Reporting directly to Hard Rock International Chair and CEO of Seminole Gaming Jim Allen, Zahn’s role will involve overseeing accounting, financial planning and analysis, risk management, treasury, corporate finance, and capital markets execution, as well as contributing to the company’s overall strategic development.

Bringing more than a decade’s worth of knowledge and experience to the EVP and CFO positions, Zahn’s most recent public company role was with Wynn Resorts, where he served as Senior Vice President and Treasurer from 2019 to 2022.

Commenting on Zahn’s hiring, Allen said: “Vincent’s expertise and background in casino gaming and financial markets make him an invaluable asset to the global growth of our organisation. We are excited to welcome him to the leadership team.”

Zahn’s previous roles also include working for approximately five years as an equity analyst on Wall Street covering casino gaming and hospitality companies at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, as well as the VP and Treasurer of Pinnacle Entertainment for seven years.

Back in May, Ragheb Dajani was appointed as Senior Vice President of Development at Hard Rock International.

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This will see the QCI Enterprise Platform align player development, marketing and gaming with real-time operational tools in a bid to understand player interaction at a deeper level, as well as which machines perform best and offer improvement on performance. 

QCI currently counts over 100 installations at casino resorts in North America, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Central America and The Bahamas, with its products said to be managing over $20bn in annual gross gaming revenue.

“We are proud to have deployed our QCI Enterprise Platform to support Hard Rock and Seminole Gaming casino properties,” said Dr Ralph Thomas, Chief Executive Officer of QCI. 

“This deployment is proof of the scalability of our platform for large enterprise organisations that have dozens of input source systems from hundreds of data tables. 

“We thank Hard Rock and Seminole Gaming team members for widely embracing the tool and enabling us to further build out our capabilities.”

The roll-out is currently underway at properties across the US and Canada, as well as in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, as Hard Rock looks to enhance the guest experience through the creation of more seamless integrations.

“This QCI Enterprise Platform rollout will unlock new ways to ensure and exceed the entertainment experience guests expect when visiting Hard Rock and Seminole Gaming casinos,” added Dan Ingster, Vice President of Gaming Operations for Seminole Hard Rock Support Services. 

“The QCI platform’s integration of market basket analytics combined with player development and marketing tooling empowers team members across the enterprise to engage with guests in new, powerful ways.” 

This becomes the fifth partnership inked by QCI during 2023, with Hard Rock following in the footsteps of the Bahamas’ Baha Mar, California’s Black Oak Casino Resort, Quebec’s Le Grand Royal Casino and Arkansas’ Saracen Casino Resort.

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The Seminole Casino Hotel Brighton will replace the existing Seminole Brighton Casino that first opened in 1980, and is one of six such complexes in the Seminole network in the Sunshine State.

The new casino, hotel and entertainment complex, which is to be built on the Brighton Seminole Reservation, located northwest of Lake Okeechobee, is projected to open in late 2024.

“Breaking ground for the new Seminole Casino Hotel Brighton represents a major economic step forward for the Seminole Tribe of Florida and the entire Lake Okeechobee region,” said Marcellus Osceola Jr, Chair of the Seminole Tribe. 

“We’re excited to bring a new level of gaming, dining and entertainment to the area, and we look forward to welcoming our current and future guests.”

Seminole Casino Hotel Brighton will comprise an almost 38,000 square foot casino that will include 623 slot machines and 18 tables for blackjack, baccarat and other house-banked card games. Included in the totals are a smoke-free gaming space with 101 slot machines, and a high-limit gaming area with 42 slot machines and four table games.

Furthermore, a 100 guest room hotel, the first to be built on the Brighton Seminole Reservation, will also be a feature, alongside a variety of dining option, as well as an indoor event space that can be configured to offer 400 seats for banquet events or bingo games, or 900 seats set up as a performance hall.

An outdoor stage will provide a second entertainment venue that can accommodate up to 3,000 guests, with a eight lane bowling alley and 75-acre site with parking for 1,000 vehicles finishing things off.

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Throughout October, Hard Rock’s hotel, casino, cafe and Rock Shop venues hosted fundraising events to help fund national and local breast cancer charities.

Using limited edition menu-items, specially designed merchandise, a song writing contest and more, the 23rd annual fundraising campaign surpassed its previous record by raising over $1m. 

“Pinktober is one of the most highly anticipated and celebrated times of year at Hard Rock,” said Jon Lucas, Chief Operating Officer of Hard Rock International. 

