. Schorr is an avid cyclist, amateur photographer and has two little angels Dax (10) and Mia (9). Most importantly, Schorr recently married Dr. Emily Schorr.

Matthew Holt – President at U.S. Integrity

Originally from New Hampshire, Mr. Holt originally honorably served in the United States Air Force. Once completing his term in the Air Force Mr. Holt attended Morehead State University, obtaining a sports marketing degree before taking up residence in Las Vegas, Nevada. Mr. Holt founded U.S. Integrity, LLC. based out of Las Vegas, Nevada. U.S. Integrity is the gold standard of game integrity and fraud prevention services in the United States. Mr. Holt and his team at US Integrity have built innovative, technology based solutions that allow for easy accessible data and analytics for fraud prevention and game integrity monitoring.

Benjie Cherniak – Managing Director of SG Digital’s Don Best Sports group

Benjie Cherniak is the Managing Director of SG Digital’s Don Best Sports group, a leading provider of sports information products and services relevant to the North American sports betting industry. Benjie oversees the company’s sports information platform, automated data distribution, live pricing, and ancillary consulting services.

Following the acquisition of Don Best by Scientific Games, Benjie has accelerated the growth of OpenBet, the company’s sports betting platform, by integrating Don Best’s world-class pricing services into the technology. Don Best’s trading and pricing expertise have seamlessly become an integral part of SG Digital’s core offering.

Prior to joining Scientific Games, Benjie spearheaded Don Best’s international growth via tailored solutions to tier-one sportsbook operators in the United States, Europe, Asia, Latin America and beyond. Under Benjie’s supervision, Don Best introduced (a) a proprietary pricing product for North American based sports that rapidly established itself as the industry standard; and (b) a data integrity offering to assist North American based sport leagues in identifying potential fraudulent betting patterns.

With 15 years of industry experience, Benjie is a leading voice in the emerging US sports betting industry from both an operational and legislative perspective.

Activision Blizzard

BLAST Appoints Industry Veteran Steve Rossi as Senior Vice President of Brand Partnerships

Published

11 minutes ago

January 8, 2026

Wladimir P.

BLAST, a global leader in competitive entertainment, has officially announced the appointment of Steve Rossi as Senior Vice President of Brand Partnerships. Rossi joins the team at a pivotal moment, following a record-breaking 2025 that saw the company expand its footprint into New York City, Malta, and Mumbai.

With over 20 years of experience in strategic partnerships across sports, media, and gaming, Rossi is set to lead BLAST’s next phase of commercial evolution.

A Proven Leader in Global Commercial Strategy

Rossi’s career is defined by his ability to bridge the gap between iconic intellectual properties and Fortune 100 brands. His previous roles include senior leadership positions at:

Activision Blizzard: Where he was instrumental in the commercialization and global expansion of Activision Blizzard Esports.
National Football League (NFL): Driving integrated sponsorships across the NFL Network and digital platforms.
Univision Communications: Designing and activating media partnerships across live and linear platforms.
PlayVS: Focusing on the intersection of youth esports and brand engagement.

Based in the newly established New York office, Rossi will oversee BLAST’s global Sponsorship Sales and Partner Management & Activation.

Building on a Record-Breaking 2025

The appointment comes as BLAST continues to scale at an unprecedented rate. In 2025, the company delivered:

15 Arena Events staged across eight different countries.
Broadcasts in 30+ Languages reaching fans in over 100 territories.
Expanded Portfolio: Continued investment in top-tier titles including Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, Rainbow Six, PUBG, Rocket League, Fortnite, and Brawl Stars.

“BLAST has built a truly premium proposition at the intersection of entertainment, gaming, sport and culture,” said Steve Rossi. “I’m excited to work with the team to build long-term, high-impact partnerships that deliver real value for brands, publishers and fans alike.”

A Strategic Vision for 2026

Leo Matlock, Chief Business Officer at BLAST, emphasized that Rossi’s leadership will be instrumental as the company evolves its partnership offerings. “Steve brings deep experience across esports, sport, media and entertainment. His ability to scale global commercial partnerships makes him the perfect fit for BLAST at this incredibly exciting time.”

As BLAST enters 2026, the focus remains on delivering fan-first experiences and commercially impactful collaborations that maintain BLAST’s position as a pioneer in the competitive gaming space.

Learn More

To stay updated on BLAST’s upcoming arena events and commercial ventures, visit the official BLAST website.

The post BLAST Appoints Industry Veteran Steve Rossi as Senior Vice President of Brand Partnerships appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

Activision Blizzard

BLAST Appoints Steve Rossi as Senior Vice President of Brand Partnerships

Published

11 minutes ago

January 8, 2026

GamingAmericas.com

Rossi joins BLAST following senior commercial leadership roles at Activision Blizzard, the National Football League (NFL) and Univision Communications
He will drive BLAST’s next phase of commercial growth following a record-breaking 2025, which included global expansion and new offices in New York City, Malta and Mumbai

BLAST, one of the world’s leading esports and competitive entertainment companies, has appointed Steve Rossi as Senior Vice President of Brand Partnerships, strengthening its commercial leadership team as the business continues to scale globally.

Rossi brings more than 20 years of experience building high-impact strategic partnerships across complex IP rights, sponsorship, and media portfolios. A commercially driven executive and recognised relationship builder, he has led strategic revenue growth initiatives for some of the world’s most iconic brands and IP holders across sport, gaming and entertainment.

