The UNLV International Gaming Institute announced Brett Abarbanel has been appointed as its new executive director, having taken office on January 1. She has worked at IGI since 2016 as the director of research, with an affiliate research position at the University of Sydney Science, Brain and Mind Centre.

Abarbanel succeeds Bo Bernhard, who will transition to serve full-time as UNLV VP of Economic Development, but will also maintain his affiliation with IGI as special advisor to the Executive Director.

Brett Abarbanel has been named executive director for the UNLV International Gaming Institute (IGI). IGI is a nonprofit academic center that offers research and educational programs for the global gaming industry.

Brett Abarbanel was raised in San Diego near the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club. She was fascinated by the track — mostly because people leaving the facility seemed to snarl up traffic.

The UNLV International Gaming Institute (IGI), an academic center dedicated to gaming regulation, has announced its hiring of Brett Abarbanel as Executive Director. Abarbanel succeeds Bo Bernhard who will transition to serving as UNLV’s VP of Economic Development.

It's one of the most famous scenes from the Martin Scorsese movie "Casino," when Robert DeNiro's character, Sam Rothstein, lists the myriad layers of security used to protect the fictional Tangier from cheaters. At the top of this food chain: the all-seeing surveillance cameras.

It's one of the most famous scenes from the Martin Scorsese movie "Casino," when Robert DeNiro's character, Sam Rothstein, lists the myriad layers of security used to protect the fictional Tangier from cheaters. At the top of this food chain: the all-seeing surveillance cameras.

Brett Abarbanel has been named executive director for the UNLV International Gaming Institute (IGI). IGI is a nonprofit academic center that offers research and educational programs for the global gaming industry.

Brett Abarbanel has been named Executive Director for the UNLV International Gaming Institute (IGI). IGI is a non-profit academic center that offers research and educational programs for the global gaming industry.

While she was an undergraduate majoring in statistics at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, Brett Abarbanel was bankrolled in a poker game by a friend. She’d never played poker before, but the idea of applying ideas she’d learned in classes was intriguing.

It’s one of the more famous scenes from Martin Scorsese’s movie “Casino,” when Robert DeNiro’s character Sam Rothstein lists the myriad layers of security that go into protecting the fictional Tangiers from cheaters. At the top of this food chain: the all-seeing surveillance cameras.

It’s one of the more famous scenes from Martin Scorsese’s movie “Casino,” when Robert DeNiro’s character Sam Rothstein lists the myriad layers of security that go into protecting the fictional Tangiers from cheaters. At the top of this food chain: the all-seeing surveillance cameras.