Last week saw the return of the Southern Gaming Summit (SGS), featuring the inaugural class of the Mississippi Gaming Hall of Fame. The conference was held for the first time under the sole ownership of the Mississippi Gaming & Hospitality Association (MGHA), which bought out its former partner following last year’s SGS.

“The MGHA is proud to present the Southern Gaming Summit each year, and this year’s event was particularly meaningful to us,” said Larry Gregory, the executive director of the MGHA. “Since we own the show now, we are directly responsible for its content, which we designed to benefit the industry and highlight all the opportunities available to both commercial and tribal casinos in our region.”

In a transition year, the SGS was held at the Beau Rivage in Biloxi, a smaller venue that encouraged networking and interaction between attendees, speakers and exhibitors.

“We’re very pleased with the results,” said Gregory. “Our exhibitors got to meet their customers in a very relaxed setting, and our attendees were able to easily mingle with speakers, creating a unique and powerful networking opportunity.”

The induction into the Mississippi Gaming Hall of Fame Gala was held on the final night, playing host to 500 guests. Reflecting on the event, Gregory noted: “We had so many deserving nominees that it was very difficult to narrow down the recipients. But with the votes of our 28 member casinos, the honorees were all very deserving and appropriate. And of course we have a long list for consideration in the future.”