Gambling in the USA

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

Published

5 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.

American gambling industry

Gaming Americas Weekly Roundup – November 24-30

Published

1 day ago

December 1, 2025

Niji Narayan

gaming-americas-weekly-roundup-–-november-24-30

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

VGO Promo, a long-standing platform known for bridging the worlds of cryptocasinos, cryptocurrency exchanges and CSGO skins gaming, has announced a comprehensive expansion of its verification framework designed to bring transparency to online promotional offers. The updated system enhances how users evaluate bonuses across three intersecting ecosystems. Founded during the peak of the CSGO skins economy, VGO Promo originally provided referral codes for case opening websites and virtual item platforms. As the industry evolved towards blockchain based gaming, Bitcoingambling and crypto trading, VGO Promo expanded its scope to support modern platforms including Roobet, Stake, Rollbit, CSGORoll, Duelbits, Binance, OKX, ByBit, Bitget and various case opening services within the CSGO community. The updated verification framework applies a structured, cross industry methodology to help users navigate rapidly changing promotional conditions.

FanDuel has announced the launch of Pass The Leg, a first-of-its-kind in-app feature that transforms traditional parlay betting into a shared, social experience just in time for holiday gatherings. Pass The Leg allows customers to build a single group parlay collaboratively, with each participant adding their own leg before placing individual bets using their own funds. Designed to bring friends and family together around one of the biggest football days of the year whether near or far, the feature allows users to start or join a Group Build, invite others to contribute picks, and then add the completed parlay to their personal betslip. Each contributor can also take advantage of a dedicated Pass The Leg Profit Boost, amplifying the excitement and potential payout of the shared pick. Available exclusively for the three NFL games taking place on Thanksgiving Day, Pass The Leg marks the first true multi-user parlay-building experience offered by a major U.S. sportsbook operator.

Partnerships

The St. Louis Blues announced an agreement designating DraftKings an Official Sports Betting and Daily Fantasy Operator of the Blues. The announcement comes ahead of the launch of legal sports betting in Missouri scheduled for Dec. 1, 2025. DraftKings has been an Official Sports Betting, Daily Fantasy Sports and iGaming Partner of the National Hockey League since 2021. As part of the agreement, DraftKings will spotlight responsible gaming through a pregame, in-arena feature, encouraging fans to play responsibly, have fun and access DraftKings’ comprehensive suite of responsible gaming tools and resources. DraftKings will have rights to use St. Louis Blues intellectual property — including team trademarks and logos — across marketing and promotional materials. The collaboration will feature in-arena signage, brand integrations across television and radio and exclusive hospitality experiences throughout the season, all designed to elevate fan engagement at the Enterprise Centre and beyond.

Signature Systems Inc (SSI) has announced a new partnership with Yellow Dog Software. The integration connects Yellow Dog’s advanced inventory capabilities with SSI’s PDQ POS system, enabling operators to streamline operations, improve cost control and gain real-time visibility across their properties. The partnership was initiated to meet the inventory needs of Osage Casinos, a major name in tribal gaming. The integration, which went live in September, was first deployed to support convenience store reporting and ordering across the properties.

The post Gaming Americas Weekly Roundup – November 24-30 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

American gambling industry

Gaming Americas Weekly Roundup – November 17-23

Published

1 week ago

November 25, 2025

Niji Narayan

gaming-americas-weekly-roundup-–-november-17-23

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Latest News

National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) Board of Directors has announced Heather L. Maurer, MA, CAE as the organisation’s next Executive Director, effective January 7, 2026. Maurer brings more than 25 years of leadership experience in the fields of public health, policy and nonprofit management. Most recently, she served as CEO of National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health, where she led the organisation to its strongest financial position in more than a decade by expanding revenue streams, restructuring operations and building sustainable reserves to ensure long-term growth. As Executive Director, Ms. Maurer will lead NCPG’s strategic direction and oversee its national programmes, partnerships and advocacy initiatives. Her work will focus on strengthening NCPG’s advocacy presence and uniting affiliates, policymakers, industry leaders and community partners to advance policies that prevent gambling-related harm and expand access to support services.

Hard Rock Casino Tejon, developed in partnership with the Tejon Indian Tribe, officially opens to the public following a celebratory Guitar Smash ceremony marking a historic milestone as the first full-scale gaming and entertainment property in Kern County. Located 80 miles north of Los Angeles, the $600 million project is a multi-phase investment designed to transform the region through hospitality, entertainment and economic development. The destination has created more than 1000 permanent jobs and over 5000 construction-related roles, representing the largest private hospitality investment in Kern County’s history. Hard Rock Casino Tejon is expected to continue delivering lasting benefits for the local economy, tourism sector and community development across the Southern San Joaquin Valley. The opening was celebrated with Hard Rock’s iconic Guitar Smash Ceremony, symbolising a bold new beginning.

