LAS VEGAS, Oct. 16, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gaming & Leisure, a preeminent gaming and hospitality industry organization, announces today the recipients of the coveted 2018 Annual Gaming & Hospitality Industry Awards.

The Annual Gaming & Hospitality Industry Awards are free to enter globally and uniquely created and judged by the buying constituency. Three award recipients are chosen and the 4^th and highest honor award, the Platinum Award, encompasses the three categories in addition to other evaluated criteria.

The highest honor Platinum Award was presented to VizExplorer. "We are honored to be recognized by the G&L Board with the Platinum Award for VizExplorer® Golden Record solution. The award validates our direction and our dedication to product innovation," said VizExplorer CTO & Founder Andrew Cardno. “With unmatched ability to integrate outside data sources and match it to a single player profile, the Golden Record helps operators understand the total value of their customers across gaming, hotel, retail, spa, golf and more and deliver targeted offers that boost incremental visits and ROI across the property."

Gaming Analytics received the 2018 Transformation Award. “Big Data is today’s hot topic, but the truth is casino operators have already had mountains of data for years. The problem is what to do with it all. And the solution may be to use artificial intelligence to sort it all out. By using natural language, machine learning and artificial intelligence, our product dramatically transforms the way operators can use their existing data to make the most-profitable decisions,” said Kiran Brahmandam, CEO of Gaming Analytics Inc. “We are thrilled to receive such a prestigious award from the G&L Board. It validates our mission that we are solving the true problem our industry is facing: what to do with the data we have, and how to use it better to gain the highest levels of profitability.”

The 2018 Innovation Award was awarded to GLI. “GLI has been developing gaming industry-specific test automation tools over the past four years to provide automated testing solutions as part of our robust testing program,” said James Maida, President and CEO of GLI. “Our automation process improves efficiency and decreases test time duration, leading to a faster time-to-market for suppliers. We have successfully integrated this new automated testing process on many platforms with more being integrated. Test automation is proving to be a valuable tool for testing increasingly complex and sophisticated gaming devices with complicated math models and paytables which are developed for many domestic and international markets with numerous configurations. As the first gaming laboratory to offer test automation, we are honored to be recognized by the G&L Board for this innovative and noteworthy advancement in game-testing technology.”

The 2018 Partner Award was presented to Playersoft.  Tony de Leon, CEO, Playersoft stated, “We are truly honored to receive the Partner Award from Gaming & Leisure. This recognition is most valuable because it is judged by industry executives from the G&L Board. It validates Playersoft’s commitment to our customers and understanding of their business and technology needs.”

The Annual Phil LaBelle Lifetime Achievement Award is presented in recognition of drive, leadership and accomplishments through a lifetime of dedication in the gaming and hospitality industry. The G&L Board and Roundtable Colleagues selected their colleague, Rod Luck, Sr. VP of IT, Grand Sierra Resort and Casino to receive this 2018 award.

Accepting the award, Rod Luck commented, “It is an honor to receive this award as it comes from Gaming & Leisure and my peers.  The gaming & hospitality industry is an exciting industry to be in, and with all the support and encouragement from my colleagues and vendors, this has made my journey an exciting one.  This achievement comes from never giving up and knowing there are solutions to every situation.  It is also very important to remember to have a positive and humorous attitude.”

Jeannie Caruso, CEO of Gaming & Leisure and host of the G&L Roundtable and Industry Awards stated, “The significance of these awards have always been the judges comprised in the G&L Board and Roundtable Colleagues who are the top innovation leaders in the industry and represent a majority of gaming technology spend in North America.  These judges defined and created the rigorous review process, as well as select recipients annually.  It is an honor to host the industry awards each year recognizing these well-deserving recipients.”

Recipients were honored at the G&L Roundtable on Oct. 8 and will be featured in the winter 2018 edition of Gaming & Leisure written by Bart Lewin, industry renowned technologist and G&L Award’s Facilitator.

The G&L Roundtable is an exclusive annual conclave of industry thought leaders united to advance the landscape of the gaming and hospitality industry through the collaboration of these top industry influencers. Seventeen years later, the G&L Roundtable has become a highly coveted private, peer-to-peer forum for gaming and hospitality CXOs.

Gaming & Leisure is an organization dedicated to the betterment and unification of the gaming and hospitality industry by providing influential content and offerings to help operators effectively manage their companies and celebrate the leading business partners who serve them. Visit www.mygamingandleisure.com.

Contact: Jeannie Caruso, CEO of Gaming & Leisure
info@mygamingandleisure.com