25 Years25 Milestones1993 – 2018

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Photography by UNLV Creative Services and Jenna Dosch. Historical photographs from UNLV Special Collections & Archives.Front cover main image by David Stroud Illustration.

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The UNLV International Gaming Institute (IGI) was born in October 1993 after a meeting between Chairman Bill

Curran of the Nevada Gaming Commission and UNLV Hotel College faculty members David Christenson and Vince Eade. Chairman Curren sought “an institute in Las Vegas that would serve as an educational conduit for the expanding gaming industry.” The timing was right: in IGI’s inaugural year, the Luxor and the new MGM Grand (pictured bottom) opened and the Dunes was imploded (pictured top) to begin construction on The Bellagio.

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NOW:

IGI is a beacon in gaming research, innovation, and executive education, providing cutting-edge insights to leaders in the public, private, and non-profit sectors.

“The founders of the International Gaming Institute envisioned it becoming exactly what it’s become-an answers center for the

global gaming industry.”

—BO BERNHARD, IGI EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

THEN: IGI’s 1993 mission statement was threefold:

u To provide continuing education to the gaming industry;u To create a partnership with Nevada Gaming Control Board to offer regulatory classes to gaming regulators;

andu To conduct and disseminate gaming-related research and information.

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For 25 years, IGI’s Gaming Research & Review Journal (GRRJ) has provided the only dedicated outlet for gaming researchers to publish peer-reviewed articles on topics like casino operations, gaming laws and regulations, marketing, responsible gambling, and other operational topics. Over the years, GRRJ has published more than 22 volumes and hundreds of articles from the world’s leading gambling studies experts.

4In October 2000, thanks to a $6.2 million donation by Stanley Fulton, CEO of Anchor Gaming, IGI moved into the eponymous, newly constructed UNLV Stan Fulton Building. The building’s iconic casino lab, generously supported by partners like Konami Gaming, has ensured that the building’s facilities remain cutting edge.

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In May of 1997, IGI founder Vince Eade (pictured bottom left) attended the International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking (now proudly hosted by IGI) in Montreal, Quebec, in search of a new leader—and that was exactly what he found. One would be hard pressed to point to a gaming leader who pioneered in more fields than Shannon Bybee (pictured top left), who oversaw the Institute until he passed away in 2003. Bybee was a founding father of the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling (and one of the first gaming executives to tackle this issue), an author of many of Nevada’s gaming regulations, a wise and calming figure during Atlantic City’s early years, and a bridge-builder who linked government, industry, and educational institutions during his esteemed career.

To this day, responsible gambling remains at the forefront of IGI’s research efforts:

u In 2003, IGI was asked by the government of Nova Scotia to research what was believed to be the industry’s first responsible gambling device, developed by Techlink Entertainment.

u In 2017, IGI was awarded a major five-year grant to research the impacts of MGM’s GameSense initiative, which focuses on casino floor education and outreach by trained employees.

u Since its inception, IGI has conducted responsible gaming training via custom programs delivered to public, industry, and government audiences.

u Launched in 2003, the Las Vegas Sands Responsible Gaming Ambassadors Program (pictured below) incorporates the latest in responsible gambling scientific research in a manner that is consistent with customer service best practices.

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7In the mid-2000s, IGI recruited Patricia Becker, executive director (pictured left); Nakia Jackson-Hale, director of programs; and Pat Merl, director of gaming outreach. Under their leadership, IGI:

u Fostered a strong relationship with the National Indian Gaming Association (NIGA) to develop educational programming (2008);

u Began offering online classes on timely and topical gaming industry subjects (2009);

u Held the inaugural Gaming Regulators Development Program (2010)u Partnered with G2E Global Gaming Expo to offer a certificate of completion

for conference attendees (2010); andu Launched “Kick Up Your Heels,” a fundraiser that led to the development

of Global Gaming Women, an internationally renowned initiative that supports women in leadership across the industry (2010).

In 2012, Bo Bernhard (pictured right) was appointed to his current role as IGI’s executive director; under Bernhard’s leadership, the IGI team has grown in size to accommodate approximately two dozen experts in multi-disciplinary fields.

