Hello Emilio

I am very impressed with your comments and opinions. They are very thoughtful and detailed and will certainly spark discussion which is much needed for use to grow. I will try and tell you what I am working on currently:

Convention

I am almost done negotiating the 2019/2020 convention site with South Point. While you site many advantages in getting closer to the strip there are many issues we must face. We are in comparison not a large convention so we seek venues which will give us all of the amenities we need at a price we can afford. South Point is by far the best location for us at this point. Past convention chairpersons have gone to many hotel and casinos attempting to get all the amenities that we need. We look for the best deal with the most benefits at all times. This process of looking for other venues is very time consuming but is still done to eliminate any missed opportunities. While not official until the contract is signed we will be getting the larger exhibit space, an increase of 5600 square feet at the same rate as the smaller space. There is a very big possibility that we could get the larger space next year as well at the current price, Your next question would be what are we going to do with the extra space? Some ideas would be to bring in Industry giants to display their products like Bally's or IGT or Konami, and maybe even some chip company's to show you their newest products, to in a sense entertain us. The convention could be called a "SHOW" not a convention. This could bring more people in. How about some Meet and Greet's. Pawn stars personalities, Mark Hall-Patton for some book signings and autographs and so forth. The convention could also have a radio remote in the convention. There are many more ideas being worked on and your suggestions help guide our Board to present an exciting and interesting event which is the highlight for many of our members. Anther project nearing completion with the help of Steve Gobel is he is preparing a list of names and addresses of all the visitors registration cards that we received from Archie and Brenda. On those cards over 40 non-members responded that they wanted more info on future conventions. Even though it was tried before, the attempt will be made again to send out a letter by me and an application for membership.

Museum of Gaming History

Being the Membership Director of the MoGH I have given a lot of time to this part of the club. I realize the limitations of what can be achieved. The amount of money you stated is greatly exaggerated. We have no where near that money in the MoGH account. We seek to place exhibits in all possible areas. We are currently in the Mob Museum, Neon Museum. The El Cortez, and The Plaza, the Exhibits Chairman Jim Follis is working on another casino as we speak. Getting a casino to let us exhibit on their floor is a monumental task yet we continue to try. If we could get the club members to upgrade their membership to Gold Level that would afford us the money needed to have more exhibits. If we could get more exhibits our name and reputation would benefit the effort. An area that needs much more support is club members loaning us needed items for those displays. For instance we have asked for certain items for upcoming Mob Museum exhibits but have not received any help. Here is an opportunity for the loaner and the club to market our name. The Mob Museum donated 220 free passes to the club as a show of gratitude. That's over a $3,000 cash value. Another possibility is getting some space in a current museum a sort of a "Mini" museum in a museum. That fact finding mission will start after I complete the South Point negotiation.

Magazine

While I agree we live in the digital world, I believe we have a great magazine with Steve and Robb. Yes we can do a digital version and maybe phase out the magazine. There are quite a few members who believe it not don't have computers or smart phones. Offering both services might bridge the generation gap. We could try it but what would the costs be ?

Website

Its very easy to say we need a new website and am totally for it. I have talked to 6 company's looking at a redesign and adding modern features. I have a couple of members who have stepped up to offer their service's which is much better that looking at new company's. I have not gotten into any specifics as I have only taken the first few steps. There are many experts in our club who will take this project over. I'm trying to get the ball rolling. There have been some attempts to do this in the past and I feel this is worth another effort. The website is our face to the world and as Doug has pointed out we are the authority in the hobby.

I accepted this position with only one agenda and that was to make this club grow and prosper. The past and present board members are of the same mind. They are very diligent and committed to the membership. They should be commended for what they do in many ways. I hit the floor running after the convention and I wish I could have met all the club members. I honestly believe we share a common thread and if we unite on all fronts we will grow and prosper.

The key to this and will always be everyone's involvement. I can write all the ideas and projects down but what is needed is your time. It doesn't have to be a full time job. You can be on a committee or an advisor of some sort. If you believe in what you say then join us and lets get to work. I welcome you. Your ideas and opinions are important to me and with your help we can do great things together.

I would ask that you please communicate on the club website as I believe its the proper venue for us to discuss any and all issues. You are welcome to also contact me at my e-mail at vergatos@msn.com

Sincerely

Jerry