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Conference Agenda*
*as of May 28; subject to change
Monday, July
20
7:00 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Registration Open
7:30 a.m.– 8:45 a.m.
Continental Breakfast
8:45 a.m.– 5:00 p.m.
Player Development Summit (separate registration required)
5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Welcome Reception (Tradeshow Floor)
Tuesday, July 21
7:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Registration Open
7:30 a.m. – 8:45 a.m.
Continental Breakfast (Tradeshow Floor)
8:45 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.
Introductory Remarks And Conference Overview
Speaker: Dennis Conrad, President and Chief Strategist, Raving
Consulting Company
9:00 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.
Opening Keynote Address
How the Gambling Mecca is Dealing with the Recession
Rossi Ralenkotter, President and Chief Executive Officer, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority
While it's impossible to be all things to all people, Las Vegas has been the closest thing to such a dream destination. For years, there appeared to be no end to success for the world's greatest adult freedom destination. New resorts continued to be built, record numbers of tourists arrived every year and the meeting and convention business boomed. There were resort and gaming options for all demographics, from the value-oriented customer to the affluent visitor and everyone in between. Las Vegas was on a roll that couldn't be stopped.
So, what happens in 2009 when the Mecca of gaming, the casino marketers' Shangri-La for amenity, tourist and locals marketing, struggles for one of the few times in its history? How is Las Vegas, a city of unprecedented growth, fighting the recession? Why not ask someone who has been involved in attracting tourists to Southern Nevada for over 35 years? The man who championed the most successful branding campaign in tourism history, "What happens here, stays here.™" Join Rossi Ralenkotter, President and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA), in a very candid opening keynote address on how the recession is impacting Las Vegas and how the LVCVA is marketing in this environment. Casino executives from all over will hear first-hand about the tools being utilized by the world's gaming Mecca to stem the tide of the recession.
9:45 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.
Networking Break
10:15 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
21st Century Casino Marketing Tools That You Probably Aren't Using Yet
Sponsored by: 
Text messaging. Facebook. Twitter. Viral marketing. PURLS. What are these 21st century buzz words and what do they have to with marketing? Are direct mail and other forms of traditional advertising passé? How and when should you tap into these new channels as part of your marketing strategy? How do they work, and more importantly, how are casinos using them to drive revenue? You may think digital-age media is too new for Ma and Pa Gambler, but with the right investment in the right areas and in the right combinations, you may find a formula for 21st century success.
Speakers: Nicole Barker, President, Barker Enterprises, Inc.; Hetty Fore, Director of Analytics, Littlefield
11:00 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.
Networking Break
11:15 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
The Anatomy of Some Home Run Casino Promotions
Sponsored by: 
Jeff Connor is an ex-standup comic, the ring announcer from the TV series The Contender and one of the most out-of-the-box, effective casino marketers in the business today. Here he will share the details of some of his revenue-driving, attention-getting classics: The Mass Wedding Event on Leap Day, where hundreds of couples swarmed a casino property to get married or renew their vows (in one single ceremony!); the Super Dooper Cooper Promotion, where a Mini-Cooper became a drawing drum; and Jeff's latest and greatest, the $10,000 Pick A President Promo, where players club members at an Oklahoma casino could vote their points for Obama or McCain. Most importantly, Jeff will use these promotions (and more) to highlight those critical elements that should ALWAYS be a part of our casino promotions, but typically and unfortunately aren't.