“Each October, our company divisions and properties around the globe truly personify our mottos of “Love All – Serve All” and “Take Time To Be Kind” by joining together to support breast cancer awareness and research.” 

Pinktober efforts included in-app activations by Hard Rock Sportsbook and a free-to-play mobile game, Hard Rock Dice Party. 

Furthermore, Seminole Gaming patrons were able to donate change from redeemable gaming vouchers at any Everi full-service kiosk across the company’s casino floors.

Lucas continued: “This year, we were thrilled to amplify our team’s deep passion through partnerships with Chef Dominique Crenn and musician David Correy, who both share our Pinktober mission and have been personally impacted by breast cancer. 

“We’re appreciative of their support to help raise awareness and donations for the American Cancer Society and related charities within our local communities.”

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These increases apply to US employees, including new hires, at company owned casino, hotel and café locations across 95 job classifications, with cooks, housekeepers, security, public space, call centre staff and more said to be among the greatest impacted.

The new starting wages range between $18 and $21 an hour, which, it said, is more than two and a half times the Federal, and exceeds each US state, minimum wage. In some cases, starting wages are up over 60 percent. 

The aforementioned $100m outlay in team members forms part of an ongoing effort to honour and appreciate its workforce, which has recently included paying frontline employees bonuses during the pandemic and other expanded benefits. 

“My career has encompassed over four decades and I have never been involved in such a historic event,” stated Jim Allen, Chair of Hard Rock International and CEO of Seminole Gaming.

“The support the Seminole Tribe of Florida has given me to enhance the standard of living for so many people is a dream come true. We have changed people’s lives and I’m proud to be a part of it.”

Seminole Gaming manages six Florida casinos for the Seminole Tribe of Florida, including the Seminole Hard Rock Hotels & Casinos in Tampa and Hollywood, Seminole Casino’s in Coconut Creek and Brighton, Seminole Casino Hotel Immokalee and Seminole Classic Casino Hollywood.

The Seminole Tribe-owned HRI boast a range of venues in over 70 countries which span a total of 265 locations.

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Joining the Seminole company in 2005 as a Director of Purchasing at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa, she later went on to serve as the Vice President of Purchasing for Seminole Gaming. 

Most recently, Bradford held the position of Executive Vice President of Administration for Seminole Hard Rock Support Services, where she was in charge of purchasing, vendor registration, travel, contract administration, cost control, warehouse operations, receiving, records retention, aviation and support building maintenance. 

Jim Allen, Chairman of Hard Rock International and CEO of Seminole Gaming, stated: “Tracy Bradford has been instrumental in the hugely successful coordination of purchasing and other staff functions of Seminole Hard Rock Support Services.

“She will be a driving force in maximising the benefits of its entire consolidated operation.”

Prior to joining Seminole Gaming, Bradford began her casino industry career in 1984 as a Clerk Typist with Caesar’s Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City.

Bradford established purchasing departments and was part of grand opening teams at several casinos, including the Isle of Capri Casino and Sam’s Town Casino for Boyd Gaming, both in Tunica, Mississippi. 

Moreover, she was the Director of Purchasing at Ameristar Casino in Vicksburg, Mississippi, where she was responsible for purchasing, public space, hotel, wardrobe, warehouse, receiving and inventory control.

She joined Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, NJ, in 1986 as a Junior Buyer. During her 10-year career with the Trump Organisation, she was part of the grand opening team for the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City. 

Bradford was promoted to Purchasing Agent and then to Purchasing Manager, with responsibility for purchasing, warehouse, receiving, inventory and wardrobe.

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This follows the introduction of a controversial gambling compact within the state, which was signed by Governor Ron DeSantis and Marcellus Osceola, Seminole Tribe of Florida chair, in April.

Approval with bipartisan support by the Florida Legislature followed in May, before it was issued the green-light by the US Department of the Interior in August.

The agreements inked by the Seminole Tribe are alongside Palm Beach Kennel Club, West Palm Beach; Hialeah Park Casino, Hialeah; Ocala Gainesville Poker and Ocala Breeder’s Sales Company, Ocala; Tampa Bay Downs, and TGT Poker & Racebook.

The pari-mutuels will market the sportsbook at their facilities and to their customers, and in return earn 60 per cent of the profits that are generated from their marketing efforts. Additional marketing agreements with Florida pari-mutuels are expected to be announced soon.

