The Esports markets’ audience is rapidly approaching the magnitude of the world’s most highly-viewed media events. With this potential to attract a diverse demographic, it is undeniable that Esports will play a critical role in the future of entertainment and needs to on the the agenda for policymakers, operators, and other forward-thinking individuals. Spectrum Esports Advisors are pleased to provide an unparalleled suite of services for these groups.
Each project is customized to our client’s specific requirements and developed from the ground up. Our findings, conclusions and recommendations are based solely on our research, analysis and experience. Our reports are used by our clients to shape public policy, secure financing, formulate marketing plans, determine scope and size of development, establish gaming regulations, and make licensing decisions, among other purposes. We tell clients what they need to know.
Strategic Planning – Spectrum Esports assists organizations in developing a cohesive, achievable plan designed to position themselves for growth in the foreseeable future. We recognize that a critical part of any strategic plan is the ability to adapt to change – be it a competitive threat, emerging forms of gaming, new laws/regulations, or changing economic/financial circumstances. We work with you to establish realistic goals and objectives, whether for a startup organization or a well-established company.
Private & Public Companies– With the growing global emergence of the Esports marketspace, industry leaders call on our expertise to ensure they are in full compliance. Our senior team of operators, regulators, AML specialists, law-enforcement professionals, attorneys and accountants provides a detailed examination of, and then recommendations for, Esports related regulations.
Multi-Level Governments – State and national governments seeking to legalize or expand esports recognize that it is critically important to do it right the first time. Therefore, they can on our team of attorneys, regulators, policy analysts and specialists for services that include drafting and amending legislation, developing regulations, structuring gaming commissions, writing RFPs and providing ongoing consultation. We immerse ourselves in the process, working hand in hand with legislators, regulators and staff to ensure that the outcome is comprehensive, compliant and beneficial to both government and industry.
As Esports becomes a truly global phenomenon, there exists a need for a specialized group of multi-discipline experts to provide guidance, advisory, and oversight services. Policymakers, operators, and forward-thinkers who possess a vision in Esports will now have the option to engage in a partnership with Spectrum Esports Advisors for expertise and services.
MICHAEL J.POLLACK
Managing Partner, Spectrum Gaming Group
Michael Pollock oversees a broad portfolio of Spectrum services, including policy and impact studies for country, state and local governments, and financial and market studies for private-sector clients.
Pollock began analyzing the casino industry in 1978 and served as spokesman for the New Jersey Casino Control Commission from 1991 through 1996. He was a close advisor to the chairman and oversaw the Office of Legislative Liaison. During this period of rapid deregulation, his charge was to maintain public confidence in the integrity of the regulatory system.
Pollock is the author of the award-winning book Hostage to Fortune: Atlantic City and Casino Gambling, published by the Center for Analysis of Public Issues in Princeton. The book examines the impact of casinos on Atlantic City and New Jersey. He has testified before the International Tribunal at The Hague, the World Bank in Washington DC, the US Senate Indian Affairs Committee and the US Senate Select Committee on Indian Gaming, and has been a featured speaker at the Congressional Gaming Caucus, a group of US House of Representatives members from gaming jurisdictions. He has also testified before numerous legislative committees throughout the United States.
He has led Spectrum economic analyses in markets throughout North America, as well as in Latin America, Europe and Asia.
Pollock has won 20 journalism awards, and is the former editorial page editor of The Press of Atlantic City. Pollock is often cited by national media outlets, including The New York Times, Star-Ledger, BBC, MSNBC, ABC News and National Public Radio.
Pollock earned his MBA, with high honors, from Rutgers University, and has served as a member of the adjunct faculty of New York University, Rutgers University and Stockton University.
ALEX A. IGELMAN, LL.B
Managing Director, Spectrum Esports Advisors
Alex Igelman, founder of Millennial Esports Corp, is a lawyer with over 28 years of experience in technology, entertainment and gaming. In 1996, Igelman was the first lawyer to focus on Internet gaming and in this regard was instrumental in the early success of both PartyGaming and PokerStars. In 2004, he was involved in the creation and formation of GVC, an AIM listed public gaming company that has since become a giant in the space.
