16 - 19 April 2007, Raffles City Convention Centre, Singapore
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Calendar of Events
Islamic Finance & Investment World Africa 2008 ~ Johannesburg
Real Estate World Africa 2008 ~ Sandton, Johannesburg
Serviced Apartment Asia 2008 ~ China
Hedge Funds World Asia 2008 ~ Hong Kong
Electronic Trading Asia 2008 ~ Hong Kong
Real Estate Investment World Latin America 2008 ~ Coral Gables
Quant Invest 2008 ~ London, UK

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Speakers      

Salim Adatia,
COO,
Technical Systems Testing, Canada


Technical Systems Testing (TST) is one of the industry’s most well known independent testing authority that provides a full range of testing and consultation services to both the terrestrial (traditional land-based) and the interactive gaming industry.

Salim joined TST in January 2001 and spent his first six months with the organization at TST's Melbourne and Sydney, Australia based offices. Upon Salim’s return to Vancouver, Canada he assumed responsibilities associated with marketing and client support for the North American operations where he worked to expand the office by working closely with clients to meet each of their individual and unique needs.

In April 2004 he was promoted to General Manager for North America and Europe and was subsequently appointed as Chief Operating Officer of TST’s global operations in 2006.

Salim has jointly managed small to large mission critical projects for some of the industry’s largest companies on an international basis. He has been requested to speak at engagements in Canada, Asia and the US and in addition has been interviewed by various publications serving these regions.

Previous to TST, Salim spent approximately five years in the banking and financial sectors in North America.


Dan Ahrens,
President, Ahrens Advisors, L.P, Portfolio Manager, Gaming and Casinos Fund,
Gaming and Casinos Fund, USA


Dan S. Ahrens is Portfolio Manager of the Gaming and Casino Fund, opened on March 31, 2006. He is President and Treasurer of Ahrens Advisors, L.P., an SEC-registered Investment Advisor he founded in September of 2005. Prior to forming Ahrens Advisors, he was President of the MUTUALS.com Funds, and served as portfolio manager of the Vice Fund (VICEX) and Generation Wave Growth Fund (GWGFX). He was President of the Funds’ Advisor, Mutuals Advisors, Inc. He joined that Advisor and its affiliated companies in February 1999 after a career in financial services beginning in 1988. Prior to joining the Advisor, Mr. Ahrens worked in various roles with MONY Life Insurance Company / MONY Securities Corp. Mr. Ahrens received his Bachelor of Business Administration Degree in Finance from Texas Tech University. He also earned the professional designation Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC).

Dan is the author of the book, “Investing in Vice, The Recession-Proof Portfolio of Booze, Bets, Bombs, and Butts”, published in 2004 by St. Martin’s Press. He has appeared on CNN, CNBC, ABC News, MSNBC, Bloomberg TV, PBS Wall Street Week, and the BBC. The Vice Fund, which he started in 2002, was featured in TIME Magazine, The Economist, New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Investor’s Business Daily, Barron’s, Financial Times, and many other publications during his tenure there.


Paulo Azevedo,
CEO,
Macau Business Magazine


It makes a lot of sense to be a journalist in Asia. So it?s no wonder that after graduating in Oporto and working in Portugal for six years, Paulo A. Azevedo decided in the early nineties to try another continent, his third, having been born in Africa and having worked in Europe. Today, he is executive director of Macau Business and chairman of Business Intelligence, business magazines in English and Chinese.

Paulo A. Azevedo has been writing about both sides of the coin in Macau, for numerous publications, especially in Portugal. A journalist for almost 20 years, with 14 of them in Asia, he owned and wrote for a Portuguese daily newspaper in Macau, and in 2004 launched Macau?s first privately-owned English language business publication.


Sandra Barton-Nichol,
Head of Risk Investigation,
Betfair, UK


Sandra Barton-Nicol has over 18yrs of experience within the gaming and security industry, having gained experience within casino, police, retail and financial environments.

After a number of years serving as a Detective Constable, Sandra left to enter the world of corporate security. Recruited as E-commerce Fraud Manager for a retail group she subsequently moved in to a Forensic Accounting Unit within the financial sector.

Two and a half years ago the opportunity arose to combine both her previous gaming and investigation experience in a role at Betfair. Sandra heads Betfair’s Risk Investigations Department which consists of Fraud, Money Laundering, Integrity and Risk Analysis teams.


Andrew Beveridge,
CEO,
eCOGRA


Andrew was appointed CEO of eCOGRA in October 2002, following six years of experience in various areas of online gaming and betting, including software development, operational risk management and regulation.

Prior to his involvement in online gaming and betting, Andrew qualified as a Chartered Accountant after completing articles at Coopers & Lybrand in Johannesburg. He spent six years abroad, working for major international banks in London and Hong Kong, including HSBC and ING Barings, and then completed a full-time MBA at Edinburgh University.


Michael Boettcher,
Chairman and CEO,
Storm International, Russia


Michael Boettcher, President & CEO of Storm International, started his casino career as a trainee dealer at Charlie Chesters casino in London some 35 years ago. He subsequently worked in various casinos in different countries including Iran, the Bahamas and the United States before returning to London in 1988 where he eventually started the rebirth of the independent gaming school at the British Gaming Academy in Leicester Square. His inexperience in the business world at that time forced him into voluntary liquidation but the lessons learned stood him in good stead and by the time he arrived in Russia in 1992 he was ready to embark on the adventure that was to become STORM International.

