Las Vegas headliner Penn Jillette to kick off G2E 2011 as opening day keynote speaker

The premier trade show and conference event for the international gaming entertainment industry will take place October 4-6 at the Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas.

"We are thrilled to feature Penn Jillette as the opening day keynote speaker at G2E 2011," said Frank J. Fahrenkopf, Jr., president and CEO of the American Gaming Association. "As one of Las Vegas' most sought-after entertainers, Penn is sure to deliver a fun and exciting performance for all G2E attendees."

Jillette has been entertaining audiences for more than 35 years and currently appears nightly alongside his stage partner Teller at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. After graduating from high school in 1973, Jillette spent a year at Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Clown College before moving to San Francisco to team up with Teller and another friend to perform a musical magic show.

Gaining popularity in the 1980s, Jillette and Teller took their two-man show Off-Broadway and won an Emmy Award after their first TV special, "Penn & Teller Go Public," aired on PBS. Shortly after, the duo began the first of two successful Broadway runs.

Along with Teller, Jillette co-hosted "Penn & Teller: BS!" which aired on Showtime from 2003-2010 and also co-authored three best-selling books, "Cruel Tricks for Dear Friends," "How to Play with Your Food" and "How to Play in Traffic." Jillette serves as a visiting scholar at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and has lectured at Oxford University and the Smithsonian Institution. He also was the co-recipient of the Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Award in 2001.

The G2E 2011 opening day keynote event and all other keynote events are open to all G2E attendees.

For more information about G2E 2011 and to register, visit www.globalgamingexpo.com.