LAS VEGAS, Nov. 10, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Gaming & Leisure (G&L) successfully held its 19th annual G&L Roundtable on October 5th, but this year in a unique “Live via Virtual” format. The G&L Roundtable is a coveted private forum attended by gaming and hospitality industry thought leaders representing the vast majority of gaming and hospitality spend.
With little time to pivot to a new plan, made even more complex by the forum’s inimitable fully-interactive style, G&L leaned on partner VPS-Analytics, a leading provider of analytics and services that transform the way companies purchase enterprise technology, to help plan, design, and execute the shift to virtual.
“The G&L Roundtable is not a tradeshow or conference, it’s a fully immersive and collaborative environment with uniquities that obviously presented challenges from an online perspective,” said Jeannie Caruso, CEO of G&L. “However, with VPS’s help we were able to craft an amazing virtual experience which retained our same sense of community and reunion that we’ve developed over the decades.”
During the forum, executive attendees dialogued on pressing industry issues as a collective via live-feed Roundtables, as well as one-to-one with industry colleagues. At the same time, G&L business partners were able to collaborate with attendees and peers on the impact of COVID and critical forward planning.
Jimmy Williams, CIO/Executive Officer IT for Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, shared: “As a new to the gaming industry CIO, having an organization like G&L is truly a blessing. The value to leaders in our industry, coming together with our partners to find solutions to common issues and share ideas, is beyond measure. Through this relationship I have learned so much and have had the opportunity to meet so many great leaders.”
Williams added, “The G&L Roundtable is something I look forward to each year. Congratulations to Jeannie and the team on celebrating 20 years of bringing leaders together! Looking forward to what the next 20 years hold.”
Tony de Leon, CEO for Playersoft, a gaming industry vendor, added: “Gaming & Leisure is absolutely the best organization I have ever worked with in my life. When I think of all that Jeannie through G&L and the G&L Roundtable has accomplished for our industry and for all of us—it blows my mind.”
Scott Robins, CEO of VPS-Analytics, felt the G&L Roundtable was much too important to not happen this year and wanted to do everything he could to keep it moving while preserving its exceptional format: “Jeannie built this amazing forum, and I knew more than ever we needed this collaborative platform so we could all get through these trying times together as a community.”
“This year’s G&L Roundtable discussions were invaluable and showed that the same challenges are being faced across the industry, regardless of your company size or region,” added Fred Brown, VPS-Analytics CTO, who helped design and implement the platform for the virtual forum. “It was great to be a part of the effort to provide the platform to allow folks to have these critical discussions.”
Asked about plans for next year, which will mark the 20th Anniversary of the forum and the Gaming & Leisure organization, Caruso noted: “I readily admit our attendees enjoyed one of the best Roundtables we’ve ever had and have since confided they actually loved the Live format. We might be able to be in person, however, we’re already building upon our Live format in preparation for our 20th. Our milestone anniversary years historically are epic. Accordingly, we’re now architecting with our amazing partner, VPS, a dual-plan so no matter what 2021 holds, we and our industry community are prepared for the 20th-anniversary Roundtable and year.”
About Gaming & Leisure
Gaming & Leisure is an organization and media company dedicated to the betterment and unification of the gaming and hospitality industry. Visit www.https://mygamingandleisure.com to learn more.
About VPS-Analytics – A Virtual Procurement Company
VPS-Analytics is the leading provider of analytics and services designed to transform the way companies purchase enterprise technology. VPS-Analytics combines dynamic market pricing with expert services to help clients reduce the cost of new technology and recover money already spent. Visit www.vps-analytics.com to learn more.