MGM, FanDuel Bosses to Keynote at G2E in Las Vegas

This year’s Global Gaming Expo (G2E) will feature opening-day keynote addresses from two gaming industry titans: MGM Resorts International CEO Bill Hornbuckle and Peter Jackson, president of FanDuel parent company Flutter.

G2E, taking place this year from October 7-10 at the Venetian Expo, is the world’s largest gaming industry convention. Typically, it draws 25K industry professionals to Las Vegas for panel discussions, education sessions, and exhibits by more than 350 gaming manufacturers.

Hornbuckle and Jackson, who compete in the sports betting field since MGM co-owns BetMGM, will both be interviewed together, by CNBC’s Contessa Brewer, on October 8.

Both are expected to discuss, as is typical at G2E, how their companies have dealt with recent changes in the global economy, and the lessons learned from their successes and failures. A Q&A session follows that can last upwards of an hour.

Peter and Bill are two titans of the gaming industry whose perspectives will illuminate where the industry is headed and set the table for the ideas and innovations that will be explored throughout this year’s G2E,” said Bill Miller, president and CEO of the American Gaming Association (AGA), which stages G2E, in a prepared statement.

“Gaming is undergoing historic expansion in the US and internationally,” Miller’s statement continued. “The AGA and our partners at RX look forward to hosting the global gaming community at G2E to address this widening array of industry priorities — both in our keynotes and education sessions and on the expo floor.”

Hornbuckle’s speech at last year’s G2E proved newsworthy as it marked the first time he publicly addressed the ransomware attack suffered by his company just a month earlier, which set MGM back $100 million.

This year, Hornbuckle is expected to discuss MGM’s expansion into Abu Dhabi, where it recently applied for a casino license despite having no active construction projects there. (Its nearest is in Dubai, 85 miles north.)

The four-day event kicks off with over 100 education sessions on October 7.

Registration for G2E, available to gaming industry professionals only, is still open here.