What Happens in Vegas Shouldn’t Always Stay in Vegas
Author: Ashlee Olujic, Director of Tribal and Community Engagement at ICRG
What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, right?
Maybe that works for the questionable karaoke choice (or scare-aoke), the shoes that seemed comfortable at the beginning of the day, or the exact number of snacks and freebies collected from exhibit booths. But the conversations, ideas, and relationships formed at G2E should absolutely come home with us.
G2E created an incredible space for Tribal leaders, regulators, operators, researchers, and responsible gaming professionals to connect. Tribal voices were present throughout the conference, helping lead conversations about sovereignty, innovation, regulation, emerging technology, community investment, and the future of gaming.
The conference did what a great conference should do: it brought people together.
The next part is up to us.
A Business Card Is Just the Beginning
Conferences are wonderful places to make introductions. We exchange business cards, connect on LinkedIn before the other person has even walked away, and confidently say, “We should definitely follow up!”
Then we return home, unpack the conference tote bag, put the business cards somewhere “safe,” and open an inbox that somehow doubled in size while we were gone.
That is when the relationship-building begins.
In my work with Tribal communities, I have learned that trust develops through consistency. It means remembering what someone shared, sending the information you promised, making the introduction you offered, and continuing to show up after the conference badge comes off.
A conference conversation may be brief, but it can become the beginning of something meaningful.
It might lead to a research partnership, an employee training, a webinar, a youth prevention initiative, a new Tribal responsible gaming resource, or simply another conversation with the right people at the table.
Not every introduction needs to become a five-year strategic plan by Tuesday morning. Relationships take time. Still, we should be intentional about carrying the momentum forward.
Turning Listening Into Action
One of the greatest benefits of attending a conference like G2E is the opportunity to listen directly to Tribal leaders and professionals working closest to the issues.
They may raise questions about youth exposure, digital gambling, sports betting, prediction markets, employee education, player protection, or gaps in Tribal-specific research. Those conversations help organizations like ICRG better understand where research and education may be most useful.
Listening is the first step. Follow-through is what gives that listening meaning.
If a Tribal leader identifies a research gap, the next step might be bringing that question to researchers. If employees need additional responsible gaming education, it might mean exploring a new training opportunity. If a community is concerned about youth exposure to gambling-like products, it might begin with another meeting focused on teen gambling prevention.
The goal is not to leave a conference with all the answers. The goal is to leave with better questions, stronger relationships, and a clearer understanding of what communities are asking for.
Building a Complete Pathway Toward Tribal Responsible Gaming
Conference conversations also remind us that responsible gaming cannot exist as one isolated program.
Research should inform prevention, employee education, leadership decisions, and player protection tools. Those efforts should connect individuals and families with appropriate community support. Community experience should then help shape the next generation of research questions.
When these pieces are connected, responsible gaming becomes a pathway rather than a checkbox.
Tribal Nations must remain at the center of determining what that pathway looks like within their own communities. Every Nation has its own government, culture, history, gaming environment, resources, and priorities. Respecting Tribal sovereignty means recognizing that communities should help define both the questions and the solutions.
Pack the Ideas With the Lanyard
As a Native woman working in responsible gaming research and Tribal engagement, I left G2E encouraged by the Tribal leadership, knowledge, and collaboration I saw throughout the conference.
I also came home with a responsibility to follow through.
Conferences give us the opportunity to meet, listen, learn, and imagine what might be possible. What happens afterward determines whether that momentum continues.
So yes, leave the questionable karaoke performance in Vegas.
But bring home the conversations, the commitments, and the willingness to keep building relationships that create lasting value for Tribal communities.