Stephen Brown,
Managing Director,
Security Risk Management, UK


Managing Director and co-founder of Security Risk Management Limited, one of the fastest growing Resilience and Security Companies in the UK specialising in systems, processes and personnel risk. Stephen originally worked in IT security in Northern Ireland and England where he worked with various government agencies including police and military. He is a security specialist in computer fraud analysis, computer forensics and incident management. He has been involved in major fraud investigations and was responsible for the success of one of the largest fraud cases in the UK. In England he has held several senior IT posts including Head of Information Security for a major European and UK conglomerate, with significant responsibility for aspects of airline security, additionally he has worked in several other industries including Finance, Pharmaceutical and Leisure. He is a Government Listed Advisor, a qualified Computer Lecturer and is a BS7799 Lead Auditor. Stephen has extensive experience in security and risk management involving him in many security forums and security groups.

Stephen’s working career began in 1987 as a software engineer for the Northern Ireland Civil Service in 1990 he joined the national government in a financial unit as System Designer, designing and developing one of the most sophisticated investigation and intelligence systems within the UK. Later he became a trained computer forensic specialist working closely with different law enforcement agencies including the Police, specifically investigating fraud.

In 1997 Stephen moved to the private industry to increase his business skills and joined an industry leading airline Information Security Manager for the airline and increased his responsibilities by being promoted to IT Architect in 1999.

In 2000 Stephen moved to the Group as Head of Group Information Security applying his skills to improving and protecting information assets this included associated companies. As the company was procured by a German Multi-national Stephen’s responsibility increased to cover the whole of Northern Europe.


Kevin Burman,
Chief Development Officer,
Cantor Gaming


Cantor Gaming is an affiliate of the global financial services company Cantor Fitzgerald, which has operating units that are involved in a variety of market-based businesses, transacting over $50 trillion annually. The firm has been a leading intermediary in the equity and fixed income markets for 55 years.

Cantor Fitzgerald, through its subsidiary eSpeed, has unparalleled expertise in the real-time, reliable and secure execution of financial transactions. The company invested over $400 million in developing electronic execution technology, and has made a substantial investment and long-term commitment to mobile technology.

On May 18, 2006 Cantor Gaming became the first company licensed by the Nevada Gaming Commission as a manufacturer, distributor, and operator of a Mobile Gaming System.


John Cargnello,
CEO,
Technical Systems Testing, Canada


Ciaran Carruthers,
Senior Vice President,
Galaxy Entertainment S.A., Macau


Ciarán entered the gaming industry as a dealer in 1987, moving to London from Dublin, Ireland, where he remained until relocating to Asia in 1991. Ciarán came to Asia with Australian based International Casino Services (ICS), a leading casino management and consultancy company in the Asia Pacific region, and has worked with them on the development, management and set up of a number of gaming operations over the past 13 years. These operations have included the 5 star Tinian Dynasty Hotel & Casino in the Northern Marianas, a number of gaming ships catering to high limit junket action throughout the Asia region, land based operations in Cambodia, the Philippines and a number of Pacific Islands and most recently with Galaxy Resort & Casino in Macau SAR.

Ciarán has held positions at every level of casino operations, working up from dealer thru to casino general manager and for the past 13 years has been heavily involved in the Asian gaming industry, most especially with operations catering to high limit junket play.

Ciarán is now Senior Vice President for Galaxy Resort & Casino, involved in the set up and operation of all casino operations within the Galaxy group and has been working with Galaxy since late 2002.


Michael Caselli,
Managing Editor,
iGaming Business Magazine


Michael Caselli has been involved in the gaming industry since 1996 when he completed his Masters work at the University of London (Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) analyzing the viability of gaming on the Internet. Since then, Michael has helped to successfully launch several online and print gaming publications including onlinecasinonews.com, Gambling Online Magazine, iGaming Business, Bluff Magazine, Bluff Europe and Gambling.com Magazine. Michael Caselli is considered one of the world’s leading experts on online gaming and has served as chairman of numerous International forums and conferences that focus on interactive gaming throughout Europe, Asia and America.

Frank Catania,
CEO,
Catania Consulting Group Inc


Frank Catania, Esq., President of Catania Consulting Group, Inc., a consulting firm with extensive experience in gambling regulatory an dcomplaince issues.

Having served in the New Jersey General Assembly as an Assemblyman and Deputy Speaker, Catania was the former Assistant Attorney General and Director of the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE). At DGE, Catania served as both vice chairman and chairman of the International Association of Gaming Regulators and was a co-founder and past chairman of the Forum of American Casino Regulators. He is a co-founder of the International Masters of Gaming Law (IMGL), a non-profit association dedicated to the education and advancement of gambling law, also serving as its first president.

Mr. Catania serves as one of three independent directors of eCOGRA. As an Independent Director for eCOGRA (eCommerce Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance), the non-profit, self-regulatory body for the online gambling industry, Catania helps establish and enforce standards for responsible operator conduct, fair gambling and player protection at online casinos and poker rooms bearing the illustrious eCOGRA “Play It Safe Seal.” He has been a strong supporter for regulation of Internet gambling and has testified before the United States Congress on the issue.

