Emerging Leaders

Casino Law to Sports Data

Robert Baldassarre

Corporate Counsel, Stats Perform

As an undergraduate at Penn State, Robert Baldassarre majored in international political economics. It’s the kind of major you think about for a job in the State Department, not a job as a casino lawyer.

But after Penn State, Baldassarre moved on to law school at Notre Dame, where he graduated in 2016. “I found law to be an opportunity to engage my specific skill set, including problem solving and analysis,” says the Philadelphia native.

He landed a position with the influential Fox Rothschild law firm, working out of their Atlantic City office covering the gaming industry as part of the casino law group.

According to the law firm, Baldassarre represented clients in corporate and gaming law matters and guided many of them through the intricacies of licensing, regulatory and compliance. This included representation before agencies such as the New Jersey Casino Control Commission and the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.

Almost five years later, this past February, Baldassarre joined Stats Perform, a global sports data and analytics company headquartered in Chicago. He serves as corporate counsel. “I wanted to gain a greater variety of experience and exposure to legal issues and matters that comes with an in-house role,” he says.

Stats Perform, with its focus on sports data and artificial intelligence as a way to create fan engagement and team performance solutions, launched PressBox in May. The online platform delivers data-driven insights, video clip discovery and data research, at a speed faster than ever before.

“I cover a wide range of corporate matters, including contract drafting and negotiation, and customer due diligence procedures,” Baldassarre says.

Like any profession, the practice of law has its unique share of obstacles. “Law can be overwhelming at times and affect other areas of your life. I continue to work towards a proper balancing of my career and personal life,” says Baldassarre, who relaxes on the golf course or at the beach.

At Fox Rothschild, Baldassarre looked to Nicholas Casiello, a law firm partner, for guidance on issues. In addition to Casiello, his mentors include Patrick Madamba, senior counsel for MGM Resorts International. “They were instrumental in my development,” he says. “Elizabeth Cutri, general counsel and senior vice president for administration at Stats Perform, has been a terrific mentor in my transition to in-house.”

While still comparatively young, Baldassarre has sage advice for those considering a career in gaming law. Be diligent. Be responsive. Both are necessary to establishing relationships with clients.

“The practice of gaming law can be chaotic at times, but ensuring a connection to your client goes a long way toward building a relationship,” he says. — Bill Sokolic

Swiss Army Knife Experience

Brad Egnor

Senior Vice President of Marketing, San Manuel Casino

From chef to emerging leader in gaming, Brad Egnor has shown the true value of building work experiences with education, having the curiosity to learn new markets, and staying dedicated to grow as a leader.

Egnor’s initial passion stemmed from the culinary arts. After he worked as a chef for the 2002 Olympics, the BroAdmoor Estates, 6 Degrees in Nashville, Tennessee, and a French restaurant, The Orangery, Egnor decided to pursue a bachelor’s degree in consumer science from the University of Tennessee to further diversify his education.

As graduation approached, Egnor attended a career fair where he was first introduced to the gaming industry. At the fair, Egnor met representatives from Caesars Entertainment, and with his versatile background in back-of-house operations, a culinary degree, and what was soon to be a bachelor’s degree, Egnor was offered a position in food and beverage in Tunica, Mississippi. In F&B operations, Egnor was faced with a new challenge of working directly with customers and developing the skills of running a business operation, while learning how to efficiently supervise team members.

After two years as a food and beverage manager, Egnor transitioned to an analyst position in financial planning and analysis for the Mid-South Region to continue developing analytical approaches to business problems, fluid presentation skills, and the capacity to understand system architecture.

Within his four years with Caesars Entertainment, Egnor had worked his way up the corporate

ladder to procurement and contracts manager for the Mid-South Region, while continuously working to build a versatile foundation. For a brief period, he stepped away from the gaming industry to help run a winery at the Montaluce Winery & Restaurant in Georgia as the director of marketing and operations.

Following his foray into the wine industry, Egnor transitioned back into the gaming industry by accepting an offer from Genting, at Resorts World Casino New York City as a financial planning and analysis manager. While building out the team in finance, Egnor worked closely with marketing to build out the SAS suite, conducting analytic reporting on promotions and database performance, as well as segmentation strategies.

Through this work, Egnor found the drive to become a marketing leader and moved into the division as the director of marketing. After two years in this role, Egnor went back to school to obtain a master’s degree in business analytics from New York University while working full time at Resorts World. This step was crucial for his next career move, and would help to gain new insights on how to improve his strategic decision-making skills.

