BILOXI, Miss. (March 22, 2006) - The 2006 installment of Southern Gaming Summit is drawing unprecedented support from gaming operators, vendors, investors and regulators from across the country. The gaming world will converge on Tunica May 4-5 to discuss, debate and strategize about gaming in the post-Katrina South and neighboring regions.

The Expo is already sold out, and a record number of leading vendors are supporting gaming in Mississippi as proud sponsors of Southern Gaming Summit: Tunica Convention & Visitor's Bureau, AC Coin & Slot, Agilysys, Aristocrat, Bally Gaming and Systems, BMM Testlabs, CB Richard Ellis, Dale Morris Architects, FutureLogic, Mississippi Gulf Coast Economic Development Team, IGT, JCM Alliance, Konami Gaming, MEI, ShuffleMaster, Unidesa Gaming & Systems, US Bank Gaming Services, Vendingdata Corporation, WMS Gaming, Yesco. Media sponsors are Casino Journal, Indian Country Today, and Southern Gaming and Destinations.

Southern Gaming Summit has a tradition of attracting some of the biggest names in the industry as Conference speakers and panelists, and this year is no exception.

• Charles Anderer, Tradeshow Director, Ascend Media Gaming Group

• Bernie Burkholder, Owner, Treasure Bay LLC

• Nolan Canon, Commissioner, Mississippi Gaming Commission

• Andrew Cardno, CEO, Compudigm

• Frank Catania, President, Catania Consulting Group, Inc.

• Jacob Coin, Director of Communications, San Manuel Band of Mission Indians

• Sean Evans, Vice President, Sales, Aristocrat Technologies, Inc.

• Marc Falcone, Managing Director, Deutsche Bank Securities

• Frank J. Fahrenkopf, Jr., President and CEO, American Gaming Association

• Webster Franklin, Executive Director and CEO, Tunica County Convention & Visitors Bureau

• Carlton Geer, Senior Vice President, The Global Gaming Group, CB Richard Ellis

• Keller George, President, United South and Eastern Tribes Gaming Association

• Larry Gregory, Executive Director, Mississippi Gaming Commission

• Richard Haddrill, CEO, Bally Gaming and Systems/Alliance Gaming Corp.

• Deborah D. Harkins, Member, Co-Chair, Gaming Section, McGlinchey Stafford

• Ron Hartley, Senior Project Manager, Dale and Associates Architects

• Steve Hendicks, Vice President Operations, Copa Casino

• A.J. Holloway, Mayor, City of Biloxi

• Andy Holtmann, Editor, Casino Journal

• Tess Ingram, General Manager, Jubilee Casino Greenville

• Shridhar Joshi, Executive Director Game Business Strategy, WMS Gaming, Inc.

• Linda Kassekert, Chairwoman, New Jersey Casino Control Commission

• Richard Klemp, Vice President of Government Relations, Penn National Gaming

• Jay W. Ledbetter, Director of Criminal Investigation & Intelligence, Mississippi Gaming Commission

• Phillip Martin, Chairman, Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians

• Ricky Mathews, President/Publisher, Sun Herald and Vice Chair, Governor's Commission for Recovery, Rebuilding and Renewal

• Marc McDermott, Director of Technical Standards, Gaming Standards Association

• Bobby Moak, Chairman, Gaming Committee, Mississippi House of Representatives

• Kevin Mullally, Executive Director, Missouri Gaming Commission

• David Paster, Strategic Database Manager, National Hirschfeld

• Marcus Prater, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Bally Gaming and Systems/Alliance Gaming

• Steve Richer, Executive Director, Mississippi Gulf Coast Convention & Visitors Bureau

• Connie Rockco, President, Harrison County Board of Supervisors

• Javier Saenz, Senior Vice President, Information Solutions, Venture Catalyst, Inc.

• Anthony Sanfilippo, President - Central Division, Harrah's Entertainment, Inc.

• Jerry St Pe', Chairman, Mississippi Gaming Commission

• Michael St. Pierre, Regional President, Mid-South Region, Harrah's Entertainment, Inc.

• Jason Stage, Market Research Manager, Games and Brands, Atronic Americas

• Ernest Stevens, Jr., Chairman, National Indian Gaming Association

• Troy Stremming, Vice President Governmental Affairs, Ameristar Casinos, Inc.

• Bennie G. Thompson, Congressman, Second Congressional District of Mississippi

• Jean Venneman, Vice President, Product Development, International Game Technology

• Charlie Williams, Chief of Staff, Office of the Governor - State of Mississippi

Southern Gaming Summit has grown to become a truly regional trade show in recent years, with more than half of attendees coming from outside of Mississippi (45 states were represented in 2005). The continued vitality of the Mississippi market and of gaming throughout the South has led to this unprecedented show of support from gaming leaders around the country.

Registration for the Southern Gaming Summit conference and expo is available online at www.sgsummit.com.