Mr. Catania has been published on a wide variety of casino gambling and government-related topics in several national publications, regional newspapers, and trade publications. He is a graduate of Rutgers C


Peter Caveny,
Principal - Investor Relations,
Galaxy Entertainment Group Limited


Jason Chan,
CEO,
Macom Communications Co. Ltd, Macau


Jason Chan has been actively involved in the Asian online gambling industry since 1999. Jason Chan found G-Master Technology Limited in Year 2000 specialized in online gaming marketing services. He is the also founder of MACOM GROUP which is now serving the industry as the “online gaming hub for Asia”, with complete marketing solutions, technology solutions, and web content publishing solutions. He invented a very unique real time live video stream casino playing experience and is now used by many major operators as a big attraction to Asian players. He and his team members served many of World Top 50 online gambling companies over the past 5 years including Bet365, Victor Chandler, Easybets, etc. All are the dominant players in the Asian gaming markets now. Jason Chan was also the founder of an Asian based online payment company in 2003 which was earlier acquired by Neteller for US$12.5M in 2005.

Ambrose Cheung,
Chief Executive Officer,
Macau Studio City


Ambrose Cheung gained his Bachelor of Social Sciences degree from the University of Hong Kong and obtained his legal qualification in the United Kingdom.

Ambrose began his career as a banker with Standard Chartered Bank. Later, he worked for Woo Kwan Lee & Lo as a corporate lawyer specializing in flotations, mergers and acquisitions. Ambrose also has extensive experience in hospitality, hotels and property management and development. He has served as Executive Director of listed companies owning and managing hotels in Hong Kong, Singapore, South-east Asia, Europe, Canada and the United States. He is currently an Executive Director of eSun Holdings Limited and Lai Sun Development Company Limited.

Ambrose is a Justice of the Peace and over the last 30 years he served on a number of public bodies and committees.

He was a former member of the Legislative Council and Urban Council, Hong Kong. He is currently an elected member of the Sham Shui Po District Council. He is serving in the following committees:

- Chairman, Insurance Agents Registration Board
- Member, Tourism Strategy Group, Tourism Commission
- Member, Advisory Committee, Securities & Futures Commission
- Member, Advisory School of Hotel and Tourism Management The Chinese University of Hong Kong


Nathan Damianos,
COO,
LasVegasfromHome.com, USA


Mr. Damianos has been in the online gaming business since 1997, first with Australian software provider Gaming & Entertainment Technology, and since 2003 with Las Vegas From Home. He has extensive experience as both a software developer and egaming operator.

John Docherty,
Head of Business Development,
Microgaming


John has gained more than 30 years within the gaming industry, holding senior management positions with various companies but perhaps most notably Ladbrokes and Victor Chandler. John joined Microgaming as the Chief Operating Officer for The Prima Network 2 years ago however moved to head up Business Development 12 months ago in order to concentrate on generating new business opportunities for both the Microgaming casino and the poker network. Together with a dedicated sales team, John ensures that the company's software is demonstrated to reflect its status within the marketplace as cutting edge and subsequently the world's leading software provider.

Chris Downy,
Executive Director,
Australian Casinos Association


The Executive Director of the Australian Casino Association is Chris Downy. Mr. Downy joined the Association in October 2000. He was previously Head of Corporate and Government Relations at Sydney Airports Corporation, a position he held from July 1998. He had previously been Manager, Community and Government Relations for Sydney Airport from January to June 1998.
Prior to that he was Member for Sutherland in the NSW Parliament from March 1988 to December 1997. He was Shadow Minister for Sport and Recreation with responsibility for Racing and Gaming issues in the Legislative Assembly from 1995 to 1997 and was Minister for Sport, Recreation and Racing in the Fahey Government from May 1993 to April 1995.


Pat Flanagan,
Managing Director, Asia Pacific,
Betdaq


Buddy Frank,
Vice President of Slot Operations,
Viejas Casinos


Buddy Frank is the Vice President of Slot Operations at Viejas Casino in Alpine, California near San Diego. He has a varied casino career with over 20 years in Slot Operations and Casino Marketing. He is a frequent contributor to various gaming publications and sits on the editorial boards of Casino Enterprise Management and Native American Casino magazines. He is also the host of Inside Gaming, a weekly AM radio program airing in the Southern California market.

He currently teaches classes on Gaming History, Slot Operations and Casino Marketing for San Diego State University, the University of Nevada, Reno and Viejas Casino.


Jonathan Galaviz,
Partner,
Globalysis Ltd, USA


Mr. Galaviz is one of the leading world analysts on the casino gaming, airline, and hotel/lodging industries in the global leisure sector. He is a Partner at Globalysis Ltd., a highly respected Las Vegas, Nevada based boutique tourism sector consultancy.

Early in his career Mr. Galaviz was in the management consulting industry focusing on strategy formulation for Fortune 500 clients mainly in the investment banking and technology industries in California, USA. He was later employed with Mandalay Resort Group (purchased later by MGM-Mirage), as a Las Vegas based Senior Project Analyst within the corporate group focusing on strategic and technology initiatives.

Mr. Galaviz has significant cultural and business expertise in international business markets such as Singapore, Macau, China, Thailand, South Korea, Egypt and Dubai. He has consulted on strategic joint venture partnerships between large corporations based in Asia and Fortune 500 U.S. corporations in multiple leisure sector industries.


