Pollstar Live! 2025 Panel Preview: Casino Entertainment Transitioning To The Next Era

Moderator
Christian Printup | VP Of Ent’ment, Foxwoods Resort Casino

Speakers
Deana Baker | Senior Ent. Manager, Choctaw Casino & Resort
Dan Boyle | Talent Agent, WME
Paul Davis | SVP, Booking & Development, MGM Resorts Int’l
Kell Houston | Owner, Houston Productions
Joe Moallempour | Senior National Casino Talent Buyer, DWP

he next era of casino entertainment is upon us, with casino developers, bookers and staff of all stripes stepping up to meet the needs of artists, tours and guests across the gamut.

With a competitive booking environment sometimes pitting casino venues against not only themselves but against traditional concert venues to secure talent and fill calendars, this cross section of executives on both the venue, artist and booking side will surely be as entertaining and varied as the type of content on display at the venues themselves.

Back To Pollstar Live! 2025 Hub

Moderator Christian Printup, a veteran of the casino industry and vice president of entertainment at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut, says panel topics include technology, comedy and “the changing talent landscape, as many of the tried and true acts that have been playing casinos for decades are beginning to retire from the road,” Printup says. “What acts will take their place in the programming calendars?”

Sure to offer input on the topic is Joe Moallempour of Danny Wimmer Presents Talent Services, which books talent for properties including Thunder Valley Casino Resort near Sacramento, which just announced shows with Def Leppard, Trevor Noah and recently announced Incubus, which sold out.

“Before, the agencies thought of casinos as a place where artists go to die, and now they’re a critical part of the routing for most artists,” says Moallempour. “There’s still some resistance for some artists but not for the vast majority anymore, especially when you have beautiful rooms like Agua Caliente or Thunder Valley or Foxwoods, with full theaters.”

While the perception of what casino venues look like and what kind of people go to casino shows continues to evolve, so does the deal structure for the shows, as casino venues continue to stress that they are booking hard-ticket, for-profit concerts rather than loss-leaders luring guests to the buffet and slot machines.

“Then they realize that it’s beneficial when we’re offering rooms and hospitality that a lot of these other venues cannot provide. We have a built-in amount of tickets to be allocated to VIPs on top of beautiful rooms to stay in and great food to eat. You have to pay for these amenities while on tour (at other venues).”

Bringing some Vegas glitz to the discussion is Paul Davis, senior vice president of entertainment at MGM in Las Vegas, which includes three arenas and high-profile residencies like Usher’s extended stay at the top-notch Dolby Live theater at Park MGM, with several million tickets sold per year and venues at the top of the yearly ticket sales charts.

Others offering the venue perspective include Deana Baker at Choctaw Casino & Resort in Durant, Oklahoma, which is hosting artists including Halsey and The Black Keys at its Grand Theater, and Kell Houston, who buys talent for numerous casino properties including Sandia Amphitheater in New Mexico, AVA Amphitheater in Arizona and Rolling Hills in Northern California. The lone agent on the panel is WME’s Dan Boyle, who represents artists including Babyface, LL Cool J and Wilson Phillips, and can surely handle himself.

“We’ll also dive into new technology and what impact, if any, they see it having on casino entertainment from booking, to advertising, to guest experience,” Printup adds. “This panel promises to bring fresh and honest dialogue and perspectives for the attendees.”

s themselves.

Back To Pollstar Live! 2025 Hub