The sixth annual Casino Esport Conference will take place March 23 and 24 at the Alexis Park Resort in Las Vegas, across from Virgin Hotels. It will feature a broad agenda that covers everything from the state of the esports industry, regulatory updates, connecting online esports to casinos, and what casinos should look like in the future to attract younger adults.
The COO of Agua Caliente Casinos, Saverio Scheri III, will deliver the keynote address. The conference, hosted by founders Ben and Ari Fox, will also feature Bobby Soper, international president at Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment, and Seth Schorr, chairman of the Grand Hotel & Casino in downtown Las Vegas and CEO of Fifth Street Gaming, who helped bring esports wagering to Nevada. They will speak on implementing immersive experiences.
As esports grows in stature, Nevada formed a technical advisory committee on the vertical that met for the first time on March 1. Earlier this year, New Jersey took similar steps to expand esports wagering.
“The conversation when we started and where we are at today are completely different,” Ben Fox said. “Even though the esports committee for us is a very small portion of this, it’s still moving that conversation to the point where we’re implementing (this gaming option). The three casino operators coming represent Las Vegas, native American casinos in Southern California, and the Mohegan Sun. The casino operators are already participating and experimenting on their own.”
Prior to the pandemic, Agua Caliente had been running regular esports tournaments, which attracted younger customers to the casino with sports bars doubling as arenas for esports. It plans to bring tournaments back.