Print Monday's Schedule

4:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Registration Open
6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Welcome Reception with Featured Speaker
Receive the official welcome to the 6th annual Florida Gaming Summit while you network with gaming and racing executives, public officials, suppliers, attorneys, architects and other industry-related professionals. Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres will be served.
Speaker: Alan B. Koslow, President, Greater Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, and Shareholder and Director of Entertainment, Hospitality and Gaming Law, Becker & Poliakoff, P.A.

Print Tuesday's Schedule

Agenda as of October 11

7:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Registration Open
7:30 a.m. - 8:30 a.m. Continental Breakfast
8:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. Keynote Address
Speaker: James F. Allen, Chief Executive Officer, Gaming Operations, Seminole Tribe of Florida
9:00 a.m. - 9:50 a.m. Racetrack Gaming Update
Five racetrack slot casinos are now operating in South Florida, and the new state tax on racetrack slot machines took effect in July, lowering the tax from 50 percent to 35 percent. That certainly helps from an operator standpoint, but competition remains fierce between the tracks and the tribal casinos, and between the tracks themselves now that Miami-Dade properties have opened their slot facilities. In this session, racetrack gaming operators from South Florida will discuss how their properties have weathered both the new competition and the economic downturn and explore what is needed to grow revenues going forward.
Moderator: Patricia McQueen, Events Editor, Gaming, BNP Media
Speakers: Steve Calabro, President and General Manager, Gulfstream Park Racing & Casino; Alexander Hecht Havenick, Vice President of Financial and Legal Affairs, Southwest Florida Enterprises; Walt Hawkins, Principal, Probe Strategic Solutions; Austin Miller, President, Calder Casino & Race Course
9:50 a.m. - 10:20 a.m. Networking Break
10:20 a.m. - 11:10 a.m. Tribal Gaming: Legal and Regulatory Update
Two years into the Obama Administration, the federal government's priorities relative to tribal gaming are taking shape. With new appointees in place at the National Indian Gaming Commission and Interior, there are new discussions at the federal level about the agency's mandate to regulate compacted Class III gaming. Among other developments, the "Carcieri fix," a bill that would clarify the issue of trust lands acquired by tribes, has been introduced, and the revenue-challenged IRS is pursuing what it considers to be gaming tribe tax evasion cases. This session will examine these and other developments at the federal level that are impacting tribes in Florida and around the country.
Moderator: Judith A. Shapiro, esq.
Speakers: Lance Gumbs, Trustee, Shinnecock Indian Nation; Stephen M. Hart, Partner, Lewis and Roca LLP; Joe Valandra, Managing Director, VAdvisors, LLC
11:10 a.m. - 11:40 a.m. Networking Break
11:40 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Florida’s Card Rooms: Is Poker Up to the Challenge?
Almost every pari-mutuel facility in Florida operates a card room, and revenue has been growing since the first poker games debuted more than a decade ago, now exceeding $100 million annually. Offerings include a variety of poker games, including community, draw and stud poker versions. But the competition has grown dramatically since poker was the only game in town. How do card room operators in South Florida manage their game offerings to compete with racetrack slot machines and tribal casinos? What about card rooms in other parts of the state without such intense competition – do they run their games differently? This session will explore the state of the poker industry in Florida, including card rooms at tribal casinos, and what the future holds.
Moderator: Alan B. Koslow, Shareholder and Director of Entertainment, Hospitality and Gaming Law, Becker & Poliakoff, P.A.
Speakers: Noah Carbone, Poker Room Director, Palm Beach Kennel Club; Scott Long, Publisher, Ante Up, Your Poker Magazine; Rick O'Connell, Poker Room Manager, Seminole Casino Immokalee; Josh Zuckerman, Poker Consultant
12:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. Luncheon Keynote Address
Speaker: Bill Galvano, Florida State Representative, District 68
2:15 p.m. - 3:05 p.m. Social and Economic Impacts of Gaming
Florida has emerged as one of the country’s highest-growth gaming jurisdictions over the last decade – growth that likely will continue for at least several years. With that growth, however, comes challenges as organizations, communities, governments and businesses either cope with or benefit from the social and economic impacts that result from casino development. In this session, join leaders at the grassroots, local, county and state levels as they discuss issues such as traffic, problem gambling, emergency services, funding, jobs programs and what industry stakeholders in Florida can do to optimize the impacts of gaming.
Moderator: Charles Anderer, Group Publisher, Gaming, BNP Media
Speakers: Joy Cooper, Mayor, City of Hallandale Beach; Pat Fowler, Executive Director, Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling; Tom Hall, Transportation Planning Consultant; Mac Seelig, Founder and President, AC Coin & Slot
3:05 p.m. - 3:35 p.m. Networking Break
3:35 p.m. - 4:25 p.m. Florida Gaming by the Numbers: The Wall Street View
The grinding economic environment has cast a new and critical light on the revenue potential of the gaming industry. The industry shows declines nationally but is still strong in relatively new jurisdictions such as Florida, which offer locals a competitive gaming product and the chance to save money on travel. At the same time, fierce competition for dwindling gaming dollars across-the-board is putting pressure on locals-oriented facilities. In this session, Wall Street and other industry analysts will examine the gaming economic climate for Florida's tribal casino and racetrack slot operators, the supply/demand equation and what the financial future for the industry in the Sunshine State will look like.
Moderator: Joseph S. Weinert, Senior Vice President, Spectrum Gaming Group
Speakers: Christopher E. Jones, Director, Telsey Advisory Group; John Maxwell, Managing Director, Jefferies & Co.;
Alex Picou, Managing Director, Gaming, Lodging, Travel and Leisure, FBR Capital Markets; Adam Steinberg, Managing Director, Merriman Capital, Inc.
Keynote speakers


James F. Allen
Chief Executive Officer, Gaming Operations, Seminole Tribe of Florida


Rep. Bill Galvano
Florida State Representative, District 68


Alan B. Koslow
President, Greater Hollywood Chamber of Commerce


Confirmed Speakers as of October 11:

Steve Calabro, President and General Manager, Gulfstream Park Racing & Casino

Noah Carbone, Poker Room Director, Palm Beach Kennel Club

Joy Cooper, Mayor, City of Hallandale Beach

Pat Fowler, Executive Director, Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling

Lance Gumbs, Trustee, Shinnecock Indian Nation

Tom Hall, Transportation Planning Consultant

Stephen M. Hart, Partner, Lewis and Roca LLP

Alexander Hecht Havenick, Vice President of Financial and Legal Affairs, Southwest Florida Enterprises

Walt Hawkins, Principal, Probe Strategic Solutions

Christopher E. Jones, Director, Telsey Advisory Group

Scott Long, Publisher, Ante Up, Your Poker Magazine

John Maxwell, Managing Director, Jefferies & Co.

Austin Miller, President, Calder Casino & Race Course

Rick O'Connell, Poker Room Manager, Seminole Casino Immokalee

Alex Picou, Managing Director, Gaming, Lodging, Travel and Leisure, FBR Capital Markets

Mac Seelig, Founder and President, AC Coin & Slot

Judith A. Shapiro, esq.

Adam Steinberg, Managing Director, Merriman Capital, Inc.

Joe Valandra, Managing Director, VAdvisors, LLC

Josh Zuckerman, Poker Consultant