I attended the 16th Annual East Coast Gaming Congress this week. It was held on 5/16 and 5/17
at Revel Resort in Atlantic City. Although I have been to this conference now for the past several
years, this one had my highest level of anticipation. The fact that it was being held at Revel has
a lot to do with that feeling.
This year, the conference was a two day event with vendors and trade show businesses featured in
a separate area. The seminars and presentations were held in a showroom called "The Social".
The highlight of the first day was the presentation by Liza Cartmell, CEO, Atlantic City Alliance.
Ms. Cartmell cited all the marketing opportunities available to Atlantic City. The largest growth
area is in the leisure customer. The DO AC marketing plan highlights non gaming activities.It also
targets New York City,Philadelphia and Baltimore. These 3 cities have a large population and are
within drive time of Atlantic City.
The panel "It's Not Just About the Slot Machines" gave a look at how non gaming amenities can
serve as drivers of revenue. It examine the latest trends of pool parties,nightclubs and signature
chef restaurants.
On day two,there was the official welcome to Atlantic City by Mayor Lorenzo Langford. The CEO
presentations, notably by Gary Loveman ,Caesars Entertainment, Scott Butera, Foxwoods Gaming
Enterprise, Robert Griffin of Trump Entertainment and Kevin DeSanctis, Revel, were outstanding.
The panel, "Understanding the I-Gaming Frenzy" took center stage. Although the Wall Street
Panel gave financial insight to investment projections involving gaming, the future points to
an online casino experience. Everyone left the room with a feeling that I-Gaming would be part of
the industry soon. It is considered to be the game changer for Atlantic City.
I recommend this conference to any gaming professional and business that want to follow the current
trends of the fast pace casino industry.
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