Mario Galea,
CEO,
Malta Lotteries and Gaming Authority


Mario Galea is the Chief Executive Officer of the Lotteries and Gaming Authority of Malta. He took his post in 2004 and was responsible for setting up the Authority. He co-authored the Remote Gaming Regulations of 2004 which made Malta the first EU member state to regulate remote gaming.

Mario is a data communications engineer by profession. For a number of years he worked as a consultant on structuring of business information systems and IT security assurance with Andersen.

He started his career in remote gaming in 1997 when he set up a company in Malta to provide consulting and co-location services to online gaming operators. In 2000 his efforts led the Maltese government to publish the first online betting regulations.


Andy Gowers,
Partner,
Ezybonds, Australia


Andy is a marketing/financial services director based in Melbourne, Australia and has more than 15 years experience in both online and offline marketing, sales, business development, client acquisition, media services and public relations.

With a background in the gambling industry which began in 1992, Andy has worked with clients across the sportsbetting, horseracing (both thoroughbred and harness), greyhound racing and slot/poker machine segments.

Andy has a degree in marketing and a diploma in financial services and has applied both his educational training and commercial experience to the online payment area via his involvement with the exciting payment solution – Ezybonds.

Andy is a Partner with the leading corporate marketing licensee for the Ezybonds system (EzybondsGlobal) and is an experienced speaker, having been a regular presenter on television and radio in Australia over a 12 year professional sporting career.

The Ezybonds system is an ideal payment solution for the gambling market due to its security, cost effectiveness, ease of use and speed.

Areas of interest in Ezybonds for the gambling market include its London listed vehicle (Ezybonds UK plc), the elimination of chargebacks, a ‘no reserves’ policy, a network of cash retail deposit and withdrawal outlets, and the ability to access the system remotely using a cell/mobile phone (in addition to internet access).


Tom Hall,
President,
Playtech Asia


Tom is the Group's Business Development Director and former Chief Executive Officer, having been with the Group since 2002. Based in Asia, Tom has been primarily responsible for overseeing global customer growth and the development of customised software solutions for the Asian marketplace. From 1989 until he joined the Playtech Group in 2002, he worked in Swiss private banking and private client financial services in the UK and Hong Kong. He also serves as non-executive chairman of Affiliated Company, Emphasis Services Limited, an Asian gaming consultancy and venture capital firm.

Peter Kjaer,
CEO,
Ho Gaming, Macau


A Danish sinologist who speaks reads and writes Chinese and studied Modern Economic Reform in Shanghai in 1985. Peter Kjaer has lived in Hong Kong since 1986. In 1992 he co-founded Ho Gallery, which became the foremost contemporary art gallery in Asia.

In 1996 he founded Jet Asia Ltd the foremost Business Aviation Charter Company in Asia. A partnership with STDM, the casino company of Macau. He served as President and CEO until 2003.

Serves as a Director on the Board of BioSante, a public pharmaceutical company trading on the AMEX. Chairman of the Board is the Honorable Dr. Louis Sullivan, former Secretary of Health under the George Bush Administration Negotiated the first international casino license in Pyongyang N. Korea for Dr. Stanley Ho. Casino opened in 1999.

In 1998 he co-founded DrHo888.com, the foremost Live online internet casino in the world and the extension to the internet of Casino mogul Dr. Stanley Ho’s casino empire. Co-founder of World Cup of Mahjong to be held in Macau in May 2007. Co-founder of Ho Gaming, the owner of the foremost Live Dealer internet casino software.


Ben Lee,
Vice President, Casinos Project,
Diamond Casinos Group, Macau


Ted Loh,
Sales Director Asia,
Playtech Software Ltd


Ted Loh is the founder of Orientgaming, an online gaming consultancy which specializes in the Asian market. He has been involved in the online gaming world since 2000 as operator of the well-known online gaming portal Got2Bet.com, which was acquired in 2005 by UK-listed Gaming Corp, operators of casino.co.uk and gambling.com. Since selling Got2Bet, Ted has served as a moderator on industry-leading casino watchdog Casinomeister.com.

An experienced online gambler since 2000, Ted has played a large and vocal role in trying to ensure a level-playing field for all sides. Much of his efforts have gone towards presenting the perspective of players to operators, many of whom view online gambling as a business and are not fully aware of the needs and wants of a gambler. But he is also a well-known speaker on the industry circuit, speaking on topics such as affiliates, players, mobile gambling, and marketing to the Asian community.

Prior to entering the online gaming world, Ted has served as Business Editor of the English-language daily Thailand Times, Thailand Country Manager with Cameron Stirling Consultancy Ltd, and has held various positions with Laykin Communications, Hong Kong's best known marketing agency.


Fredrik Lonnqvist,
Head of Asia,
Microgaming


Fredrik joined Microgaming as head of its Asian office last year, following a year with Ongame Network, where he held the position of international sales manager. With a background in the financial and IT sectors, he has spent much of the last ten years in sales. Prior to working at Ongame, Fredrik co-founded Ecovision Newmedia - a major distributor of financial information for the Scandinavian financial market and publicly traded company on the Stockholm Stock exchange.
Fredrik is a Swedish national and is married with two children.