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In his 2013 State of the State address, Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval praised UNLV for its work with the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) “to establish UNLV as the global intellectual hub for gaming, hospitality, and entertainment.” IGI is helping realize Governor Sandoval’s bold vision of creating a robust, diversified, and prosperous economy in Nevada.

In support of this vision, IGI faculty members have attended trade missions with Governor Sandoval, visiting places like Ghana, Sydney (pictured below), and Warsaw to discuss globally impactful topics like government policy and skill-based casino games.

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In early 2013, Bill Eadington, known to many as one of the “founding fathers” of gambling studies, passed away. A professor of economics at the University of Nevada, Reno and one of Bo Bernhard’s longtime friends and mentors, Eadington “passed the torch” to Bernhard, gifting IGI with two new programs:

u The Executive Development Program (EDP)—a partnership between UNLV IGI and the University of Nevada, Reno College of Business and Extended Studies—boasts more than 1,400 alumni who have graduated from the industry’s most rigorous and rewarding “boot camp for executives” (pictured bottom).

u The International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking—the field’s largest research conference is held every three years and convenes more than 600 attendees to discuss wide-ranging topics in gambling studies (pictured top).

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u Line ‘Em Up is a skill-based slot created by IGI students Troy Pettie and Evan Thomas. Using a randomly generated number of available moves, players swap adjacent tiles to create the highest possible number of horizontal, vertical, and diagonal lines – a la Candy Crush (pictured top).

u Matthew Stream, inventor of Easy Jack, took top honors in the CGI class of 2016 with his simplified version of Blackjack; the objective of Easy Jack is to get close to 11 and not bust by going over.

u Also in the CGI class of 2016, Harold Moret patented his game Casino Dominoes, which creates a casino game out of this globally popular pastime.

u Brittney Martino (pictured right) helped solve a major card counting problem with her invention of the Shield Card Shoe, which casts “light pollution” onto the backs of cards to render certain types of counting methods impossible.

2013 also saw the launch of the IGI Center for Gaming Innovation (CGI), made possible by a generous grant from the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED). CGI was founded by the legendary gaming inventor Dr. Mark Yoseloff, former CEO of ShuffleMaster when it was named one of Forbes’ “most innovative tech companies,” who wanted to pass on his game design knowledge to the next generation of gaming leaders. The cornerstone of CGI is its Gaming Innovation class—a course that fosters innovation and an entrepreneurial spirit in inventors (and non-inventors!) of all ages through the creation of commercially viable casino games. CGI associate director Dr. Dan Sahl mentors the students through the complex innovation process. To date, CGI has filed more than 45 patent applications, resulting in nine issued patents and eight commercialized games.

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IGI’s International Center for Gaming Regulation (ICGR) invented the academic field of gaming regulation studies in early 2016. The Center was founded in partnership with the William S. Boyd School of Law and is led by globally-renowned regulator André Wilsenach and pioneering gaming attorney Jennifer Roberts. Its launch met the long-expressed need to promote international best practices in gaming regulation through research and regulatory evaluation, as well as world-class educational programs offered to attendees representing dozens of countries and hundreds of jurisdictions.

In 2015, IGI was “promoted” to a university center of excellence under UNLV’s Division of Research and Economic Development. Inspired by a growing need to develop multi-disciplinary research and education, this move has enabled IGI to expand its areas of expertise to include hospitality innovation, esports, gender and diversity, and responsible gambling. During this time, Katherine Jackson (pictured left) took on the role of associate director of IGI to work alongside Bo Bernhard to lead this rapid growth phase.

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IGI built upon its innovation initiatives by offering a Hospitality Innovation program starting in early 2016. The program is led by hospitality innovator Robert Rippee who brings more than 25 years of innovation experience in hospitality alongside a network of advisors and mentors across venture capital, big tech, hospitality, and gaming. While working on innovations of their own, students learn from industry experts on the latest trends in hospitality, including: esports, robotics (pictured top), artificial intelligence, virtual reality, blockchain, and cryptocurrency. Since 2016, Hospitality Innovation students have cumulatively filed more than 10 patent applications. In 2017, hospitality innovation students won $15,000 for their Window Magic invention (pictured bottom).