Speaker: Jeff Connor, Principal, CAMPP LLC
12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Casino Marketing Lifetime Achievement Award Luncheon Honoring Lyle Berman
Join sponsors, attendees, friends and associates in honoring Lyle Berman, CEO of Lakes Entertainment. Berman was first a casino customer, as a world class poker player, who now sits in the World Poker Hall of Fame. Then he was a casino company founder and CEO (twice) with Grand Casinos and Lakes Entertainment, Inc., becoming instrumental in assisting tribal nations in operating quality, customer-focused casino operations. Along the way he found time to help launch the World Poker Tour and become Chairman of the Board of PokerTek, which is using technology to revolutionize the poker industry. Through it all, Berman has found success through an integrated marketing strategy that recognizes the importance of the three main constituencies of CUSTOMERS, EMPLOYEES, and COMMUNITIES. He has bequeathed to the gaming industry an army of casino executives, who are scattered far and wide, in numerous senior roles, making a difference for the companies they serve, through a method that can best be called "Lyle's Way." He is being honored for his vision, his formula and his results, which truly define his skill as the ultimate casino marketer.
2:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Networking Break
2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Hitting All the Right Notes: Maximizing the Value of Casino Entertainment During a Recession
Should you have more big-name entertainment at your casino during a recession, or less? Do lounge acts have any value? Whatever happened to environmental entertainers at casinos? Does themed entertainment drive business during major holidays? And how do we deal with the epic casino marketing dilemma of how to turn show goers into gamers, and restaurant goers, and hotel lodgers? In this candid look into the inside of the casino entertainment game, some of the savviest pros in the business will share their secrets and tips for making your casino's entertainment a recession fighting tool that drives real revenue.
Moderator: Toby O'Brien, Vice President of Marketing and Client Services, Raving Consulting Company
Speakers: Laura Herlovich, Chief Executive Officer, PR Plus; Brian Knaff, President, Talent Buyers Network; Bob Struyk, Chief Executive Officer, RJS Consulting Services
3:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Networking Break
4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Why Direct Mail is Still the Best Tool to Help You Survive the Recession
In an era of tightening marketing budgets, the savvy casino marketer looks to do more with less. Which means that the discussion usually turns to that orphan, or in some cases, that BEAST of a casino marketing tactic – direct mail marketing. Do we crank up the mail offers, or cut them back? Let the CFO call the shots, or the CMO? Talk about the recession in direct mail copy, or ignore it? In this "tell it like it is lifetime of learning" session, John Romero, the dean of direct mail, once again assaults us with the uncommon logic of how to communicate with the prospects (and not the suspects) that will get us through this most recent chaos at our casino cash registers.
Speaker: John Romero, Casino Marketing Consultant, Writer and Lecturer
Wednesday, July 22
7:30 a.m. – 3:45 p.m.
Registration Open
8:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
Awards Breakfast: The Romero Awards - Recognizing Excellence In Casino
Marketing
Sponsored by: 
Named after casino marketing pioneer and author John Romero, the Romero Awards honor those gaming operators who best fulfill the spirit of John's nearly 50-year crusade for effective, measurable and accountable casino marketing expenditures. Find out who the expert judging panel, chaired by John Romero himself, selected as winners for their excellence in casino marketing, in the important categories of Direct Mail, Casino Promotions, VIP Events, PR Campaigns, Web and Email Marketing. As a special treat for this year's Romero Awards, the presentation will be emceed by noted TV personality and casino sports consultant, Al Bernstein.
Presented by: John Romero, Inaugural Recipient of the Casino Marketing Lifetime Achievement Award and Namesake of the Romero Awards
Hosted by: Al Bernstein, Sportscaster and Boxing Analyst, Radio Host, Speaker and Performer
10:00 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.
Networking Break
10:15 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
Stories of Life
Rekindle the passion you have for your work, your life, and yes, your desire to strive for excellence in everything you do. Where do you go to find (or rediscover) the passion inside of you? Well, come listen and see if our speaker, Steve Browne, is right when he says that your passion exists in the very stories that make up the fabric of your life.
Speaker: Steve Browne, President, Raving Service
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
What Your Best Players Are Saying (and Doing) During This Recession
It is extremely difficult to better focus casino marketing dollars during a recession, without first understanding the changing casino customer behavior in such times – but many casinos pay little attention to what their customers are saying or doing differently. In this vitally informative session, produced exclusively for Casino Marketing 2009, three of the top casino market researchers in the business share their surprising data and analysis from research gathered from thousands of casino customers in casino markets across North America. You'll hear how the recession has affected their visitation, their spending and their outlook, as well as what you should be doing NOW to insure that pushing a slot spin button and sliding a chip into a betting circle remain part of their recession entertainment budget.