Sean Manchanda,
Managing Director,
Goldstrike Capital


Sean D. Manchanda; Mr. Manchanda is a Founder, Managing Director and Principal of GoldStrike Capital. Mr. Manchanda has been in management consulting for 18 years, working in a variety of sectors including hospitality, real estate, entertainment, consumer products, and natural resources. During his tenure as a management consultant with firms such as Price Waterhouse LLP, IBM Global Business Services, Andersen Consulting LLP and Accenture Ltd., he has worked on business initiatives related to revenue uplift, cost reduction, business architecture, and shareholder value enhancement programs for clients in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Mr. Manchanda's clients have included NBC Universal, Harrah's Entertainment, MGM MIRAGE, International Game Technology, 3M, Procter & Gamble, and Wayerhaeuser et al. He also is on the advisory board of an emerging markets hedge fund based in Moscow, Russia which focuses on the growth of numerous industrial sectors in RusAsia and Eastern Europe. Mr. Manchanda brings a blend of experience in strategy & business architecture, structured finance, marketing & sales strategy, customer relationship management, supply chain optimization and procurement to his clients. His capital markets experience has been in the fund raising process and in transaction structuring and he maintains a series of relationships with investment banks, commercial banks, private equity firms, hedge funds, brokerages, and advisory groups in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, London, and Dubai. He has a Masters in Management and a Bachelors of Chemical Engineering from the Stevens Institute of Technology, New Jersey. He is a U.S. citizen and resides in Las Vegas, NV.

Richard Marcus,
Author and Casino Cheating Expert,
The World's Greatest Gambling Scams


Richard Marcus is widely considered the best professional casino cheater in the history of legalized gaming. During the 80's and 90's, he headed the world's most successful international cheating team and developed what has been called the greatest chip manipulation move ever seen. He is also the author of four books: "American Roulette," his memoir of a 25-year career cheating the world's casinos, "Dirty Poker," a modern expose of the rampant cheating in all facets of poker, including online poker and major tournaments such as the WSOP, "The World's Greatest Gambling Scams," and "Identity Theft, Inc." Richard has unique insight into the mind of a professional cheater and has proven to be a master of psychological manipulation of casino personnel as well as the use of surveillance cameras to his advantage when working his cheating moves. He now serves as a game protection consultant to casinos.

Vince Mascio,
Vice President of Casino Operations,
Trump Taj Mahal, USA


Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Vince attended LaSalle College prior to becoming a member of the Atlantic City casino industry in 1978 where he began his career as a casino dealer at Resorts International.

During the earlier years of Vince’s casino tenure, he held the positions of floorperson, pit manager, shift manager and casino manager. In 1989, Vince was recruited by the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey. In 1993, he was promoted to Vice President of Casino Games. From September, 2002, thru March, 2003, Vince was recruited to Palm Springs, California to oversee the opening of Trump’s newest casino, Trump 29. From December, 2003,
thru April, 2004, Vince returned to Trump 29 temporarily to act as General Manager until a qualified individual was appointed. Upon his return to the Taj Mahal Casino Resort in March of 2003, Vince was then promoted to the position of Senior Vice President of Table Games Operations where he oversaw the casino
games departments for all Trump Entertainment Resorts.

Vince presently holds the position of Vice President of Casino Operations for Trump Taj Mahal which encompasses Table Games, Slots, Poker, Credit, Keno and Simulcast operations.


Darrell Metzger,
CEO,
Sentosa Leisure Group


Darrell Metzger’s extensive experience in the leisure and lifestyle industry spans both sides of the globe. He has held leading positions in renowned organizations
in America, Japan, Hong Kong and Hawaii. Not only was he part of the pioneer Tokyo Disneyland team and CEO of Hong Kong’s Ocean Park, he was also involved in major projects like the Los Angeles Summer Olympics and Vancouver’s World Fair. Since 2002, Darrell has spearheaded Sentosa island’s US$5-billion programme to transform it into a world-class destination. Since then, Sentosa under Darrell’s leadership achieved record annual visitor arrivals of 5.1 million and has so far successfully garnered US$1.1 billion in private investments.


Nicholas Middleton,
Corporate Director of Marketing,
Storm International, Russia


Nick is the Corporate Director of Marketing for Storm International BV, the most respected gaming company in Russia which operates over 22 slot locations and 5 casino complexes. Prior to Storm, Nick held various management and director positions in marketing with Harrah’s Entertainment, Boyd Gaming Corporation and Oceans Casino Cruises (the world’s largest off-shore gaming company), primarily within the Direct Marketing discipline. Nick has been apart of both opening and acquisition teams during his gaming career and has managed multiple locations in three different U.S. markets and In Russia. Nick has also consulted within the software development sphere with companies such as Fortis Software and Wound Path.

Nick was a prestigious Kauffman Fellow and earned a B.S. in Organizational Management & Marketing from The University of Alabama where he was a nationally ranked and full scholarship recipient in Track and Field and graduated Cum Laude with an MBA in Finance and Entrepreneurship from the University of South Florida.


Toru Mihara,
Advisor, Casino Study Group,
Liberal Democratic Party of Japan


He is Visiting professor of Osaka University of Commerce and also works as GM, Project Engineering Dept of Mitsui Global Strategic Studies Institute, a strategic corporate management arm of Mitsui & Co., Ltd. Since 2002, working as an advisor to Parliamentarians League to Think about Casinos within the Context of the International Tourism Industry, a gathering of ruling Liberal Democratic Party. And since Feb 2006, serving equally as an advisor to Sub-committee for Study on Casino Entertainment, Special Committee of Tourism (Policy Research Council) of Liberal democratic Party and helped the Party in formulating their core policy-strategy with respect to will-be Casino legislation in Japan. Under appointment by Prime Minister, he is also one of expert members of Promotion Committee of Private Finance Initiative, a state organ placed under Cabinet Office and an expert member of Council for Regulatory Reform, an advisory organ to the Prime Minister.