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u Working with Mountain West Conference to host the first-ever Mountain West “Esports Showdown” in conjunction with their annual basketball tourney. Competitive video gamers from UNLV’s own 8-bit Esports club took home the winning trophy in 2018—defeating Boise State in games of Overwatch, League of Legends, and Rocket League.

u IGI faculty members Brett Abarbanel, Jennifer Roberts, and Robert Rippee research various topics such as the relationship between esports and gambling and the impacts of esports on the hospitality industry.

u Thanks to Brett Abarbanel and Jennifer Roberts, IGI was a founding member of the Nevada Esports Alliance (NVEA)—an organization that “provides information and resources to educate and promote the development of best practices at the intersection of the esports and regulated gambling industries.”

The biggest buzzword in hospitality and gaming today is esports, and IGI researchers have become leading experts in this field as well. Some of the biggest esports projects IGI has worked on in recent years include:

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Bo Bernhard was awarded UNLV’s highest research honor, the Harry Reid Silver State Research Award, in 2018. This award recognizes Bernhard’s work with more than 60 national and international jurisdictions that call upon him to provide thought leadership, advice, and research-based solutions on challenges facing the gambling world and the global gaming industry.

IGI director of research Brett Abarbanel grew up with an interest in understanding the math behind gambling games. A keen observer of the racetracks in her hometown of Del Mar, California, Abarbanel won the Hypatia Award in mathematics at her undergraduate institution Brown University, and followed up by earning a Ph.D. focused on gambling studies from UNLV. Today, Abarbanel presents her research all over the world on the latest gambling-related technologies.

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One example of IGI research-in-action involves the recent passing of Japan’s Gambling Addiction Countermeasures Bill. The passing of the bill comes after Japanese government officials requested that UNLV IGI provide academic reports analyzing the socio-economic costs and benefits of integrated resorts in a new gaming jurisdiction, as well as the ways in which organized crime can be addressed via legislation and regulation.

Another illustration of IGI’s research impact is its influential report Professional Team Sports in Las Vegas: What the Research Says, which evaluated the risks and benefits associated with bringing a professional sports team to Las Vegas. From the earliest stages of this process, the NFL Oakland Raiders’ owner Mark Davis asked IGI to provide research insights to a skeptical league on the matter of relocating a team to the city. In March of 2017, Bernhard was present at the NFL meetings in Phoenix that launched an era of professional football in Las Vegas.

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Often, IGI’s research has a direct impact on the day-to-day proceedings of the gaming and hospitality industry at large.

u Throughout his career, Dr. Tony Lucas has undermined conventional wisdom with data-driven findings in a Moneyball-esque fashion. For instance, Lucas’ award-winning efforts have called into question common approaches to slot operations, gaming math, marketing, free play, and lottery promotions.

u IGI special projects coordinator and Ph.D. researcher Shekinah Hoffman (pictured top right) and hospitality professor Toni Repetti (pictured top left) focus their research on gender and diversity. In doing so, Hoffman and Repetti hope to start a conversation about the importance of diversity and the challenges of advancement barriers in the gaming and hospitality industry.

IGI’s most recent, relevant, and impactful research can be found online at unlv.edu/igi/research/recent

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Inspired by IGI’s diversity and community outreach initiatives, the Young Executive Scholars Hospitality & Tourism (YES) program was launched in 2017. A partnership with CORE, powered by The Rogers Foundation, YES gives high schoolers the chance to discover the opportunities that the hospitality and tourism industry provides, and to learn how a university education creates pathways to executive-level careers in the industry.

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Since its 1993 inception, IGI researchers, faculty, and students have been invited to present their research in front of countless government officials, academics, and gaming industry executives across all six inhabited continents, and delivered key-notes in every major conference in their fields.

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Though the impacts of IGI research are felt globally, our team is comprised of proud Rebels at heart. With its multidisciplinary focus, IGI frequently partners with other on-campus entities, such as the:

u William S. Boyd School of Law (pictured left);u Honors College;u William F. Harrah College of Hospitality;u Department of History;u Special Collections Library;u School of Architecture (pictured below); andu Department of Sociology.

Ever remaining on the cutting-edge, IGI has created a global gaming research network with other prestigious academic institutions across the U.S. and around the world, including:

u David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA;u Harvard Medical School;u Yale School of Medicine;u The University of Sydney, and many more!

Stan Fulton Building concepts, groundbreaking, and opening, 1997–2000.