Message from the President

Dear IMGL Members:

This communication to you marks one of my final official duties as your IMGL president, as my second and final term comes to a conclusion with the election of your new president at our business meeting during G2E in November.

It has been my privilege to serve this outstanding organization, not only these past two years as its president, but for the entire course of IMGL’s existence. I’m proud to be a founding member and know that I will continue to serve alongside the dozens of IMGL members who selflessly volunteer their time and considerable effort to ensure IMGL’s ongoing growth and success.

Be sure to join me at the IMGL Annual Business Meeting at 4 p.m. Nov. 13 (coinciding with G2E in Las Vegas). At that time, we will elect our new president and officers for 2008. We’ll follow that with the IMGL Member Reception beginning at 6 p.m. (see full details below).

More Than a Few Parting Thoughts

I’ve always considered it important that our organization be aggressive about furthering its mission — educating our members and the general public on gaming law issues through Casino Lawyer, our website and our outstanding conferences, to name a few. Through the tireless efforts of your officers, committee chairs and members, I believe we continually succeed. I share with you here numerous examples of our recent efforts.

CasinoFest and G2E Participation

IMGL once again played a key role in CasinoFest4, held Sept. 24–26 at Barona Valley Ranch Resort & Casino in San Diego. This has been a highly successful event, both for its producer, Casino Enterprise Management (our longtime publishing partner), and for the IMGL. Once again this year, CasinoFest provided quality educational opportunities, great exposure for our members and our organization, and exceptional networking. My thanks go to all the IMGL members who shared their expertise as conference presenters and to all of those who attended.

Of course, IMGL will have a strong presence at the Global Gaming Expo (G2E), held Nov. 13–15 in Las Vegas. You’ll be among more than 20,000 gaming leaders from around the globe who can visit the IMGL booth (#416). For us, the highlight will be the always-popular IMGL Member Reception on Tuesday, Nov. 13, where we will present the Regulator of the Year Award. The reception is from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Stirling Club.

Don’t forget that the IMGL Member Business Meeting will take place from 4 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 13, in the North Lounge at the Stirling Club immediately prior to the reception.

Dennis Neilander Named Regulator of the Year

The Regulator of the Year Committee, co-chaired by Jack Ketterer and John Roberts, considered five very worthy nominations and selected three candidates for your consideration for the IMGL Regulator of the Year Award. Voting has closed, and I am pleased to announce that Dennis Neilander, chair of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, is the 2007 IMGL Regulator of the Year. The award will be presented at the IMGL Reception at G2E on Nov. 13.

Conference Schedule Revised

The IMGL Fall Conference, originally scheduled for September 2007 in Cape Town, has been rescheduled to October 29–31, 2008. Several factors went into this decision; key among them was the delay in the progress of iGaming legislation being considered by legislators in South Africa. The IMGL leadership carefully considered the climate of the marketplace, timing of the event and many other ancillary matters when deciding on the viability of the event. Rest assured, we will gather in beautiful Cape Town October 29–31, 2008, which will give the legislature plenty of time to finish the job it needs to do, and will give you and your family plenty of time to plan a trip you won’t want to miss. If you have any program ideas or would like to participate in the Cape Town conference as a speaker, please contact Melissa Lurie or Program Chairs Garron Whitesman and Wayne Lurie.

In the meantime, start making plans for the IMGL Spring Conference in Napa Valley, Calif., May 21–23, 2008. We are in final negotiations with a terrific venue and will announce the specific location as soon as the contract is signed.

The Program Committee chairs for the Napa Conference are John Maloney, Harlan Goodson and Jerry Levine, our general members from California. They have been working diligently to create a top-notch program. If you have an idea for a session topic that would be valuable to you or if you would like to participate as a speaker, please contact Melissa Lurie or any of the program chairs. You can view details about the Napa Conference and register online at www.IMGLConference.com.

Important Papers Now All in One Place!

The International Casino Law and Regulation Loose-Leaf Service is a new program that, for the first time, allows lawyers and other gaming professionals to access gaming law and regulatory papers from around the world all in one place.

The service compiles the most up-todate regulatory information, written by our members. It 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 practice.

I urge you to take advantage of this highly valuable service by purchasing it for yourself and/or your firm’s library. For more information or to subscribe to this service, visit www.gaminglawmasters.com, or contact IMGL Executive Director Melissa Lurie at (303) 449-9955 or via e-mail at IMGLDirector@aol.com.

Casino Lawyer Read and Respected Worldwide

During discussions with IMGL members, I am repeatedly reminded that one of our organization’s greatest assets is the quarterly magazine Casino Lawyer. It is universally viewed — both by members and non-members — as a tremendous educational resource, communications tool and simply a great read.

It also takes a great many resources to produce. You can help us maintain this magazine’s excellent editorial quality by purchasing an ad (or two) in any or all of our 2008 editions. Your ad will be seen by all IMGL members and by thousands of Casino Enterprise Management readers.

Ads are very competitively priced, and IMGL members receive an additional discount. Contact Melissa Lurie to request a pricing sheet and to reserve your 2008 ad space. Call her at (303)449- 9955 or e-mail IMGLDirector@aol.com.

Be Seen and Heard

You can also support the IMGL while providing quality exposure for your firm or company by becoming an official conference sponsor. We have several affordable options available, all of which will help you and/or your company gain maximum exposure among members and other attendees at IMGL Conferences. For more information, contact IMGL Executive Director Melissa Lurie at (303) 449-9955 or IMGLDirector@aol.com. Michael Lipton Elkind & Lipton LLP MDLIPTONQC@aol.com

Michael Lipton
Elkind & Lipton LLP
MDLIPTONQC@aol.com