Partnerships

BetMGM announced that the company is now an official sports betting and online casino partner of the Pittsburgh Penguins. With this multi-year agreement, BetMGM holds partnerships with all three of Pittsburgh’s major professional sports teams. Key elements of the partnership include prominent BetMGM signage and branding throughout PPG Paints Arena, co-branded social media content, exclusive promotions and premium hospitality assets for VIP fan experiences. BetMGM also plans to introduce Penguins-themed iGaming products in the near future. As BetMGM continues to expand into new markets and introduce new features, responsible gaming remains a key focus. Additionally, BetMGM provides resources to help customers play responsibly including GameSense, an industry leading programme, developed and licensed to MGM Resorts by the British Columbia Lottery Corporation.

Hard Rock International and Seminole Gaming joined forces with nonprofit organisation Ocean Conservancy for the Global Sound Waves joint sustainability programme. This collaboration unites Hard Rock team members and communities worldwide with Ocean Conservancy’s mission of protecting the oceans by reducing waste and driving meaningful environmental change. The partnership, motivated by one of Hard Rock’s guiding mottos: Save the Planet, takes a proactive approach to ocean conservation by focusing on upstream waste management, addressing water, food and material waste to prevent it from polluting the ocean. Through comprehensive waste audits and data-driven analysis, Hard Rock and Ocean Conservancy identify diversion opportunities and implement alternatives that set meaningful waste reduction goals across Hard Rock’s global operations.

The post Gaming Americas Weekly Roundup – November 17-23 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

American gambling industry

Gaming Americas Weekly Roundup – November 3-9

Published

3 weeks ago

November 11, 2025

Niji Narayan

gaming-americas-weekly-roundup-–-november-3-9

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Latest News

Petroglyph Development Group (PDG), a wholly owned corporation of Snuneymuxw First Nation (Snuneymuxw), and Great Canadian Entertainment announced that they have entered into definitive agreements for the purchase by PDG from Great Canadian Entertainment of two casino businesses, River Rock Casino Resort and Chances Maple Ridge. Upon closing and subject to regulatory and other approvals, PDG is expected to become one of the largest casino operators by revenue in British Columbia, and anticipates being the largest Canadian Indigenous owned gaming operator by revenue in Canada, cementing Snuneymuxw as a leading force in the province’s gaming industry. Building on PDG’s recent acquisitions of Casino Nanaimo and Elements Casino Victoria earlier this year, these transactions demonstrate the strength of the collaboration between PDG and Great Canadian Entertainment and the momentum of PDG’s growing gaming platform.

Churchill Downs Incorporated (CDI) has announced the promotion of Michael Meagher to Senior Vice President of Gaming Operations, effective November 3, 2025. Meagher succeeds Maureen Adams, whose retirement was announced earlier this year. He will oversee operations at all gaming and HRM locations throughout the CDI portfolio, along with corporate gaming functions, including analytics, marketing and product performance. Meagher will report directly to Bill Mudd, President and Chief Operating Officer of CDI. Meagher has served as Vice President of Gaming Operations since 2022, where he oversaw nine gaming properties across CDI’s portfolio, including the development and successful grand opening of Terre Haute Casino Resort. In this role, he was instrumental in driving operational performance, enhancing guest experiences and supporting the Company’s continued growth in regional gaming markets.

Partnerships

Zoomd Technologies Ltd has announced that it has entered into a strategic partnership with E2-Quadrat communications GMBH (E2), a global leader in digital marketing and technology solutions for the sports and betting industry. With over two decades of experience in the industry, E2 has established itself as a trusted partner to some of the most prominent names in the sector. The privately owned company operates a broad international network of offices enabling it to serve clients on a truly global scale. This partnership is expected to enable E2’s current and future clients worldwide to benefit from Zoomd’s advanced user acquisition (UA) technologies and performance marketing expertise and aligns with Zoomd’s strategic focus on expanding its impact across high-growth verticals.

MyPrize, the fastest growing social gaming business in the US, has announced a strategic partnership with Crypto.com | Derivatives North America (CDNA), a CFTC-registered exchange and clearinghouse and an affiliate of Crypto.com, to launch MyPrize Markets, a first of its kind product allowing users to access social gaming and prediction markets for the first time in one unified platform. As Crypto.com’s first social gaming partner, MyPrize will leverage the company’s enterprise-grade infrastructure to deliver an engaging and intuitive prediction market experience to its massive global user base, now numbering over 1 million+. This strategic partnership continues MyPrize’s explosive growth in 2025 and further cements its market position as the leading social gaming and entertainment platform.

The post Gaming Americas Weekly Roundup – November 3-9 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.