2025 presenters

Kelly Koffler is an enthusiastic YouTube content creator who has been sharing her love for gaming since November 2020. Through her two popular channels, Casino Kelly and Beyond Blackjack, she shares her joy of slots, table games, and video poker. Known for her engaging style, Kelly captivates viewers with relatable betting strategies and humorous conversations.  

Melissa Blau has been a leader in the online gaming and sports betting industry for over 20 years. She is the Founder of iGaming Capital, an industry leading consultancy in the sports betting and iGaming sectors, and early stage investor in the sector.  Melissa is currently working with several leading casino and sports betting operators, assisting in developing and executing their sports betting and digital businesses. Current Tribal clients include the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Desert Diamond Casinos in Arizona, Potawatomi Casino in Wisconsin, and Prairie Band in Kansas.   Commercial current clients include VIP Play in Tennessee (formerly Zen Sports). 

Prior clients include an array of Tribal casinos, commercial casinos, and lotteries advising both real money online gaming and social casinos, including an integral part of the launch of Eagle Casino & Sports (Soaring Eagle) in Michigan, TropicanaCasino.com in New Jersey, and Delaware Lottery’s iGaming. She advised Mystic Lake Slots, Akwesasne Mohawk, Lucky North Slots (Delaware North), Hard Rock, Wind Creek Casino, Pechanga, and Affinity Gaming social casino. Before her early contribution in the regulated US iGaming market, Melissa held several senior executive roles with iGaming and sports betting operators in Europe. 

Micheal Bridgman holds an MBA in Accounting and is quickly approaching his 20-year milestone with the Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma, where he has served in a variety of roles within gaming operations. He was a member of the opening teams of both Downstream Casino in 2008 and its sister property, Saracen Casino, in 2020. Currently, he leads research initiatives into iGaming, Sportsbook, and other emerging gaming technologies aimed at enhancing the overall patron experience. In addition, Micheal devotes considerable time to building SQL queries, advanced Excel models, and developing AI-driven scripts to extract and organize data that supports strategic contract negotiations, optimized machine placement, EGM purchasing, and improvements to gaming infrastructure.

Russell A. Brien (Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska) established Brien Law, LLC in 2009. He is a former partner in the corporate finance group of a national law firm where he concentrated on structured finance transactions and also led that firm’s Indian Law and Tribal Governance practice. Russ’ current practice primarily involves working as outside general counsel to tribes and their enterprises on a variety of issues, with an emphasis on gaming, economic development, governance, finance, taxation, and doing business in Indian country. He frequently speaks on a variety of topics including gaming, federal Indian law, tribal economic development, Indian lands issues, estate planning in Indian country, protection of tribal records, ethics for tribal leaders, negotiation, and tribal constitutions and bylaws. Russ is a former adjunct instructor at the University of Kansas School of Law where he taught the Indian Gaming and Economic Development and Indigenous Nations courses in the law school’s Tribal Lawyer Certificate Program. Russ, past President of the Kansas Bar Association Indian Law Section, is listed in the Best Lawyers in America for Native American Law as well as Securitization and Structured Finance Law. Russ received his B.A. in Political Science from the University of Kansas and his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School. 

Andrew Cardno is a distinguished figure in the realm of artificial intelligence and data plumbing. With over two decades spearheading private Ph.D. and master's level research teams, his expertise has made significant waves in data tooling. Andrew's innate ability to innovate has led him to devise numerous pioneering visualization methods. Of these, the most notable is the deep zoom image format, a groundbreaking innovation that has since become a cornerstone in the majority of today's mapping tools. His leadership acumen has earned him two coveted Smithsonian Laureates, and teams under his mentorship have clinched 40 industry awards, including three pivotal gaming industry transformation awards. Together with Dr. Ralph Thomas, the duo co-founded Quick Custom Intelligence, amplifying their collaborative innovative capacities. A testament to his inventive prowess, Andrew boasts over 150 patent applications. Across various industries—be it telecommunications with Telstra Australia, retail with giants like Walmart and Best Buy, or the medical sector with esteemed institutions like City Of Hope and UCSD—Andrew's impact is deeply felt. He has enriched the literature with insights, co-authoring 10 influential books with Dr. Thomas and contributing to over 100 industry publications. An advocate for community and diversity, Andrew's work has touched over 100 Native American Tribal Resorts, underscoring his expansive and inclusive professional endeavors.

Eric Casey began his career in the manufacturing sector of the bingo industry in 1990, two-years after the IGRA was enacted.  The last 21 years of Mr. Casey’s experience in the gaming industry has been with Planet Bingo®, where he’s worked to help drive emergent market opportunities in the ever-evolving Class II arena and expand the Company’s product offering throughout Indian Country while engaging a global bingo marketplace. 

Eric represented Planet Bingo® as an advisor to the Tribal Gaming Work Group throughout the promulgation process for the Class II MICS and Class II Technical Standards; and continues to enjoy navigating rapid technological change through the regulated environment of tribal Class II gaming and head-on into the changing player demographics that his 35-years in the bingo industry have encompassed.
 

“For me, Class II gaming has been 35-years of thrills, chills, and sheer excitement,’ says Casey, ‘and never more-so than right now, with mobile applications, Hub & Spoke, and so many other exciting new tools on the horizon line.”

