Executive Compensation at the American Gaming Association

The American Gaming Association (AGA) is a tax-exempt, non-profit trade association (a 501 (c) 6) that promotes, educates, and lobbies on behalf of its members in the gaming industry including casino operators and makers and suppliers of gaming products.

There are 50 independent voting members (directors) of the governing body, although 49 (46 males and 3 females) are listed on the most recent Form 990.  Based in Washington, DC, AGA also sponsors the annual major gaming trade show referred to as “The Global Gaming Expo” in Las Vegas, Nevada but also hosts a trade show (the Global Gaming Expo Asia) annually (in Macau or Manila in the past).

The most recent Form 990 (2018) reports the AGA raises about $18 million annually and relies on two sources for income:  trade shows and workshops ($11 million) and membership dues ($7 million).  Expenses totaled $16 million with the largest two expenses reported to be compensation ($6 million) and fees for services for consultants and contractors ($6 million).

33 employees received $6 million in compensation, which equates to an average compensation of $182,000. However, only 14 employees received more than $100,000 in compensation with the 8 most highly compensated employees reported to be:

• $1,315,439:  Geoffrey Freeman, President and CEO (thru 7/31/18)
• $  717,393:  Sara Slane, SVP
• $  426,578:  Stacy Papadopoulos, Interim CEO, Secretary, and Treasurer
• $  340,348:  Christopher Cylke, VP
• $  325,664:  Casey Clark, VP
• $  264,330:  Allison Barth, VP
• $  195,822:  Eloy Martinez, Senior Director
• $  167,348:  Jonathan Michaels

The AGA paid for first class or charter travel and health or social club dues or initiation fees. See the Form 990, Schedule J, Part III, Supplemental Information for more detail.

The AGA made contributions ($118,500) to the 457 F Plan for Geoffrey Freeman.

18 independent contractors received more than $100,000 in compensation with the five (5) highest reported to be:

• $820,238:  High Lantern Group, of NY, NY for strategic planning
• $445,303:  Forbes Tate Partners LLC, of Washington, DC for strategic communications
• $411,400:  Heart and Mind Strategies, Inc, of Reston, VA for research
• $368,760:  Dan Bretl, of Vienna, VA for consulting
• $192,000:  Andrew Smith, of Buffalo, NY for consulting

To read the IRS Form 990 (2018), click here.