IMGL: Bigger and Better than Ever
By Michal Lipton

Because of print deadlines, I'm writing this on the eve of the International Masters of Gaming Law Spring Conference in Chicago. By the time you read this, the event will be history, which is appropriate; we know already that the spring conference is a history maker. Advance registration for the event guaranteed it would be our biggest and best-attended conference ever.

We expected more than 125 gaming lawyers, regulators, educators and students from 18 countries to attend. I salute conference co-chairs Michael Ficaro, Ungaretti & Harris, Chicago; and Joerg Hofmann, Melchers, Heidelberg, Germany; our sponsorship chair, Doug Florence; and IMGL Executive Director Melissa Lurie, for making it happen.

Cape Town Bound

We'll follow our biggest conference to date with what will be our most ambitious: The IMGL Fall Conference, which will be held in beautiful Cape Town, South Africa, Sept. 2 - 4 at the Table Bay Hotel. The IMGL conference is part of a unique partnership with two other gaming shows of interest, produced by ATE and the River City Group, both Sept. 5 - 6 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. ATE will present a show that focuses on the Pan-African terrestrial gaming industry. Simultaneously, River City Group (Clarion Events) will present a show exploring the global Internet Gaming industry, with an emphasis on proposed South African legislation.

The Table Bay Hotel is a five-star, 329-room hotel that uniquely responds to its magnificent surroundings. Start making your travel plans now, and be sure to leave time for a spectacular selection of post-show tours. My thanks to host committee members in South Africa Wayne Lurie, Lurie Inc., Johannesburg; Thiebedi Majake, CEO, National Gambling Board, South Africa; and Garron Whitesman, Whitesmans Attorneys, Cape Town. Details can be found under "Future Events" at www.IMGLConference.com.

Also, if your firm or company is looking for a way to increase exposure within the gaming law community, I urge you to become an official conference sponsor. We have several affordable options available, all of which will help your company gain maximum exposure among our members and other attendees in Cape Town. For more information, contact IMGL Executive Director Melissa Lurie at (303) 449-9955 or IMGLDirector@aol.com.

We're Everywhere!

IMGL members were out in full force at gaming industry events across North America this spring. In April, IMGL members Tony Coles, Gordon Dickie, Doug Florence, Joe Kelly, John Maloney and Larry Walters were among the speakers at the Canadian Gaming Summit.

In May, IMGL had its most significant presence ever at the venerable Southern Gaming Summit - which I'm happy to report was able to return to its longtime home in Biloxi. IMGL was the sole sponsor and presenter of the summit's Gaming Law track. Speakers included IMGL members Sam Begley, Len Blackwell, Gordon Dickie, Doug Florence, Paul Harvey, John Maloney, Sue McNabb, Frank Miller, Britt Singletary, Bob Stocker and Dennis Whittlesey.

Once again, IMGL was the sole sponsor of one of the five educational tracks at Casino Enterprise Mangement's CasinoFest3, held at Mystic Lake Casino Hotel in mid-May. The Gaming Law track featured 11 diverse and informative sessions presented by IMGL experts, including program chairs Tony Cabot, Tom Foley and Bob Stocker.

Looking ahead (in addition to our own Cape Town conference, of course), IMGL members are already planning for the Global Gaming Expo (G2E), Nov. 13 - 15 in Las Vegas. We will hold the always-popular IMGL Member Reception on Nov. 13, where we will present the Regulator of the Year Award. Committee co-chairs Jack Ketterer and John Roberts are currently accepting nominations for the award, and voting will be conducted in July. Please send us nominees worthy of this honor, then join us at the G2E function to pay tribute to the honoree. Watch the "Future Events" page at www.IMGLConference.com for more details to be posted soon.

International Loose-Leaf Service Available

I'm pleased to report the impending availability of a new service that, for the first time, will allow lawyers and other gaming professionals to access gaming law and regulatory papers from around the world all in one place.