Since 2014, Igelman has been focused on esports. He began a strategic advisory role to Pro Gaming League (PGL), an early esports company that was later acquired by Millennial Esports Corp. In 2016, through a reverse merger, Millennial Esports, the company Igelman founded, debuted on the TSX-V under the symbol GAME – with Igelman taking the helm as CEO. In August 2018, Igelman transitioned from his role as CEO to executive chairman. During his overall tenure at Millennial, Igelman raised in excess of $25,000,000.00 and acquired three companies including mobile developer Eden Games and streaming analytics company, Streamhatchet.
In 2019, Igelman founded Esports Capital Corp. (ECC), a new undertaking that he will lead as managing director. ECC is a company focused on facilitating and curating relevant opportunities in esports and gaming through its network of experts and advisors.
ROBERT HELLER
President & CEO, Spectrum Gaming Capital
Robert Heller is co-founder and CEO of Spectrum Gaming Capital (“SGC”). Mr. Heller has over 35 years experience in investment banking and resort development. Heller has initiated and completed over $50 billion in debt and equity financing and raised the acquisition financing for Baha Mar Resorts as the company’s founding President and CEO.
Heller joined SGC from UBS Investment Bank where he was responsible for coordinating the bank’s gaming franchise globally. Previously, he was president of Heller Gaming & Leisure, a boutique investment banking and advisory firm specializing in casinos, hotels and resort development and finance, and restructurings, operating since 2003. Prior to that, Heller spent 23 years in investment banking, having established and managed teams specializing in gaming, lodging and leisure as a Managing Director of Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns, and at Salomon Brothers.
Notable past transactions include the merger of Penn National and Hollywood Casino Corp., the sale of Caesars World Resorts, Construction financing for the Borgata, the initial public offering of Vail Resorts, development financings for Mohegan Sun and Isle of Capri, the sales of Breckenridge and Steamboat Ski resorts, the first commercial paper offering for Foxwoods, and the first public project financing for a riverboat casino (Hollywood Casino Aurora, IL). In his boutique, Heller performed restructuring advisory work for institutional investor clients including Harbinger Capital and the Committee of Independent Lenders to Station Casinos.
Heller was founding President and CFO of Bahamar Resorts, Ltd., owner of the Cable Beach Resort in Nassau, Bahamas, a 2,000 room, three-hotel, golf resort complex with the Caribbean’s second largest casino. Heller coordinated the Baha Mar project at its onset including land assemblage, hotel acquisitions, operations, strategy (including gaming, hospitality, recreation and timeshare), pre-development, arranged joint ventures, and raised almost $500 million in initial financings.
Heller is a graduate of the City University of New York and began his career as a CPA with Price Waterhouse & Company. He is a frequent speaker at global industry events and has made presentations at gaming, sports and Esports industry conferences throughout North and South America and in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Heller is a former board member of London Exchange listed Dolphin Capital Investors and of the American Gaming Association; and has lectured at the NYU Real Estate Institute and at the Cornell Hotel School.
JOSH FABER
Esports Associate, Spectrum Gaming Group
Josh Faber is currently assisting in the launch of Spectrum’s esports consultancy with some of the premier gaming groups in the world. Faber was most recently Vice President at the Roth Group, a government affairs firm representing Fortune 500 companies, mayors, colleges, CEOs and major Washington, DC trade associations. He directed day-to-day legislative affairs of lobbying and consulting firm owned by former nine-term member of Congress. Faber advised governors, mayors, CEOs, senior academic leaders and Fortune 500 companies on congressional and administration funding issues. His clients have included: Mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico; Mayor of Caguas, Puerto Rico; three Governors of Puerto Rico, Johnson Controls, AT&T, Nestle USA, PhRMA, American Public Power Association, St. Norbert College, NAPCO Security, Magna Entertainment, The Stronach Group, Stockbridge Munsee, Villalba, Puerto Rico; and Yauco, Puerto Rico, among others. He was previously part of the National Republican Senatorial Committee for Chairman Senator Mitch McConnell. Prior to his work with Majority Leader McConnell he worked on Senator Dole’s 1996 Presidential campaign.