Andy Nazarechuck,
Dean, Singapore Campus,
University of Nevada Las Vegas


Dr. Nazarechuk holds both his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees from the William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV). After graduation, he worked for seven years as the Director of Catering and Convention Services (40,000 sq ft.) at the Sahara Hotel and Casino, which, at that time, was one of the largest facilities in Las Vegas and responsible for coordinating many special events. In 1986, he opened the Catering and Convention facilities at the Tropicana Hotel and Casino (100,000 sq ft.). From 1993 - 1999 he was the Director of the UNLV Hospitality Research and Development Center (HRDC), which serves as the research and service representative of the Hotel College. The HRDC offers information and expertise in all aspects of hospitality and casino management, and specializes in training sessions. During his tenure in the HRDC he has lead and participated in a wide variety of hospitality development projects. He earned his doctoral degree in Educational Leadership from the University of La Vern, CA in 2001. Currently, Dr. Nazarechuk is based in Singapore directing UNLV’s first international hospitality campus.

In his position with UNLV, Andy has traveled to France, Poland, Ukraine, Japan, China, Korea, Saipan, Egypt, Taiwan, and the Philippines consulting with universities and hospitality corporations. He recently created a new course at UNLV that focuses on cultural behaviors in the tourism industries and trains many casinos on providing service for casino customers. He regularly consults and conducts training sessions for hotel managers on a wide variety of human resource management, casino, and international topics.


Adam Rosenberg,
Managing director, Investment Banking Division, Co-Head of Gaming Group,
Goldman Sachs


Adam is Co-Head of the firm's Gaming Practice and currently focuses on providing strategic and financial advice to the firm's gaming operator and equipment manufacturer clients.

Adam has advised in connection with over $48 billion of M&A transactions and has executed in excess of $41 billion in capital markets transactions.

Adam's gamings clients include Las Vegas Sands Corp., Harrahs Entertainment, International Game Technology, Lottomatica, Shuffle Master, Aztar, Station Casinos, Global Cash Access, Whitehall Street Real Estate Funds, Penn National Gaming, and Colony Capital's Resorts International.

Adam joined the Real Estate Department at Goldman Sachs in 1998. Prior to Goldman Sachs, Adam was an attorney with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom's New York office from 1993 to 1997. Adam received a J.D. magna cum laude from the Harvard Law School in 1993 and a B.A. magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania in 1990.


Alan L. Silver,
Director of Casino Resort Studies, School of Continued Studies,
Tulane University, USA


Gurjit Singh,
Property Director,
Sentosa Leisure Group


Rick Smith,
Executive Director,
Interactive Gaming Council, Canada


Rick Smith, Executive Director, Interactive Gaming Council (“IGC”) has been with the IGC since March 2000. Rick manages IGC resources in its dealings with regulatory, governmental, industry (gaming and non-gaming) and political contacts. Rick has drafted papers for international publications and the media, prepared submissions to gaming reviews and bodies such as FATF and NCLGS, drafted testimony to be presented before Committees in Washington D.C., authored a chapter in the Internet Gaming Report and provided input on various topics within the industry. He has spoken widely on subjects pertinent to the industry both in a public and a private forum.

Prior to the IGC, Rick served for 15 years as a gaming regulator with the Queensland Office of Gaming Regulation, Australia (QOGR) and the Department of Internal Affairs, New Zealand (DIA). With QOGR Rick drafted rules and regulations for interactive gambling based on the draft model for the regulation of interactive gambling revamped as the “AUS Model” while with the DIA, Rick managed the government regulatory resources during the start up of casinos in Christchurch and Auckland. He also performed a national review of the licensing regime for gaming machines. His regulatory background includes extensive knowledge and experience with traditional land-based gaming regulation.

Rick has a Bachelor of Commerce degree and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Information Processing from the University of Queensland, Australia.


Dr. Ambrose So,
Director,
Sociedade de Jogos de Macau (SJM)


Dr. Ambrose So is Director of Sociedade de Jogos de Macau, S.A. (“SJM”). He joined Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macau, S.A. (“STDM”) in 1976 and has 30 years of experience in casino business. In addition, he is also Chairman of Macauport Limited and Pier 16-Property Development Limited. In Hong Kong, he is Executive Director of the publicly listed Shun Tak Holdings Limited.

Dr. So is a Committee Member of the 10th Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (“CPPCC”), and Consultant to the CPPCC of Beijing in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan affairs. He has been the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Portugal in Hong Kong SAR since 2005, as well as a member of the Economic Council and the Cultural Consultative Council of the Macau SAR Government. In addition, he is also elected President of Clube Militar de Macau.

Apart from his business interests, Dr. So also has a strong cultural profile. He is Co-founder and Chairman of the Sino-Latin Foundation of Macau and the Association of Chinese Culture and Art of Macau. He is Vice-President of the Chinese Culture Promotion Society, and President of its Macau Office. In 2006, he is appointed a Committee Member of the 8th China Federation of Literary and Art Circles.

