IMGL members and special guests gathered Nov. 14 to honor IMGL Regulator of the Year Peter Dean. The reception is held annually in conjunction with the opening of the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas. The more than 75 attendees at the Stirling Club at Turnberry Estates made this year’s reception the most successful to date. Among those in attendance:

New Orleans Awards Luncheon

IMGL paid tribute to its inaugural Gaming Executives of the Year, W. Owen Nitz and Jeffrey M. Cooper, during a Nov. 30 luncheon as part of the IMGL Winter Conference in New Orleans. Nitz and Cooper are the co-trustees of IP Hotel & Casino in Biloxi. IMGL President Michael Lipton praised the duo for “remarkable dedication to restoring their community” in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. In the months after the storm, IP Biloxi housed the emergency’s first responders, such as FEMA personnel and an army of relief workers and insurance adjusters. In just four months, they completely overhauled their property and reopened it in December, the first Biloxi property to do so, providing a needed economic and emotional boost to the community.

New Orleans Winter Conference

New Orleans’ Aquarium of the Americas served as a dramatic backdrop for the Nov. 30 Gala Dinner Event at the IMGL Winter Conference.