Robert helps lead the development of digital products, including Choctaw Slots and BetChoctaw for the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. The latter of which will offer Class II mobile on-premise slots and iBingo games. With a background in casino digital marketing in Washington State and a degree in IT and Web Development, Robert is passionate about the role of Class II gaming in advancing tribal sovereignty.

Callie Crawford is an accomplished Social Media Director with over 13 years of experience crafting impactful social media strategies. With a deep passion for storytelling and brand building, she specializes in hospitality and event marketing, helping brands create meaningful connections with their audiences. Over the years, Callie has led successful campaigns for a wide range of brands, from destination casinos across the country to nationally recognized events.

As Director of Social Media at Good Giant, a full-service advertising agency, Callie leads a dynamic team focused on strategy development, content creation, community management, influencer marketing and performance analytics. Her approach blends creativity with data-driven insights, ensuring that every campaign not only looks good but performs. She is passionate about building communities, elevating brands, and empowering teams to tell stories that spark real connection.

Dr. Jason Fiege is CEO, Founder, and Chief Inventor of nQube Data Science Inc., where he has been an early pioneer in bringing advanced AI techniques to the gaming industry. Dr. Fiege is the inventor of the 'Reel AI' slot floor optimization system, a groundbreaking application of AI technology launched in 2017 that has significantly advanced slot floor operations. He is an expert on AI methods for optimization, customer segmentation and forecasting, and also holds a position of Associate Professor of Physics at the University of Manitoba, where he uses artificial intelligence, advanced optimization, and simulation methods to create theoretical models of astrophysical data. With over 20 years of deep expertise in AI, data modelling, and simulation, Dr. Fiege has made substantial contributions to the gaming industry and related fields. Under his leadership, nQube's R&D efforts have focused on the development of key explainable AI-based technologies in areas including segmentation, 360 degree player models, financial modelling, and predictive analysis.

Kirian is the NIGC Training Specialist and is responsible for developing and implementing external training programs conducted by NIGC for the benefit of tribal gaming.  Kirian began her career with NIGC in 2006 as an Auditor, conducting audits and analyzing financial statements. Prior to NIGC, Kirian has worked for various tribal governments as an Internal Auditor and Background/ Vendor Investigator. She has thirty years of internal audit and investigative experience in the Indian gaming industry.  Kirian completed her Master in Public Administration degree from Northern Arizona University and a Bachelor’s of Science degree in criminal justice from Arizona State University.

Chris Garrow has 29+ years of experience in the casino industry, with a career spanning corporate and tribal properties. He is currently the Director of Gaming at Prairie Band Casino & Resort, responsible for optimizing revenue from slots, table games, sports betting, and bingo. Chris previously served as Director of Gaming Operations at Treasure Island Resort & Casino, where he launched social gaming. He has also worked at Monte Carlo Resort & Casino, Ho-Chunk Nation Black River Falls, and Nekoosa in Wisconsin. Chris has a progressive gaming philosophy and focuses on pushing for innovation while keeping profitability in mind. 

Robert Geis is a seasoned IT executive and former Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) with broad technical leadership spanning industry verticals, including healthcare, service providers, and cloud infrastructure. His technical leadership has been instrumental in driving transformational initiatives and ensuring robust security measures. Robert joined World Wide Technology (WWT) in 2022, having been a client since 2014. His career highlights include serving as CISO at Netsmart, where he oversaw five acquisitions and led a hybrid cloud transformation to deliver SaaS solutions for behavioral and mental health. At Cerner, he directed Network Operations during a period of significant growth, including the launch of DOD & VA projects and the Siemens acquisition. During his tenure at Sprint, Robert held leadership and technical roles in the operations, design, and deployment of 3G/4G, VOIP, and NG911 services nationwide, navigating through major business transformations such as RIFs, M&As, and the Softbank acquisition. At TTI Telecom, he led solution development of OSS software with offshore development teams for North American telco and cable providers. As General Manager of a rural telco, he digitized the workplace in preparation for Y2K while reporting to the board of directors with full P&L responsibility. At Union Pacific, Robert worked as a Tech Engineer, managing data centers, microwave, telco, and train control radio systems for the largest privately held communications network in the world. As a dedicated husband and father, Robert strives to embody the principles of his namesake, GEIS: God-honoring, Excellence, Integrity, and Service to others.

Saam Hafezi is the Head of Region (North America) at Play’n GO, overseeing market expansion, regulatory strategy, and commercial operations across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. He brings deep experience in both iGaming and tribal gaming, with a track record of building partnerships and driving growth across regulated and sovereign markets.

Mr. Harris sets the strategic direction of the Company. Aries, formerly known as Rocket Gaming Systems, has been serving the Native American Class II industry since 1996 with one of the most innovative, wide area, downloadable, real time interactive gaming networks. Mr. Harris has been one of the driving forces behind the efforts that developed state of the art Class II technical and control standards. Mr. Harris holds a BSBA in Economics and Marketing Management from Missouri Southern State University and a MBA with an emphasis in Finance from the University of Arkansas.

Alice serves as Vice President of Bingo and Keno Business of Gaming Arts. She has been in the Casino industry for over 40 years, serving in a General Manager capacity, and various other high-level positions within the industry. She holds extensive knowledge of Bingo and Keno while maintaining and nurturing key relationships within the gaming industry. Her experience with positioning Bingo Games and Keno systems globally has contributed to Gaming Arts becoming a world leader in Bingo Games. When Alice is not traveling, she can be found at home spending time with her family and her beloved dogs.