In the field of education and science, he is a member of the Court of The University of Hong Kong (“HKU”), Director of HKU Foundation for Educational Development and Research, Standing Committee Member of HKU Convocation, and member of HKU SPACE Alumni Council. He founded the Macau Millennium College in 2001, and has been its Chancellor since then. In China, he is Professor of the Beijing Academy of Chinese Culture, Visiting Professor of Hunan University, Visiting Professor/Advisor of the Hong Kong-Macau Research Institute of Zhong Shan University, as well as Secretary General of Stanley Ho Astronautics Training Foundation. In addition, he is also Honorary Chairman of the Hong Kong Federation of Journalists.


Paul Steelman,
President and CEO,
Paul Steelman Design Group, USA


Founded in 1987, Paul Steelman Design Group has positioned itself as the premier touchstone in the entertainment architecture industry. Paul Steelman Design Group is an enclave of the industry’s most talented and acclaimed architects, designers, planners and artists. The resulting work is renowned, remarkable and memorable.

Paul Steelman is the president and chief executive officer of the Paul Steelman Design Group. Paul Steelman Design specializes in entertainment/hospitality and casino design projects throughout the world. Widely recognized as a leader in casino entertainment architecture, Paul opened his own practice specializing in entertainment design in 1987. Nineteen years later, the firm grossed more than $35 million in 2005, making it one of the top ranked architectural firms in the world. Steelman has completed and constructed every type of casino project from resort and local casinos to riverboat, Native American, pari-mutuel and European casinos. Steelman also has worked for many large gaming companies, including MGM Grand, Mirage Resorts, Sheraton, Hyatt, Sun International, Foxwoods, Swiss Casinos, Hard Rock, Grand Casinos, Icahn Enterprises, Park Place, Caesars, Barriere, Harrah’s, Showboat, Lady Luck, Silverton, and Viejas to name a few.


Robert Stocker,
Vice President,
International Masters of Gaming Law


Robert W. Stocker II is a member of Dickinson Wright PLLC, which has offices in the United States throughout Michigan and in Washington, D.C. He has an international practice in the areas of gaming, regulatory, corporate and alternative insurance programs law. He is an Adjunct Professor at The Thomas M. Cooley Law School, where he teaches courses in Gaming Law, Business Planning, and Business Organizations and is the recipient of the Frederick J. Griffith III Adjunct Faculty Award for excellence in teaching. Mr. Stocker has been recognized by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America and Michigan Super Lawyers for his expertise in gaming law. Mr. Stocker is the editor and co-author of The Michigan Gaming Law Legal Resource Book and the soon to be published Regulation of Gaming in Michigan: A Practice Guide as well as having authored numerous articles on gaming laws and regulations for several gaming publications and, in addition, business articles and a comprehensive legal guidebook discussing the concepts inherent to the creation of alternative insurance programs (insurance pools and captives). Mr. Stocker is a founding member and vice president of the International Masters of Gaming Law, as well as a member of the International Association of Gaming Attorneys, the Business Law Section of the American Bar Association, and the Captive Insurance Companies Association. Mr. Stocker has spoken on numerous gaming, business, and alternative insurance issues at a variety of national and international conferences and educational programs.

David Subotic,
CEO,
Asian Coast Development


Widely recognized for his vision and foresight, coupled with an extensive knowledge of the gaming and hospitality industries, David Subotic has played key roles in financing deals for casino and resort-casino developments for a number of top North American gaming firms including Trump Entertainment, Great Canadian Gaming and Gateway Casinos.
Also known to anticipate and capitalize on industry-altering trends, Subotic was very active and successful in the early stages of the online gaming market. Through public offerings on the NASDAQ and London exchanges David spearheaded the creation of billions of dollars of stock market value, while regularly providing financing services and strategic counsel for many of the emerging leaders in the field.

As Chief Executive Officer of Asian Coast Development, Subotic now concentrates solely on land-based casinos, with an emphasis on destination resorts. He is currently working on a multi-phase development with renowned Las Vegas-based architect Paul Steelman.


John Teo,
CFO,
Singapore Pools


John is the chief financial officer of Singapore Pools. Besides being responsible for all aspects of financial management and reporting, settlements and accounting, his duties also include overseeing the human resource, risk management, information technology and branch network operations. Over the past few years, John has been closely involved in planning and putting in place new systems, processes and operational procedures in the various business units. He has also participated heavily in the review and re-organising of the company’s human resource strategy and performance reward systems.

Prior to his posting to Singapore Pools in August 2002, he was the Managing Director, Finance of Temasek Holdings (Pte) Ltd, and had previously held the appointment of chief financial officer of a tertiary hospital in Singapore as well as audit manager of an international accounting firm.


Mr Mark Vlassopulos,
President,
Eighth Wonder


Richard Weissmann,
Managing Director - Head of Lodging & Co-Head of Gaming,
Goldman Sachs


Richard is a Managing Director and leads the firms gaming and lodging investment banking practice groups as Head of Lodging and Co-Head of Gaming.

Richard has advised and executed M&A and financing transactions in excess of $35 billion on behalf of clients such as Las Vegas Sands Corp., Harrahs Entertainment, International Game Technology, Shuffle Master, Aztar, Station Casinos, KKR, Kerzner International, Hollywood Casinos, Penn National Gaming, Colony Capital's Resorts International, Accor, Hyatt Gaming, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Cendant, Four Seasons, Marriott, Host Marriott, Hyatt Hotels, Strategic Hotel Capital, Marcus Corporation, MeriStar Hotels, KSL Resorts, CNL Hospitality, Westmont Hospitality and InnVest REIT.

