New Jersey is just the third state to legalize online gaming in the U.S. But with a population of 9 million, the state is much larger than the other two states that have legalized online gaming, Nevada and Delaware, and will be a better proving ground for the industry. David Rebuck, the director of the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, has been working hard to write the regulations, determine a schedule and consider all the unforeseen issues that may arise once the games go live. Rebuck, recently named by the International Masters of Gaming Law as “Regulator of the Year,” sat down with GGB Publisher Roger Gros in his office in Atlantic City in July. To hear a full version of this podcast, visit ggbmagazine.com.

GGB: How prepared were you when the governor signed the bill to legalize online gaming? Had you done research? Established a process should this happen?

Rebuck: We had done significant research into the issue before the bill was passed. And we have a very aggressive time frame. The governor signed the bipartisan bill into law in February, which encourages the division to have regulations and systems in place for permissible internet wagering three to nine months after the bill became law. We are moving deliberately to that schedule, and we’re going to push the industry to achieve those goals too. At this point, the “go live” date is November 26. The bill says that 45 days before the go-live date, the director can appeal to the Casino Control Commission for an extension if he doesn’t believe he can meet that date.

How many operators do you expect to be ready when you are ready?

I’m very confident that we’ll have at least three major operators ready to go on day one. And I expect that number to go up quickly after that. We’ll have the opportunity to meet that goal.

New Jersey has full online gaming versus only poker in Nevada. What impact does that make?

It makes it more challenging. We have more players who want to participate in making internet wagering work. We have 9 million people in this state, so those companies believe it will work here. But we’re also in a corridor where there are tremendous populations on our borders who may come into the state to play on the internet.

Let’s talk about the lack of a “bad actor” clause in the New Jersey bill. I know you can’t comment specifically on the PokerStars situation because of an ongoing licensing investigation, but in general, if a company came before the DGE for licensing and had some of these pre-existing issues, what would be some of your concerns?

Under the law signed by Governor Christie, there is no five-year ban as they have in Nevada against companies that violated the federal law against accepting U.S. bets after 2006. This is left to the Division to determine. So we have the opportunity to look at every company and see what their performance was in the U.S. during that time. We don’t have a set bar, but we do have a chance to determine if the company is suitable to do business in New Jersey. Just like

Matt Levinson was named the chairman of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission in August 2012. A resident of Atlantic County, Levinson oversees the licensing arm of the state regulatory agency, a change that was made in 2011 under the administration of Governor Chris Christie that shifted all the investigative responsibility to the Division of Gaming Enforcement. Levinson took over at a critical time in the history of the Atlantic City casino industry, and will decide on licenses for companies that will operate under the recently authorized online gaming law. He spoke with GGB Publisher Roger Gros at the CCC offices in Atlantic City in April. To hear a full podcast of this interview, visit ggbnews/podcasts.com.

GGB: Let’s start by outlining the duties of the commission, versus the DGE in light of the recent regulatory reform in New Jersey.

Matt Levinson: A lot of the day-to-day activities and duties of the commission have been moved to the division. The commission still deals with the casino licensing, the key licenses, temporary licenses. We still deal with the licenses of the actual casinos, the vendor licenses, and regulatory affairs. We also have a department that does a lot of gaming research.

So it’s more of a fair comparison now with Nevada?

Yes.

You took over at a pretty turbulent time. Gross gaming revenues have been declining for the last seven years, and continue to do so. Is there anything that the commission can do to help?

As a commission, the role is pretty limited. But Governor Christie and the legislature have enacted lots of legislation to improve Atlantic City. As the head of the commission, I deal with the head of the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, the Atlantic City Alliance and the security task force. We are one team, and we’re working together to show people that Atlantic City’s here, Atlantic City’s ready, come visit Atlantic City, and really get the word out. But as far as what we can do with the gaming revenue, we’re pretty limited.

Non-gaming revenue has become a real crucial part of the overall picture here. How is the commission starting to evaluate that kind of development here in Atlantic City?

We’re taking a real look at the non-gaming numbers. We’re taking a look at things we’ve really never looked at before. When

Paul Steelman is one of the most visible architects in the casino industry. He learned under Steve Wynn and has been responsible for many of the most striking building designs in the casino business. His success in Asia paid dividends recently when officials of Genting bhd used his Las Vegas offices to announce the development of Resorts World Las Vegas, which will be built on Boyd Gaming’s site of the former Echelon project. He spoke with GGB Publisher Roger Gros at his offices in Las Vegas in March. To hear a podcast of the full interview, visit www.ggbnews/podcasts.

GGB: Tell us about the new Resorts World Las Vegas that was recently announced at your offices by Genting executives, including Chairman K.T. Lim, and Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval.

Steelman: It’s a very sophisticated design. We’re going to use the footprint that was designed by Bob Boughner and Boyd Gaming more than five years ago to save time, but also wanted to be sure that we can create a competitive product for today’s market. We’re going back to a themed resort, going back to paying homage to the pedestrian and suburban elements of Las Vegas Boulevard, and will be able to create the elements that Genting wanted to include in the property.

