Industry Experts Discuss Myriad Issues Surrounding Legalization of I-Gaming at 15th Annual East Coast Gaming Congress, May 23-24

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J., May 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- It is a question of when, not if, Internet gambling will be legalized in the foreseeable future, either at the federal level or the states level – or possibly both. Whichever model is implemented, legalization brings with it myriad legal, regulatory and operational questions. Four nationally recognized industry experts will address these questions at the 15th annual East Coast Gaming Congress, May 23-24 at the Atlantic City Convention Center.

Gene Johnson, senior associate for market research at Spectrum Gaming Group, a co-organizer and co-producer of the event, will moderate the panel, "Internet Gambling: The Game Changer." The session is sponsored by Global Gaming Business, and featured panel speakers are:

• Melanie Brenner, President, US Online Gaming Association
• Richard "Skip" Bronson, Chairman, US Digital Gaming
• Honorable John Burzichelli, New Jersey State Assembly
• Jan Jones, Senior Vice President Communications/Government Relations, Caesars Entertainment

More than 600 gaming operators, equipment manufacturers, regulators, attorneys, architects, analysts, public officials, investors and other gaming-related professionals are attending the East Coast Gaming Congress. The full conference schedule and registration are available at www.ecgc.us. Early-bird registration savings will be honored until advance registration is closed on the afternoon of Friday, May 20.

The event opens with an evening reception at The Pool at Harrah's Resort Atlantic City, sponsored by the Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority, and is followed by the intensive, daylong conference on the 24th. The conference will include six CEO keynote presentations, a regional panel covering the competitive challenges and outlook in the mid-Atlantic region, the always popular Wall Street panel featuring some of the industry's leading Wall Street analysts, and a panel on the potential impacts of the legalization of Internet gaming. In addition, AtlantiCare will host a panel to discuss how innovative partnerships between a healthcare system, payor and casinos can stem health care costs, and results of a just completed study by Stockton College's Lloyd D. Levenson Institute of Gaming, Hospitality and Tourism (LIGHT) that surveyed 16 major Northeast U.S. markets to study vacationers and their habits in this 5th annual tourism survey, will be unveiled. Finally, New Jersey's Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno and New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement Acting Director David Rebuck will be the luncheon keynote speakers. The luncheon is sponsored by Bally Technologies.

The East Coast Gaming Congress is organized and produced by Spectrum Gaming Group, an independent research and professional services firm, Cooper Levenson, Attorneys at Law, and SOSH Architects.

Other sponsors include 18 Wheel Media, AC Coin & Slot, Ainsworth, Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers (AGEM), Atlantic Cape Community College's Casino Career Institute, Atlantic City Electric, Atlantic City Hotel & Lodging Association, AtlantiCare Marketing & Communications, BMM Compliance, Casino Enterprise Management, NJ Casino Reinvestment Development Association (CRDA), DiTronics Financial Services, Energenic, Ernst & Young, Ewing Cole, FBR Capital Markets, Gaming Industry Observer, Gaming Laboratories International (GLI), Global Innovative Gaming, LLC, Greater Atlantic City Chamber of Commerce, Interbrief.org, LLC, KGM Gaming, LLC, KIISS, Langan Engineering, LIGHT, Lowers & Associates, M Rothman & Co Inc, Marsh & McLennan Agency, MCA Processing, NTD Television, Pechanga.net, Press of Atlantic City, Purple Strategies , Stockton University, Thomson Reuters, Top Flight Media, and W.W. Grainger Inc. For sponsorship information, contact Donna Vecere at [email protected].

SOURCE East Coast Gaming Congress