Richard joined the Real Estate Department at Goldman Sachs in 1998. Richard was an attorney with Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison's New York office from 1994 to 1997. Richard was a principal at the real estate firm of James Harvie & Partners from 1984 to 1991.


Andre Wilsenach,
CEO,
The Alderney Gambling Commission


André Wilsenach has been the CEO of the Alderney Gambling Control Commission, since 2002. This is an independent and non-political regulatory authority in the Channel Islands, established to license and regulate interactive gaming and betting in Alderney.

André is an economist by training, and worked for the Africa Institute of South Africa, the Development Bank of Southern Africa and Ernst &Young, South Africa from 1982 to 1994.


Gareth Wong,
Founder and CEO,
GamBond


Gareth Wong has established himself as a thought leader within the remote gaming gambling world after launching the world's first most comprehensive mobile gambling proposition back in 2003. To help the remote gambling market to gain further transparency, he has since founded GamBond™ (www.GamBond.com) in 2004, which provides bond guarantee for the world's remote gaming gambling market with aim to bring further Global Trust & confidence.

2005, Wong founded Gambit (www.TheGambit.info) special interest group. It is an issue-based group that organise private and public events with aim to educate, facilitate and promote communication between the gaming gambling industry with many bricks & mortar verticals and governments worldwide. The Gambit Leadership Forum, will take place in March 2007, as world first invitation only closed door discussion forum to leaders of the sector and also regulators worldwide only.

2006, Wong founded Gaming Money Summit (www.GamingMoneySummit.com), which took place at the London Stock Exchange (co-sponsor), and also launched a private collaborative network of those with influence (www.CXOEurope.org) which focuses on networking between CXOs across industries and markets.

He worked over 4 years experience in Gaming Gambling, 10 years in multi-million pounds Business-to-Business telecom sales to mobile operators in EMEA and Asia Pacific. He was awarded Executive MBA from Cass Business School in London, MSc in Telecommunication Technology from Aston University and BEng (Hons) from Liverpool University.


Ms Linda Woo,
Acting Executive Director,
Queensland Office of Gaming Regulation, Australia


Linda Woo has been almost 20 years experience in gaming regulation. She is the Director of Licensing and Gaming Services in the Queensland Office of Gaming Regulation (QOGR). QOGR regulates all forms of legal gambling in Queensland (casinos, gaming machines, keno, lotteries, wagering, interactive gambling, charitable lotteries, raffles and bingo). Queensland was the first jurisdiction in Australia to develop and implement a comprehensive legislative regime to regulate and control interactive gambling ie the Interactive Gambling (Player Protection) Act 1998.

Linda has been an active participant in a number of Australian/New Zealand national regulatory working groups including, New Technologies, Interactive Gambling, Responsible Gambling, Gaming Machine National Standard and the Betting Exchange Task Force.

She has worked in a number of Commonwealth and State government departments including the Industries Commission, Australian Taxation Office, Queensland Audit Office, Corporate Affairs and Department of Justice.

She holds degrees from the University of Queensland (B.Com.) and Queensland University of Technology (B.Laws).


Qiangwu Zhou,
Vice President,
China Gloria


2006.12 - Vice Chairman of China Gloria Investment & Management Co., Ltd
2005.9-2006.11 Director for foreign affairs, International Department, Ministry of Finance (MOF) of China.
2002.8-2005.9 Deputy Director for foreign affairs, International Department of MOF of China
1999.8-2002.8 Second Secretary for administrative and budgetary affairs, Chinese Permanent Mission to the United Nations (NYC)
1996.8-1999.8 Section Chief for budget, Department of External Finance of MOF of China
1987.8-1993.8 Teaching in Jiangsu Traffic College, China


Matti Zinder,
CEO,
Spin 3, Israel


Matti Zinder is the founder and CEO of Spiral Solutions Ltd., a full-service interactive marketing, advertising and technology development firm established in 1999. Foreseeing the direction where interactive gaming was headed, in 2003 Mr. Zinder established Spin³, a division of Spiral Solutions, which to date is credited with developing and rolling out one of the leading mobile gaming solutions worldwide. Spin³ has been nominated as the Best Made for Mobile Game system at the Mobile Entertainment Forum 2005 and at the World 3GSM conference 2006. In 2005, three leading full-service UK mobile casinos were launched using Spin³’s proprietary platform and technology, and earlier this year, Mr. Zinder was named one of the 50 most important individuals in mobile content worldwide by a respected and leading wireless industry publication. Matti has become a leading voice and authority in the area of mobile gaming, and has served as a keynote speaker at many international wireless industry symposiums and conferences, including the Mobile Entertainment Forum, Mobile Gambling Forum, MEM Asia and the Mobile Gambling Summit Asia.

Prior to founding Spiral Solutions, Mr. Zinder served as the Director of Marketing / East Asia at Elbit Defense Systems, a global defense electronics company and as Vice President of Marketing at eSafe Technologies/ Aladdin, a NASDAQ listed company.

Mr. Zinder holds degrees in Chinese and Far Eastern studies and Business Administration from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Mr. Zinder is proficient in a number of languages, including Mandarin Chinese, Hebrew and Arabic.


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