�Gaming continues to be one of the fastest growing industries in the nation and needs to invest appropriately in information technology human resources,� says Saverio R. Scheri III, National Director of KPMG�s Gaming Consulting Practice. 

�Compensation for gaming chief information officers is some 20-30% lower than their peers in consumer market industries. The industry has to focus on retaining and hiring top level information systems professionals and will have to pay competitive compensation packages to do so.� 

Presently, the average CIO salary according to KPMG�s survey (including bonus) was $100,000 to $150,000, though compensation varied by the size of the gaming company and gaming jurisdiction. Those reporting directly to a CIO, such as a project director, averaged $70,000 to $90,000. Project leaders, programmers, and analysts averaged $55,000 to $70,000, and computer operators and PC specialists averaged $25,000 to $40,000. 

�Traditionally, the gaming industry has hired CIOs at bargain rates or promoted from within, which has sacrificed the quality of their IS departments,� says Scheri. �Although some of the larger gaming companies have attracted high profile CIOs from Fortune 500 companies, many companies still have IS leaders that do not understand the intricacies of a gaming operation.�

KPMG and the International Gaming Institute at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) surveyed casinos, riverboats, and tribal gaming operations in the United States. Additionally, KPMG and the Gaming Institute surveyed major gaming venues and interviewed casino information systems executives to find out about technology and industry trends.

This year�s survey also found that the most common issues or challenges facing IS executives continued to be Year 2000 compliance, data integration (hotel/marketing/point of sales), and marketing systems. �Year 2000 compliance has drained both financial and human resources, hindering progress on other projects,� concludes Scheri.

KPMG LLP is the U.S. member firm of KPMG International. In the U.S., KPMG partners and professionals provide a wide range of accounting, tax and consulting services. As a provider of information-based services, KPMG delivers understandable business advice�helping clients analyze their businesses with true clarity, raise their level of performance, achieve growth and enhance shareholder value. KPMG International�s member firms have more than 100,000 professionals, including 6,800 partners, in 160 countries. KPMG�s Consulting practice can be found on the web at http://www.kpmgconsulting.com or reached through the firm�s site at http://www.us.kpmg.com.