ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey --(Press Release) -- Park Place Entertainment Corporation, one of the world's leading casino companies, has been awarded the 2nd Annual Larry Cole Award For Excellence and Innovation in Gaming Technology.
The company will be honored at the 5th Annual Gaming and Technology Conference, to be held Nov. 13 at the Atlantic City Convention Center.
"Park Place Entertainment has aggressively implemented cashless technology in Atlantic City, Las Vegas and other gaming markets. It is pursuing an effective loyalty program to tie together its various brands and properties," said Cory Morowitz of Morowitz Gaming Advisors LLC, a conference producer. "For those reasons, and for its embrace of technology as a means of growing market share and improving margins, it is fitting that Park Place Entertainment be recognized with this singular honor."
"Park Place team members have worked very hard to bring our company to a position of technological leadership in the industry," said Robert G. Conover, senior vice president and chief information officer for the company. "We are very pleased to receive this distinguished award."
Park Place has 29 gaming properties worldwide, operating under the Caesars, Bally's, Flamingo, Hilton, Grand Casino and Paris brands. The company plans to change its name to Caesars Entertainment, Inc., in January 2004, when it will begin to trade under its new ticker symbol (NYSE: CZR).
Larry Cole, among the first casino executives to head an information technology department, pioneered a leading player-tracking and loyalty program now in place at casinos around the world. He served as president of Advanced Casino Systems Corp. until its sale last year to Bally Gaming & Systems. Cole, who died in 2002, posthumously received the first Larry Cole Award.
Cole was the first speaker at the first Gaming and Technology Conference, and was an early sponsor. Bally Gaming & Systems, a division of Alliance Gaming, remains a principal sponsor. The conference will again focus on various issues designed to ensure that executives and suppliers stay ahead of the technology curve, from regulatory concerns to ticket-in/ticket-out technology.
This year, the conference and Global Gaming Business Magazine will also present the first Gaming and Technology Awards in three categories:
-- Consumer-Service Technology
-- Productivity-Enhancement Technology
-- Slot Products
Nominees will be evaluated during the Global Gaming Expo on September 16-18.
The conference is produced by Spectrum Gaming Group, which publishes Michael Pollock's Gaming Industry Observer, an award-winning newsletter; Morowitz Gaming Advisors, LLC, a provider of financial and operations analysis for the hospitality industry; and Sterns & Weinroth, PC, a leading gaming law firm.