May 3, 2003 - BILOXI, Miss.--More than 6,000 people are expected to attend the 10th annual Southern Gaming Summit next week at the Coast Coliseum & Convention Center. 

That's six times more than the crowd that attended the summit the first time it was held in Biloxi, in 1996. 

"When we first started holding this event, it meant 600 or 700 room nights, which is the number of people who book hotel rooms times the number of nights they stay," said Beverly Martin, executive director of the Gulf Coast Gaming Association, which sponsors the event along with Ascend Media, which publishes several industry journals. "Now, we're up to 2,800 room nights." 

The event will be held Wednesday and Thursday at the convention center. Admission to the exhibit hall is free, but guests must be 21 or older. For $125, visitors can attend the Taste of the Gulf Coast Casinos dinner, featuring entertainment from Pete Fountain and the best food and drink from the Coast's 12 casinos. For $595, guests can go to any of the industry seminars along with the dinner. 

The gaming summit is the biggest casino industry trade show outside of Las Vegas, attracting a broad range of industry officials to speak at seminars and luncheons. Some of the guests scheduled for this year are Frank Fahrenkopf Jr., president of the American Gaming Association; Atlantic City Mayor Lorenzo Langford; and Wally Barr, president of Park Place Entertainment. 

Since the summit and the Mississippi casino industry are now both 10 years old, several of the seminars will highlight the "diamond decade" and take a look at the future of casino gambling. 

With all of the confusion swirling around the casino industry, such as the potential for higher taxes in some states, competition from Indian casinos and racinos, and widespread technological changes, events like the gaming summit take on a new significance. The event allows for some guidance on the future from business leaders and Wall Street, Martin said. 

Along with the chance to hear the latest collective wisdom on the casino industry, the summit gives suppliers an opportunity to show off their latest products, everything from slot machines to blackjack tables to soft drinks. 

For the second year in a row, all of the booths at the summit have sold out. This comes after 80 display spaces were added, bumping the number up to 260. 

Although the summit may have the word "Southern" in its name, Martin said it is now an international event. "We have guests from 17 states and four countries, including the United Kingdom, Bangladesh, Macedonia and Austria," she said. 

HERE ARE SOME OF THE SEMINARS THAT WILL BE A PART OF THE GAMING SUMMIT: 

--"The Mississippi Miracle: The Next 10 Years of Challenges and Opportunities" 

--"Beating the Cheats: Security and Surveillance" 

--"Players Clubs: Loyalty Programs that Work" 

--"Meet the Mayors" 

--"The Brave New World of the Cashless Floor" 

--"Racinos in the Southeast: The Next Growth Wave" 

--"Slot Trends: Latest Products, Newest Technologies" 

--"Casinos and the Law: Problem Gambling and the Price of Success" 

--"Wall Street Update" 

--"Making the Most of Amenities: Outsource or Do It Yourself?" 

--"Gaming, Slots and the Lab -- Let the Games Begin, Please" 

--"Winds of Change: Competition in the Caribbean" 

--"Participation Games: Controversy and Co-Existence" 

--"Portal to Profits: Selling Across Cyberspace" 

--"The State of Gaming" 

--"Driving Traffic to Your Table Games: New Strategies, New Promotions, New Mindsets" 

--"Casinos and the Community: Why Good Companies Make Good Neighbors" 

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(c) 2003, The Sun Herald, Biloxi, Miss. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.