The International Casino Law and Regulation Loose-Leaf Service compiles the most up-to-date regulatory information written by our members. The loose-leaf service includes three volumes divided by continent of origin. What makes the literature important to gaming law professionals is that updated information is added and revised periodically, thus providing lawyers and other gaming professionals with content relevant to current business practices. Many thanks to Professor Bill Thompson and Tony Cabot for their work in putting together this service, as well as to those IMGL members who contributed chapters.

For more information, or to obtain a subscription to the service, please contact IMGL Executive Director Melissa Lurie.

Website Rework

Our website's rebirth is continuing. Please send us your articles on gaming law so they can be posted.

I'm pleased to announce the fruition of a massive project we've been working on in conjunction with the Thomas M. Cooley Law School. In the 2006 Fall Term, seven Cooley Law School students commenced a comprehensive directed study program that has provided a 50-state compendium of gaming statutes, regulations and case law. The results of this joint project are in a database, and state summaries are now on the IMGL website, available to IMGL members as well as the public - and more is yet to come.

If you are a new IMGL member and would like to gain access to members-only information, go to www.gaminglawmasters.com/signup and fill in the blanks. Your password will be sent to you.

Contributions Welcome

As always, we welcome - and need - your valued input for this outstanding magazine, Casino Lawyer. Your article submissions are important to us, as are your advertising dollars. The fall issue (available in November) will feature our Regulator of the Year, and will be distributed at G2E in Las Vegas. The deadline to submit articles is Sept. 17.

We offer special advertising rates to our members: A full-page ad is $3,000, a half-page ad costs $1,500 and a quarter-page ad is just $750. Again, please contact Melissa Lurie for details and to reserve your ad space.

Welcome, New Members

I've said this before, and I don't mind saying it again: Of all the signs of an organization's success and value, none is more telling than the steady growth of its membership. I'm happy to report that through the efforts of our current members, aided by new membership bylaws, our ranks are continuing to swell; 18 outstanding, highly qualified new members have joined us since Feb. 1. Their full contact information will be available at www.gaminglawmasters.com under "Jurisdictions." A new membership directory is also available.

General Members

Kenneth Dreifach, Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal, New York

Ron Gifford, Baker & Daniels, Indiana

Thomas Gulley, Lewis & Roca, New Mexico

Alex Igelman, Fogler Rubinoff LLP, Canada

Morden "Cookie" Lazarus, Lazarus, Charbonneau, Canada

Sean McGuinness, Beckley Singleton Chtd., Nevada

Dr. Luka Muller-Studer, Meyer Muller Eckert, Switzerland

Patrick O'Brien, Greenberg Traurig, Florida

Dan Reiser, Lionel Sawyer & Collins, Nevada

Joel Rose, Aird & Berlis, Canada

Carlos Alberto Fonseca Sarmiento, Gaming Law S.A.C., Peru

Affiliated Members - Consultant

Dennis Nelson, CEO, API Services Inc., Wisconsin

Boris Nemec, Director of Strategy Development Department, HIT, Slovenia

Affiliated Members - Counsel

Judith Jarvis, Law Offices of Judith A. Jarvis, Florida

Kevin Mullally, Gaming Laboratories International Inc., Nevada

Dennis Whittlesey, Dickinson Wright, Washington D.C.

Affiliated Members - Educator

David Barrow Britton, Vice President/Dean and Associate Professor, Salem International University, West Virginia (also IMGL webmaster)

Affiliated Members - Regulator

Dominic "Don" E. Dutton, Board Member, New Mexico Gaming Control Board

Larry Gregory, Mississippi Gaming Commission

Linda Kassekert, Chair, New Jersey Casino Control Commission

Charles Kimmel, Deputy Attorney General, New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement

Mitchell Schwefel, Deputy Director and Assistant Attorney General, New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement

Affiliated Members - Young Gaming Attorney

Santiago Asensi Gisbert, Asensi Abogados, Spain

Henrik Norsk Hoffmann, Magnusson Law Firm, Denmark

Welcome, one and all!