Educational focus highlights the most ambitious Southern Gaming Summit ever

BILOXI, Miss. (February 27, 2007) — The emphasis will be on education as the 14th annual Southern Gaming Summit returns to Biloxi this May. Scheduled for May 9-10 at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum & Convention Center, the event will be a significant milestone in the recovery and rebirth of the Gulf Coast gaming market.

“With all that the gaming industry has gone through in this region, we felt there was a need for a strong conference program including hands-on education and very detailed sessions,” said Beverly Martin, Executive Director of the Mississippi Casino Operators Association, producer of the Summit along with Ascend Media Gaming Group. “More than 80 speakers will participate, making this our most ambitious agenda ever.”

Among the 18 individual conference sessions are dedicated tracks presented by Slot Manager Institute and the International Masters of Gaming Law, a trade association of gaming attorneys, regulators and executives.

Slot Manager Institute sessions include two in-depth hours on server-based gaming, plus sessions on cashless gaming and business intelligence strategies for the future. Almost 20 speakers from more than a dozen industry vendors and associations will participate in these sessions, providing an unmatched opportunity for learning.

The IMGL track includes sessions covering the elements of tribal gaming law, surveillance and security, and player and labor disputes. Speakers will include several prominent gaming industry attorneys, along with industry experts from a number of operators, vendors, and regulators.

The Summit also features many other timely sessions, including a series dedicated to Gulf Coast recovery and rebirth, and keynote presentations by Rep. Bobby Moak, Chairman of the Gaming Committee in the Mississippi House of Representatives, and U.S. Congressman Bennie Thompson, Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee.

Recognizing the importance of the conference, several leading industry vendors have signed on as sponsors, including Advanced Electronic Systems, Inc., Bally Technologies, Gaming Laboratories International, IGT, IP Casino Resort Spa, JCM American, Konami Gaming, Las Vegas Gaming Inc., Shuffle Master, Spielo, Vending Data Corp., and WMS Gaming.

The Southern Gaming Summit is the largest gaming trade show held outside of Las Vegas, and provides an unmatched local voice for the industry. For a complete speaker list and up-to-date information, please visit www.sgsummit.com.

Media Contact: Beverly Martin, Executive Director, Mississippi Casino Operators Association; WINMCOA@aol.com or (228) 388-0087.