Entertainment
Speakers Announced For Pollstar Live! Casino Entertainment Panel: Transitioning To The Next Era – Pollstar News
Choctaw Casinos & Resort’s Deana Baker, WME’s Dan Boyle, MGM Resorts International’s Paul Davis, Houston Productions’ Kell Houston and Danny Wimmer Presents’ Joe Moallempour are confirmed as speakers at Pollstar Live! 2025 for the panel Casino Entertainment: Transitioning to the Next Era. The panel will be moderated by Christian Printup, vice president of entertainment at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut.
With many of the legacy artists that have traditionally been the backbone of casino entertainment now well into their 70s, casino bookers are faced with a drastically different talent pool over the next 10 years. Among the questions to be answered during this panel: Have talent agencies changed their thinking about booking casinos? What’s in the comedy pipeline to play gaming resorts? How will sellers approach pricing for gaming buyers given these evolving artist rosters? What data do casino buyers use to evaluate talent?
The world’s largest gathering of live entertainment professionals is set for Feb. 18-20 at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles. The three-day Pollstar Live! conference is the flagship event for Pollstar and offers engaging discussions and keynote conversations led by the top visionaries and executives in the live business along with plenty of networking opportunities.
The event starts with Production Live!, the one-day companion conference that features insightful panels and discussions from industry professionals on all topics related to putting on live events including lighting, video, concert production and more.
Previously announced speakers confirmed for 2025’s edition of Pollstar Live! include
Bryan Benson of C3 Presents, Kiely Mosiman and Lee Anderson of Wasserman Music, Rich Schaefer of AEG Presents, Steve Schenck of TKO, Bruce Solar of Paladin Artists and Del Williams of Danny Wimmer Presents.
Production Live! speakers include Rich Thomson of Dreamliner, Ray Waddell of Oak View Group, Lenore Kinder of Wasserman Music, Wayne Linder of Pioneer Coach and Rachael Bronstein of Life’s Jam.
The Pollstar Live! schedule will include artist Q&As, interactive industry “Town Halls” and more industry topics and issue-related content than ever before, including genre-specific analyses and sector-oriented drill downs for talent buyers, festivals, venues, promoters, agents, marketers, ticketers, tech, casinos, merchandisers, branding specialists, safety/security professionals and international event producers. Among the topics addressed are Are We in a Market Correction?, ROCK IS BACK!, South Asian Artists & Markets: Is it a Niche or a Trend?, and State of Mid-Level & Boutique Festivals.
Production Live! will once again seek to facilitate engagement between the primary industry of tour planners, managers, agents and promoters, with the highly-skilled road teams tasked with executing the artist’s vision on the stage. Topics include National Tour Deals vs. Market-By-Market: What It Means for Production Teams, Best Laid Plans: Reconciling Touring Ambition with Reality, DAY-OF-SHOW: Who Has Their Sh*t Together (AND Who Doesn’t)?, and Staying Mentally, Physically and Financially Healthy on the Road, as well as the return of the popular Tour Managers Roundtable: Ask Us Anything!
Stay tuned for more announcements and 2025 speakers.
The 2024 edition of Pollstar Live! set a record in attendance with a lineup of speakers that included Pearl Jam’s Jeff Ament, Los Angeles Clippers Chairman Steve Ballmer; Jon Bon Jovi; Full Stop Management CEO Jeffrey Azoff; Executive Chairman and CEO of Sphere James L. Dolan; Live Nation President of U.S. Concerts Bob Roux; Tedeschi Trucks Band’s Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks; CEO of Oak View Group (Pollstar parent company) Tim Leiweke; CAA Head of Music, Partner and Managing Director Rob Light and many more.
Pollstar Live! also includes the 36th annual Pollstar Awards celebrating the live entertainment industry’s most innovative artists, venues, companies, tours and executives.
The most recent Pollstar Awards show was held at the iconic Wiltern in Los Angeles and was hosted by comedian, author and actor Tom Papa.
Pollstar Live! 2025 is presented by Lockton and Ticketmaster.
Visit https://www.pollstar.live/ for more information and to register for Pollstar Live!