The tower is well-designed and curved, as the great towers in Las Vegas are today. There are already 2.2 million square feet under construction, as well as a typical great Las Vegas parking garage. The theater is a beautiful theater designed in the spirit of the great classical theaters, and the convention center is in the right spot. It’s our intention to re-start construction as soon as possible, certainly by the 2014 date set by Genting.

It will include a series of must-see, must-participate-in 500-year-old attractions like the Great Wall of China and the Terra Cotta warriors, in addition to an indoor water park.

You’ve had remarkable success in Asia, starting with the design of Sands Macao as the first Western-style casino to open there. What is it that attracted you to Asia?

Our first Asian projects were for Hyatt back in the early ’90s in Manila. PAGCOR was looking to upgrade their casinos, and we were invited to bid. That was the same trip I went to Macau for the first time. I went to the Lisboa, with the smoke and the crowds, and just said, “Wow!” It was an incredible experience.

I was fortunate enough to be awarded the project to build Sands Macao. The government wanted Las Vegas resorts, so I think that was why I got the job. Still, I wasn’t trying to import Las Vegas at that property. I had significantly studied the gambling and culinary habits of the Asian customers and came up with a different solution. We built it for $181 million from design through construction and opened on Labor Day weekend, less than 600 days start to finish.

Our success in Asia can be credited to three things. We know the market, we understand gambling and we also understand the role architecture plays in the gambling experience. We understand the player and how they want to be treated.

It’s pretty obvious now that every Asian country can have a successful casino industry. Remember

Shuffle Master, Inc. has undergone a big change in the past several years. Starting with the leadership of the late Tim Parrott and now continuing under Gavin Isaacs, the company is the one of the largest table-game providers in the gaming industry.

Louis Castle joined the company as chief strategy officer in late 2011, but was on the board for six years prior to his appointment, so he has an intimate knowledge of the company. He also has experience with several internet technology companies, including Zynga, the leading social poker game on the internet. Castle plans to transition Shuffle Master as an intellectual property provider, but for now, he’s concentrating on the company’s strength: shufflers and proprietary table games. He spoke with Global Gaming Business Publisher Roger Gros at the Shuffle Master headquarters in Las Vegas in June.

To hear a full podcast of this interview, click on the Casino Communications link. 

GGB: What is your role at Shuffle Master?

Castle: I have an incredibly easily job overseeing the R&D side of our company. Nathan Wadds reports to me for R&D, but honestly, Nathan is such a superstar; I just have a small oversight role there. I’ve spent a lot of time in software development, and especially in different kinds of tools, so where I contribute on the R&D side is trying to help get us all on the same technology basis from a software point of view, and Nathan’s been running the same kind of idea on a hardware side. We’re trying to bring our costs down for delivering our content. And most importantly, we’re in the business of creating intellectual property. So it’s really when Roger Snow creates a table game, that we can take that property and quickly move it onto lots of different platforms—ETS platforms, EGMs, if it’s appropriate, and of course, online.

Let’s talk about what makes almost all of the money for the company, which is not the online space. I hope to change that, but first and foremost, we’re an intellectual property company. We create table games. This is a very good niche, because first of all, there’s a lot of different patents, especially in the United States, and copyrights and trademarks. And player adoption really comes down to the familiarity with brands, and the familiarity with concepts. But there’s a very narrow window, if you will, in design, where you can improve upon the amount of money a casino can make on a table game, over w

The Pascua Yaqui tribe of Tucson has taken a reasoned approach toward expansion: When the market is ready, the tribe is ready. The new addition to Casino del Sol makes it one of the most impressive resorts in the Tucson area, competing even with the high-end properties dotting the surrounding mountains. Mark Birtha, a Las Vegas gaming veteran, was brought in last year to develop the new project and operate the facility. He discusses the goals of the tribe and how they hope the new facility will help them accomplish those goals. Birtha, with experience at Mirage Resorts and Las Vegas Sands, understands why service is the key component, however, and how the employees—largely tribal members—were trained and educated. He spoke with Global Gaming Business Publisher Roger Gros just days before the debut of the new facility on 11/11/11.

To hear a full version of this interview go to www.ggbnews/podcasts.

Mark Birtha: Yes, we are the best of both worlds. We are gaming and we are a hotel resort. We have the opportunity to look at both market segments. And so, yes, we will compete on the gaming side with the Desert Diamond property, but more importantly, we’re going to be diversifying our revenue streams and looking at competing on the resort side, with some of the well-known resorts here in southern Arizona.

Give us some of the ideas of what other amenities you have here.

We’ve got a great bunch of amenities that are very publicly available, and some other hidden surprises that you would find on the property. Our 10th floor of rooms is something we call the “Sky Level,” which is our “V-VIP” level of rooms. It’s kind of a little boutique hotel within a hotel, with great incentives and amenities that guests on that level will be able to enjoy, including one- and two-bedroom suites. We have this brand new spa, 65,000 square feet of both indoor and outdoor meeting space, including our 18,000-square-foot ballroom, a beautiful, brand new outdoor pool area that has five cabanas, the Oasis Bar and Grill out there, as well as a splash pad, two Jacuzzi whirlpool tubs and a 30,000-square-foot event lawn.

Our hidden jewel, however, is the Fountains of Sol, which are six different water shows each evening that are choreographed to songs like Frank Sinatra’s “Luck