Wheat Ridge, CO – Casino gaming provides a surprising range of high-tech and engineering jobs to Coloradans at a testing lab that ensures the integrity of slot machines and table games at casinos in Black Hawk, Central City, Cripple Creek and around the world. And two weeks before Republican presidential candidates gather in Boulder for a nationally televised debate, the American Gaming Association (AGA), the industry’s Washington, DC-based trade group, wants those candidates to know that there’s a lot more to today’s casino industry than they think.

To convey that message, AGA assembled U.S. Senator Cory Gardner  (R-CO), Congressman Scott Tipton (R-3), Denver-area business and community leaders and testing engineer at Gaming Laboratories International (GLI) in Wheat Ridge on Wednesday for a tour of the lab and roundtable discussion.

“We aren’t your grandfather’s casino industry, but a nationwide economic engine that provides high-paying Colorado jobs in a diverse ranges of fields,” said Geoff Freeman, president and CEO of the AGA. “While most Coloradans don’t see the casinos everyday, the industry makes significant contributions to the state and its residents for education, tourism and more. As candidates campaign in Colorado, it’s incumbent upon them to better understand the role of gaming in the state and the strong partnerships we’ve formed with local leaders.”

*Fact Sheet: How Casinos Uphold the Integrity of Games

GLI hosted the event as part of AGA’s ongoing, nationwide Gaming Votes initiative, through which the industry is educating presidential candidates about gaming and informing gaming employees – voters – about where candidates stand on gaming and a wide array of business issues that matter to the industry.

Joining the members of Congress in Wheat Ridge on the panel today were: Mackenzie Haugh, director of engineering at GLI; Brian Watts, regional vice president of operations at Isle of Capri, which owns and operates Isle Casino Hotel Black Hawk; Genevieve Wooden, Wheat Ridge City Councilor; and Jeff Wasden, president of the Colorado Business Roundtable. Staffers for Congressman Ed Perlmutter and Governor John Hickenlooper also attended.

“There is much more to the gaming industry than the traditional frontline jobs most people think of,” said Brian Watts, Isle of Capri Regional Vice President of Operations. “With 23 years in the industry, I’ve seen first-hand, the diverse quality opportunities gaming has to offer our community. We need to ensure that the presidential candidates vying for our votes understand the powerful impact this industry has on our community.”

Casino gaming supports more than half-a-million jobs and contributes $75 billion to local communities in key presidential states including Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and others. Since launching Gaming Votes in February, AGA has held events with community leaders, gaming employees and members of Congress in Nevada, Iowa and Ohio.

With over 200 unique career paths offered, the gaming industry has provided a path to the middle class for thousands of workers. 

GLI’s mission is to provide world-class testing, certification and professional services to the global gaming industry, with specialties that include technical consulting, regulator training, iGaming testing and lottery testing. Since moving to its current facility last December, GLI has grown its local workforce by 20 percent to more than 115 employees, many of whom are graduates from Colorado colleges and universities.

About AGA: The American Gaming Association is the premier national trade group representing the $240 billion U.S. casino industry, which supports 1.7 million jobs in 40 states. AGA members include commercial and tribal casino operators, suppliers and other entities affiliated with the gaming industry. It is the mission of the AGA to be the single most effective champion of the industry, relentlessly protecting against harmful and often misinformed public policies, and paving a path for growth, innovation and reinvestment.