UNLV's Gaming Studies Research Center will host a lecture by two prominent local gaming executives from 6:30-7:30 p.m. Feb. 27 in the Amargosa Room of the Lied Library, located on the UNLV campus. The lecture, which is the inaugural event of the center's 2003 Distinguished Speakers Series, is free and open to the public.

Felix Rappaport, president and chief operating officer of New York New York Hotel and Casino, and Tom McCartney, the property's senior vice president of marketing and development, will discuss the impromptu memorial that took shape in front of their resort following the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001.

Rappaport and McCartney will also discuss how a permanent tribute to 9/11 victims and heroes was developed through a partnership between MGM /Mirage (New York New York's parent company), local architects Marnell Corrao Associates, and the UNLV special collections department.

The Distinguished Speakers Series provides a forum for discussion of current issues in the gaming community. Members of the community, gaming industry professionals, and the media are encouraged to attend.

For more information about the event or the Gaming Studies Research Center, contact Dave Schwartz, Gaming Studies Research Center coordinator, at dgs@unlv.edu or 895-2242.