While working in marketing, Egnor found a mentorship with Missy Lawrence, who at the time was the vice president of marketing, having encouraged Egnor to take the leap and transition to the marketing department.

Lawrence’s strong trust in Egnor was crucial in allowing him to make prudent decisions quickly and effectively, which eventually landed Egnor the position of vice president of marketing at Resorts World Casino New York City. After working for eight years with Genting and developing marketing strategies with all the casinos in the Genting U.S. portfolio, Egnor transitioned over to San Manuel outside of Los Angeles as the senior vice president of marketing.

Egnor attributes much of his success to his mentors, Ed Farrell, Missy Lawrence, Scott Molina, and Rikki Tanenbaum, stating that “the most powerful attributes these crucial mentors were able to convey (in him) is trust.”

Throughout his career, Egnor has found that the most essential trait for any professional to achieve success is the ability to be a “Swiss Army knife of a leader.” As he notes, “This allows you to work across verticals to learn a variety of roles and skills, which is critical for early professional development.” It also allowed him to personally “chart unique, cross-functional career paths” which led him to the success he has today. —Krista McPherson is an analyst with The Innovation Group.

Teamwork Testimony

Steven Slotwinski

Chief Technology Officer, Eclipse Gaming Systems

When Steven Slotwinski graduated from DePaul University in Chicago in 2004, he had big dreams.

“I wanted to work on large complex products that would affect the masses. The gaming industry was not on my radar,” says the computer science major who grew up in Itasca, Illinois. His interest in computer science began in high school but didn’t blossom until his sophomore year at DePaul.

After graduation, WMS Gaming hired Slotwinski as a principal test engineer, and he discovered the immensity of the field. In nine years with the company he helped produce some of the more innovative slot games. He managed a studio of artists, software engineers, game designers, mathematicians, sound and other engineers.

“I always saw game design as a fusion of psychology, creativity and a mathematical ride,” says Slotwinski, who coaches his son’s soccer team and plays tennis with his daughter. “These three components exist when you create any game, either a game of chance or a game of skill. Understanding what people want to play, then creating an entertaining ride for them based on that understanding is extremely satisfying.”

During this time, WMS created Willy Wonka, Wizard of Oz, Lord of the Rings, Austin Powers, Spiderman, The Price is Right, and Mad Men, among others .

In 2016, Slotwinski left WMS for Monarc Gaming Labs, a subsidiary of NHN Entertainment, and in 2019, joined Eclipse Gaming Systems. As chief technology officer at Eclipse, Slotwinski oversees the company’s hardware and software product strategy.

“Everything from product development and innovation to performance optimization and portfolio growth supporting industry trends,” he says. “I challenge my team to push boundaries.”

Covid-19 impacted Eclipse as it did other companies.

“The great thing about Eclipse is our agility,” Slotwinski says. “Although this has been a year navigating uncharted territories, our focus remained the same: delivering high-quality products and providing exceptional customer service. Our company as a whole has risen to the challenge. We have regained and surpassed expectations of our business.”

Obstacles are part of the game, even beyond the pandemic.

“What makes you stand out is how you remove those obstacles. At Eclipse, we handle all obstacles as a team. We review each and identify a solution that will make us a better organization,” Slotwinski says.

Slotwinski has a trio of colleagues he gives props to. “These mentors, and the experiences I received from them, have shaped me into who I am today.”

Phil Gelber served as senior vice president for product development at Scientific Games, which became WMS’ parent company.

“It was through Phil that I learned the most about game development, specifically what it takes to not only make a great game but also a profitable one,” Slotwinski says.

Wonbae Jang, now head of GLHF Games, mentored Slotwinski through business dealings while at Monarc.

“Everything from obtaining capital, starting ventures, collaborating with other companies, and mergers and acquisitions. With Wonbae I learned the most about business development,” he says.

Tim Minard, CEO of Eclipse, mentors by example, says Slotwinski.

“He leverages his wealth of knowledge in technology, leadership and operational excellence. Tim’s passion towards his work and the gaming industry makes you want to bring your best to the table.”

If he could shape future game designers, Slotwinski would impart this advice:

“Innovation in designs comes in phases. You do not need to reinvent the wheel, just modify it one step at a time.” — Bill Sokolic