“Today’s announcement follows through on the tribe’s commitment to include pari-mutuel marketing partners in Florida sports betting. They are an important component for the coming launch of sports betting throughout the state of Florida,” said Jim Allen, CEO of Seminole Gaming and chair of Hard Rock International, which is owned by the Seminole Tribe. 

“We have already exceeded the compact’s requirement for a minimum of three pari-mutuel agreements and we look forward to developing more relationships with pari-mutuels around Florida.”

The compact creates a revenue-sharing agreement with a $2.5bn guarantee in the first five years, as well as authorising craps and roulette games at Seminole properties, additional facilities on the tribe’s Hollywood Reservation, sports betting at tribal casinos, and statewide online sports betting in partnership with existing pari-mutuels.

The state received its first monthly revenue sharing contribution from the Seminole Tribe in October, when a $37m payment was transmitted.

“As was promised when it was signed, this historic compact is expanding economic opportunity, tourism, and recreation in Florida,” said DeSantis.

“Not only will this compact bring a guaranteed $2.5bn in revenue over the next five years, but it also brings together Florida pari-mutuel businesses from across the state in a creative partnership with the Seminole Tribe providing increased access to safe and transparent sports betting in Florida. 

“Today’s announcement is a great success for the state and the Seminole Tribe, and I look forward to the announcement of additional partnerships to come.”

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FSB

FSB has strengthened the leadership of its expansion strategy across Latin American markets, after appointing David Charnock as its business development director for the region.

In the role Charnock will operate out of FSB’s San Jose office, with the responsibility of ‘continuing the upward momentum’ that the firm has experienced in the fast growing gaming markets.

“I am delighted to be joining such an innovative, exciting company making a major play in Latin America,” he said. “FSB’s ambitions are there for all to see and I’m excited to be playing a key part in their LatAm journey.

“I am looking forward to leveraging my network of contacts in the region and to help build on the established relationships FSB have in the region to truly showcase their market-leading products and services.”

Jumio

End-to-end identity verification and eKYC solutions provider Jumio has appointed Anna Convery as its new chief marketing officer, following a positive trading year.

Prior to joining Jumio, Convery held the position of CMO at cybersecurity firm Bradware for close to five years, overseeing the company’s marketing strategy whilst also driving revenue and increasing market share by enhancing corporate marketing contribution.

“I am so proud to welcome Anna to the team,” commented Robert Prgge, Jumio CEO. “It’s because of Jumio’s position as a leader in the digital identity market that we’re able to continuously attract top-caliber talent across all functions, from sales and marketing to technology, innovation and customer experience.

“Anna’s experience in building powerful, public brands will be invaluable to Jumio as we accelerate our growth strategy.”

Continent 8 Technologies

Simon Booth and Teddy Elias have been recruited by Continent 8 Technologies, where they will serve as technical operations managers which will see Booth look after the EMEA and Asia Pacific regions while Elias will cover the Americas.

Working directly with the technical operations director, and managing a regional team of multidisciplined engineers, they are responsible for managing the Continent 8 network functions (backbone, edge, peering and corporate) as well as the company’s private and public cloud infrastructure.

Edward O’Connor, technical operations director at Continent 8 Technologies, noted: “It’s fantastic to welcome Simon and Teddy onboard and I’m confident that both will have a transformative effect on our team. They bring great leadership experience and technical expertise.

“Simon and Teddy will play a critical role in the daily operation of our company and the support of our growing customer base. I look forward to working closely with them as we continue to expand our global infrastructure and deliver market-leading managed connectivity, cloud and security services to the industry.”

Seminole Gaming

Andrew Saunders has been named vice president of entertainment for Seminole Gaming, with responsibility for live entertainment programming at the group’s venues throughout Florida.

Saunders will play a pivotal role in implementing entertainment strategies at Seminole Gaming venues, including collaboration between event venues and ticketing operations, finance and production partners.  

Seminole Gaming entertainment venues include the 7,500-seat Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood, the 1,500-seat Hard Rock Event Center at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa, the 836-seat Seminole Center at Seminole Casino Hotel Immokalee, plus venues at Seminole Casino Coconut Creek, Seminole Brighton Casino and Seminole Classic Casino.

“Andrew Saunders joins Seminole Gaming with a wealth of entertainment experience and will be instrumental in advancing live events and entertainment opportunities,” said Keith Sheldon, president of entertainment for Hard Rock International and Seminole Gaming.  

“As our extensive schedule of concerts and events gains even more momentum, Saunders will identify additional one-of-a-kind entertainment experiences for our guests.”

Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City

Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City has announced the appointment of Ray Stefanelli as vice president of online gaming, directing online casino and sports marketing strategies, customer service, risk and payments.

Prior to this, Stefanelli has held regional gaming roles such as director of operations, director of poker, and executive director of online gaming poker and casino product. He also has experience working with the Hard Rock brand, having served as Seminole Gaming’s director of poker marketing in 2013.

“We are thrilled to welcome a 30-year industry professional like Ray back to the Hard Rock family,” commented Joe Lupo, property president. 

“I am confident that Ray will continue to elevate our online gaming experience here in New Jersey, while playing an integral role in the expansion and development of the existing and future customer product with the Hard Rock digital team.”

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The digital wallet, powered by the Everi CashClub Wallet, is a solution that provides cashless, touchless funding of electronic game play throughout the casino floor. 

The wallet is currently live for funding electronic game play, as well as being enabled for food and beverage and retail outlet purchases at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood and Seminole Classic Casino.

Following the initial launch at the aforementioned properties, a rollout to other Seminole gaming locations, including Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa, will be fully completed in the first quarter 2021.

“We are excited to collaborate with the Seminole Tribe of Florida and Hard Rock International for the launch of the WildCard Wallet digital payment option across Seminole gaming locations,” explained Darren Simmons, EVP and fintech business leader for Everi. 

“Powered by our industry-leading CashClub Wallet solution, the WildCard Wallet will provide gaming patrons at these casinos with a digital payment solution which fulfills our collective goal of enabling the casino’s guests a fully cashless, mobile experience.”

CashClub Wallet aims to provide casino operators and their customers with a flexible, cost-effective, secure payment method on and off the casino floor. 

Creating a contactless environment that provides an alternative to cash, the application gives Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood and Seminole Classic Casino patrons the ability to deposit funds into their digital wallet at their convenience – while they are on site or away from the resort, via a bank card. 

Subsequently, customers will be able to access these funds for use directly at retail locations and games, enabling the facility to offer a fully cashless solution and manage their spend limits in support of responsible gaming.

“Our strong partnership with Everi for the announced launch of this innovative cashless funding solution will bolster the security and ease of funding transactions as well as the interoperability with other back office tools to support our operations, such as anti-money laundering, know your customer, and providing tax forms for casino winnings,” stated John Eder, executive vice president and CFO for Seminole Gaming and Hard Rock International. 

“The WildCard Wallet eliminates the need to handle cash at slot machines creating a frictionless experience for the customer and allows all patrons with flexible options to fund their gaming experience.”

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The new team members will be hired across five Seminole Gaming locations to focus on managing guest compliance with all program elements, including proper use of required masks or face coverings, social distancing, crowd control and remaining stationary while eating or drinking. 

Program enforcement specialists will wear distinctive uniforms to create greater guest awareness of this important issue, with it mandatory that all guests adhere to the program’s requirements or individuals will be asked to leave the respective property.

The program upgrade applies to Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Hollywood, Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Tampa, Seminole Casino Coconut Creek, Seminole Classic Casino in Hollywood, and Seminole Brighton Casino. Seminole Casino Hotel Immokalee remains closed, with no date announced for reopening as yet.

“The addition of more Safe + Sound program enforcement specialists is a further enhancement of our industry-leading commitment to ensure the health and safety of our guests and team members,” stated Jim Allen, Seminole Gaming CEO and Chairman of Hard Rock International.  

“Our comprehensive approach to dealing with COVID-19 is meant to ensure public safety and give our guests peace of mind when they return.”

Seminole Gaming unveiled its “Safe + Sound” program with the reopening of the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Tampa in May, with a subsequent extension taking it to four more casinos in June.  

Safe + Sound program guidelines include:

• Temperature checks for all guests and team members prior to entry. Any guest or team member with a temperature above CDC guidelines of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit will not be allowed entry.
• A requirement that all guests wear masks or cloth face coverings that meet CDC guidelines, without exception. Masks will be provided to guests as needed.
• Thousands of slot machines are turned off to help ensure social distancing on the casino floors.
• New Plexiglas barriers divide players at table games and customer service areas.
• Signs are posted throughout the casino complexes to encourage social distancing and help ensure adherence to program guidelines.
• A new “Safe + Sound Clean Team” focuses on cleaning and disinfecting surfaces throughout the casino complexes, with special emphasis on high-touch surfaces and common areas.
• Hand-sanitising stations are available on the casino floors, at the entrances and throughout the casino complexes.
• An overall 50 per cent reduction in guest capacity throughout the casino complexes.

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