Faculty/Staff Directory

Joe Bertolone

Executive Director

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Office: SFB 319
Mail Code: 6041
Phone: 702-895-4989
Fax: 702-895-1135
Email: joe.bertolone@unlv.edu
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Craig Ferreira

Operations and Marketing Manager, International Center for Gaming Regulation 

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Office: SFB 318
Mail Code: 6041
Phone: 702-895-2445
Fax: 702-895-1135
Email: craig.ferreira@unlv.edu
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Sara Phillips

Business Manager, International Center for Gaming Regulation

Sara Phillips
Office: SFB 312C
Mail Code: 6041
Phone: 702-895-2452
Fax: 702-895-1135
Email: sara.phillips@unlv.edu
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Noah Ahmed

Administrative Student Worker

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Office: SFB 312
Mail Code: 6041
Phone: 702-895-4510
Fax: 702-895-1135
Email: noah.ahmed@unlv.edu
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Rebecca Ross

Administrative Student Worker

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Office: SFB 312
Phone: 702-895-4510
Fax: 702-895-1135
Email: rebecca.ross@unlv.edu
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UNLV Faculty Lecturers

Bo Bernhard, Ph.D.

Executive Director, International Gaming Institute

Bo Bernhard, Ph.D.
Office: SFB 345
Mail Code: 6037
Phone: 702-895-2935
Fax: 702-895-1135
Email: bo.bernhard@unlv.edu
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Greg Gemignani

Adjunct Professor

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Brett Abarbanel, Ph.D.

Director of Research

Brett Abarbanel
Office: SFB 339
Mail Code: 6037
Phone: 702-895-1764
Fax: 702-895-1135
Email: brett.abarbanel@unlv.edu
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Anthony Cabot

Distinguished Fellow in Gaming Law

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Becky Harris

Distinguished Fellow

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Phone: 702-895-4989
Email: becky.harris@unlv.edu
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Educational Program Lecturers

Karl Bennison

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Karl Bennison retired as Chief of Enforcement in September 2019 after serving 25 years with the Nevada Gaming Control Board (GCB). Karl began his career with the Board in 1994 as an Agent in the GCB’s Reno office, enforcing gaming laws and regulations and arbitrating disputes. He worked his way through the ranks with assignments including the Enforcement Division’s Special Investigations section...
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Julie Damavandi

Owner-Consultant, JKD Consulting
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Julie Damavandi holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (Accounting) and a Master of Business Administration. She earned both degrees from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). While studying at UNLV, she taught Introduction to Business and Principles of Finance. Julie started her gaming career after college working in positions such as an Internal Auditor with Hilton Hotels...
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Chris Grove

Chris Grove
Chris Grove is a nationally recognized subject matter expert on the subject of the U.S. regulated sports betting landscape. His insights and research regarding the sports betting industry have been quoted in hundreds of articles, including outlets such as Bloomberg, ESPN, Forbes, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal. Grove has testified before policymakers in...
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Steve Light

Steve Light
Steve Light (Ph.D. Northwestern, B.A. Yale) is a Professor of Political Science and Public Administration, former Interim Dean of Business and Public Administration, and Co-Director of the Institute for the Study of Tribal Gaming Law and Policy at the University of North Dakota (UND). The Institute is the first university research center dedicated to advancing knowledge and understanding of...
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John Lukasik

John Lukasik
John Lukasik has been the Director of Race, Sports, and Esports for Caesars Entertainment since March 2018, where he oversees operations at the Linq, Cromwell, and Flamingo. He brings with him nearly a decade of experience in the gaming industry, where he has worked primarily in gaming operations. John received his Master of Science degree in Hotel Administration from the University of Nevada,...
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Kathryn R.L. Rand

Kathryn R.L. Rand
Kathryn Rand (J.D. University of Michigan, B.A. University of North Dakota) has served as Dean of the UND School of Law from 2009 to 2018, the first woman to hold the position. Rand is widely recognized as among the nation’s leading experts on Indian gaming, federal Indian law, and tribal-state-federal intergovernmental relations. She has published more than 50 articles and co-authored three...
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Scott Scherer

Shareholder, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck
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Gaming law veteran Scott Scherer uses his unique mix of regulatory, business, policy and legal perspectives to help clients achieve their goals. Scott’s more than 30 years of gaming experience includes serving as a member of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, where he had responsibility for the Investigations, Audit and Technology divisions; as a supervising deputy in the Gaming Division of the...
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Tim Schultz

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Tim Schultz started his professional career working as a Revenue Agent for the Internal Revenue Service where he audited partnerships and corporations. He then worked four years for the Nevada Gaming Control Board as an Audit Division agent. Mr. Schultz audited revenue and compliance for table games, slots, race and sports books, keno, bingo, and cage and credit activities. He then transferred...
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