Speakers: Glenn Goulet, Principal, Gaming Strategies + Insights; Michael Meczka, Principal, MM/R/C; John Thomas, Executive Director, Clear Seas Research
12:00 p.m. – 1:45 p.m.
Keynote Luncheon
Rejecting Recession: Humor Me
Tim Gard, CSP, Comic Visions
The recession has impacted every aspect of the economy. Although customer service has always been a mainstay, customer understanding and employee attitudes are more important today than ever before if a business is going to survive and thrive in tomorrow's economy. Just as leadership skills can be learned, so can anyone learn to use humor as a business skill if they choose to use their Comic Vision.
Participants will discover how to use humor to refresh and renew themselves in between negative encounters and how to encourage employees to treat every guest as if they were the first guest of the day. It's a fact – customers can be won or lost based on a single encounter with just one employee. Improve your odds of connecting with customers positively by further developing your comic vision using Tim's enhanced recession-proof techniques. Discover how to use rehearsed spontaneity to solve problems on the spot; learn why your before work "game face" and end of day "dismount" can improve your morale; and start using "tongue fu" and simple language changes to defuse potentially negative customer service situations.
Having traveled in excess of 1.5 million miles in his 16-year speaking career, Gard has experienced the best and the worst of the hospitality and gaming industry world wide and offers a rare insight into how professional travelers view "customer service" and how the effective use of humor can enhance morale, improve communications and help make every guest a very happy guest who can't wait to come back to visit you. More than anything else, discover how important it is to use humor appropriately as a business skill and decrease "hassles" while increasing "like-ability."
1:45 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Networking Break
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
My 10 Best Tips For Having More Efficient and Accountable Advertising During a Recession
Well, your casino advertising should be "FREE OF FAT" with "GUARANTEED RESULTS" all the time, but never more so than during a recession, when the GM or CEO has the budget scalpel in hand. But you still need to get your message out and let players know that not only are you still OPEN, but that there is even more fun to be had at your casino, recession or not. In this timely session, some of the brightest minds in the casino advertising world will each share their top 10 tips for doing more with less and insuring that your casino advertising is top of mind and achieving maximum effectiveness with players who still have money to spend on casino entertainment.
Moderator: Toby O'Brien, Vice President of Marketing and Client Service, Raving Consulting Company
Speakers: Ben Gravolet, Vice President Creative and Strategy, Touchpoints Marketing and Advertising; Mary Loftness, Owner, Profitable Customers; Ginny Shanks, Chief Marketing Officer, Multimedia Games
3:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Networking Break
3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
The Best (And Worst) Casino Promotions of 2009 - Recession Year Edition
A recession may be no laughing matter, but Dennis Conrad's release of his annual list of the best and worst our industry has to offer, certainly is. Now in its 13th year, Dennis' annual kudos and slams are an attempt to spot the hidden treasures and nuggets of untapped opportunities in the casino marketing world, as well as deservedly diss the doofuses who succeeded only in creating a stupid marketing result. It's all a powerful learning experience. Join Dennis once again in this unauthorized but honest presentation, based on information gained not only from his own extensive experiences as a consultant and casino player in the past year, but also from his unparalleled network of casino "sources." Dennis' candid and razor-sharp marketing insight will have you furiously taking notes on the marketing wisdom and the marketing no-no's that only the Best (and Worst) can provide. And look for several new surprises from Dennis in 2009, including his "Recession Certified" category.
Speaker: Dennis Conrad, President and Chief Strategist, Raving Consulting Company |
Keynote Speaker
Tim Gard
Keynote Speaker
Rossi Ralenkotter
 John Romero
Al Bernstein
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