In his new role, Rossi will lead BLAST’s global commercial brand partnerships strategy, overseeing Sponsorship Sales and Partner Management & Activation globally. He will be responsible for driving revenue growth and long-term value creation through strategic brand partnerships, as BLAST continues to expand its premium live events, broadcast content and competitive entertainment formats worldwide.

Throughout his career, Rossi has held senior leadership roles at Activision Blizzard, the National Football League (NFL), and Univision Communications, where he helped design, sell, and activate integrated sponsorship and media partnerships across digital, linear, and live platforms. Most recently, he served in a senior partnerships role at PlayVS, operating at the intersection of competitive gaming, youth esports, and brand engagement.

Most notably, at Activision Blizzard, Rossi played a key role in the global expansion of Activision Blizzard Esports, supporting commercialization efforts by working closely with global brand partners, agencies, and regional sales teams across North America, EMEA, and APAC. Earlier in his career, he helped drive integrated sponsorships for the NFL across NFL Network and digital platforms, collaborating with Fortune 100 marketers and leading media agencies.

Based in New York, Rossi will lead BLAST’s global brand partnerships group, supporting the company’s continued growth across key international markets and working closely with publishers, partners, and internal teams to deliver commercially impactful, fan-first experiences and partnerships.

Steve Rossi, Senior Vice President, Brand Partnerships at BLAST, said: “BLAST has built a truly premium proposition at the intersection of entertainment, gaming, sport and culture. The team has established real global momentum, and the opportunity to build on that foundation and lead the next phase of global partnerships strategy at a company with such creative ambition and international scale was incredibly compelling. I’m excited to work with the team to build long-term, high-impact partnerships that deliver real value for brands, publishers and fans alike.”

Leo Matlock, Chief Business Officer at BLAST, added: “Steve brings deep experience across esports, sport, media and entertainment, combined with a proven ability to scale global commercial partnerships. As BLAST continues to grow its international footprint and evolve its partnership offering, Steve’s leadership will be instrumental in driving sustainable revenue growth and long-term value creation. The last 12 months have seen us expand globally while delivering record output in the process, Steve is joining BLAST at an incredibly exciting time.”

The appointment follows a record-breaking year for BLAST in 2025, with increased broadcast hours and more world-class arena events. The company staged 15 arena events across eight countries, broadcast to millions of fans across more than 100 territories and 30 languages, while expanding its global footprint with new offices and studios in key gaming and media hubs including Mumbai, New York City and Malta. Alongside continued investment in core esports titles such as Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, Rainbow Six, PUBG, Rocket League, Fortnite and Brawl Stars.

The post BLAST Appoints Steve Rossi as Senior Vice President of Brand Partnerships appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.

eInstants

Kansas Lottery Partners with IWG to Expand iLottery with Retail-Inspired eInstants

Published

10 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Wladimir P.

kansas-lottery-partners-with-iwg-to-expand-ilottery-with-retail-inspired-einstants

Kansas Lottery has officially selected Instant Win Gaming (IWG) as its primary partner for eInstant game content, marking a major expansion of the state’s digital lottery program. The agreement, announced on January 8, 2026, will see IWG supply its full portfolio of digital “scratch” games to Kansas players, building on the lottery’s successful iLottery launch in February 2025.

Strategic Milestone for Kansas iLottery

Kansas becomes the 33rd NASPL/WLA member lottery and the 9th in the U.S. to adopt IWG’s digital content. The partnership focuses on “digital transformation”—taking the mechanics players love from physical retail scratchers and reimagining them for the mobile screen.

Retail Synergy: IWG will develop games specifically inspired by Kansas’ top-performing retail tickets, ensuring familiarity for long-time players.
Constant Refresh: Using IWG’s InstantRGS (Remote Game Server), the Kansas Lottery will maintain a consistent roadmap of new titles to keep the digital lobby fresh.
Rapid Onboarding: IWG’s server is already integrated with the Pollard Catalyst platform, which powers the Kansas iLottery system, allowing for a seamless technical rollout.

The “Catalyst” for Growth

The Kansas Lottery’s iLottery program originally went live on February 13, 2025, achieving the record for the fastest full-featured implementation in U.S. history (just 10 months from scoping). By tapping IWG, the Lottery is shifting from its “Loyalty-First” phase into a high-growth “Content-First” phase.

“Their experience transforming retail scratch styles into successful digital formats made this partnership an easy decision,” said Stephen Durrell, Executive Director of the Kansas Lottery. “We’re excited for Kansas players to experience the depth and quality of IWG’s portfolio.”

Market Impact and Roadmap

Feature	Details
Partner	Instant Win Gaming (IWG)
Integration	Pollard Catalyst Cloud-Native Platform
Target Audience	235,000+ “PlayOn” Loyalty Members
Game Strategy	Retail-to-Digital “Scratcher” Mechanics
U.S. Context	9th U.S. State to deploy IWG eInstants

Jason Lisiecki, Executive Vice President at IWG, noted that the Kansas strategy aligns perfectly with IWG’s leadership in the North American space, focusing on scaling engagement through high-performing, proven mechanics.

The post Kansas Lottery Partners with IWG to Expand iLottery with Retail-Inspired eInstants appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.