DAVID ISAACSON
Vice President, Spectrum Gaming Capital
David Isaacson is Vice President of Spectrum Gaming Capital. Isaacson has been analyzing the gaming industry since 2010. At SGC he works on a broad range of projects, including strategic advisory engagements, market analyses, litigation support, valuation and digital gaming, among other areas.
He joined Spectrum Gaming Capital from Moody’s Investors Service, the top rating agency, where he covered a portfolio of high yield gaming, lodging and cruise companies. In his work at Moody’s, Isaacson was responsible for assigning rating recommendations, monitoring ratings and drafting credit related research on a portfolio of gaming and leisure companies and the industry as a whole. He is particularly skilled at analyzing gaming bank loans, high yield and other forms of corporate debt. Prior to covering the gaming and leisure industry, Isaacson worked for Moody’s Analytics as a Structured Finance Analyst. Isaacson has an MBA from NYU’s Stern School of Business with a concentration in Corporate Finance and Accounting and a Bachelor’s from Yeshiva University, where he majored in Economics and graduated with honors.
STEVEN M. INGIS
Vice President, Legal & Regulatory Services
Steven M. Ingis is an attorney with 33 years of experience in casino gaming regulation. During his tenure with Spectrum, Ingis has been the supervising attorney for investigative services on behalf of casino regulatory agencies in Ohio, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Jamaica, Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. He has testified before legislative bodies in Pennsylvania and New Hampshire regarding casino gaming regulatory issues. Ingis also assisted in the drafting of table games legislation in Delaware and the promulgation of regulations for the Ohio Casino Control Commission. In addition, he recently assisted in drafting the enabling legislation implementing casino gaming in Bermuda and proposed regulations for Massachusetts’ fledgling casino gaming industry.
Prior to joining Spectrum, he was employed by the New Jersey Casino Control Commission from 1982 until retiring in September 2008. As Assistant General Counsel for the Commission, Ingis managed the Licensing Unit in the Office of the General Counsel, and was responsible for all casino employee and entity licensing matters.
Ingis advised the Commission in many of its most notable licensing matters and represented the Commission in numerous court cases, including the 2007 denial of Tropicana Casino Hotel’s license renewal application. In this regard, he successfully argued the appeal from the Commission’s decision in the New Jersey Appellate Division.
Prior to joining the Casino Control Commission, Ingis served as an Assistant Morris County (NJ) Prosecutor and a Deputy Attorney General in the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice, in addition to being employed in private practice.
Ingis holds a BA in History with honors from Stony Brook and a law degree from New York University.
ADAM MORRISON
Esports Associate, Spectrum Esports Advisors
An engineer and executive, throughout the past 10 years, Adam Morrison has served as CTO and COO for various technology based companies whose focuses have ranged from gaming to entertainment to event execution. A life long avid gamer and enthusiast, Adam currently serves as CTO for Millennial Esports Corp. TSX-V: GAME and is also a founding member of its predecessor, Pro Gaming League.
In the recent past, Mr. Morrison has played pivotal roles in many of Millennial’s larger undertakings, some of which include the design and build out of the Millennial Studio and Arena in downtown Las Vegas, the design and production of each of Millennials digital software assets, and also filling the role of executive producer for several of the larger events and competitions that the organization has hosted in the past.
Aside from his work with Millennial, Mr. Morrison is also a co-founder and former CEO for the pro Esports franchise, Team Reciprocity.
Mr. Morrison holds an honors degree in Systems and Computer Engineering.