“What threatens to slow us down is not the U.S. president, but our own inability to get the whole industry on the same page”

What does a Trump win mean for the eSports betting sector? Looking ahead, what are the biggest challenges facing eSports legislation?

The eSports movement is still in its infancy, the early stages, but it has gained a ton of momentum over the past few years and I certainly don't expect it will be slowed down by president-elect Donald Trump -- nor by Hillary Clinton if she had been victorious.

There have been some very public and demonstrative protests against Trump in the streets and on social media because of comments he made running for the Oval Office, but as far as business goes, after he won Wall Street actually went crazy with record-setting profits and stock performances.

I'm not sure anyone could have predicted the market would perform so spectacularly after a Trump win, and it's impossible right now to know what the difference between Hillary and Trump will be. We need to give it time, wait and see. The eSports movement is non-political so we were prepared to co-exist and try to work with whomever won office.

But there is an obvious and interesting observation about president-elect Donald Trump: He has been in the casino business in New Jersey for a long time, and he owns a massive property here in Las Vegas right off the Las Vegas Strip, so he has a deep, first-hand understanding of the casino business and the issues that are important to this particular industry.

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You could argue that Trump's casino experience is a plus for casino operators and the eSports movement

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I'm not saying that as a political endorsement of Mr. Trump -- I try to avoid publicly taking sides -- I'm just saying that's a natural way to look at him taking office at the turn of the New Year. I imagine that a lot of the big casino operators know him personally .. but the truth is, our greatest challenges for establishing Vegas as the eSports mecca have nothing to do with who is in the Oval Office. What threatens to slow us down is not the U.S. president, but our own inability to get all the casino operators, video game publishers, regulators, players, etc.. on the same page. I'm not saying that is what is happening -- because we're making incredible progress, especially after Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval and the Nevada Gaming Policy Committee unanimously approved rules and regulations for eSports -- I'm just saying we need to stay vigilant and united and stay on the same page so that we create a viable and sustainable eSports model that works for casinos, video game publishers and the millions of gamers around the world.

How can US casino operators capitalize on the exponential growth of eSports in the country?

Well, in my mind it's important for Nevada to figure this thing out and do it right. We are perfectly positioned, with our casino culture and the infrastructure to handle and entertain massive events and crowds, to be the mecca of eSports. Ideally, we'll figure this thing out sooner than later and become the standard for casino operators across the country and the world. A lot of those operators will be wise to basically copy and implement the rules and regulations that we develop here in Nevada. It's sort of like with professional boxing and mixed martial arts (the Ultimate Fighting Championship): The Nevada Athletic Commission has become the Gold Standard for the rules and regulations covering those sporting events. The vast majority of cities that host fighting events mirror the Nevada Athletic Commission. I expect it to be the same sort of thing with eSports. We're going to create the blueprint, iron out the kinks, and it will be a lot easier for everyone else after that. But again, regardless of what everyone else does,

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we're looking to establish Vegas as the premiere destination and experience for eSports events, tournaments and gambling

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What's the outcome of the recent eSports meeting in Nevada?

The Nevada Gaming Policy Committee unanimously approved rules and regulations for eSports. It's a huge step. Within a day or two after the committee's vote, the Downtown Grand casino & hotel in downtown Las Vegas, in tandem with U.K.-based William Hill, became the first casino property in North America to accept action on eSports. So it's a real game-changer, a big push, for eSports gaming.

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But there's still a lot of work to be done

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We still need unity, to come together, and create a vision for what the insides of a casino should look like to better attract millennials (18-34 years old demographic) and eSports gamers. It's an interesting process because catering to these millennials, creating an authentic experience for them that is not night-club based per se, is something big Vegas casinos really haven't done well. And the casino operators will have to listen more to the millennials and gamers and do things very differently. And, of course, industries are usually reluctant to make big changes. But a lot of big properties are losing money on their casino floors because their players are getting older and older.

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They have no choice but to figure out the Millennial Mind and what they're going to find is that eSports is key to solving the puzzle

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How are regulators, casino operators, eSports providers working towards transforming Nevada into an eSports capitol?

eSports gaming is definitely the future, it's definitely going to change the casino experience and be a huge profit boost for some Vegas properties and beyond .. but there's still a lot that needs to happen. There is an eSports Lab at our local university, the University of Nevada-Las Vegas and that is huge. Absolutely huge. They've got state-of-the-art computers in there, they've got students creating original video games and gaming models. They're filing legal patents. They're designing what the inside of casinos can look like to attract millennials. And, just as important, they are compiling tons of meta-data about the habits and interests of millennials and gamers. It's an exciting time but we still need to get everyone on the same page, which is among our biggest challenges.

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