Dr. Fisher, founding partner of both Convergence Strategy Group and Leisure Dynamics Research, has broad economic expertise which makes him incredibly adept with a wide range of analytical tools. He has performed feasibility studies, market analyses and economic impact assessments for casinos, hotels, theme parks, airports, arenas and convention facilities for clients in both the public and private sector throughout the world. He frequently prepares operational audits of existing casinos and hotels for the purpose of consulting on departmental inefficiencies. He also performs various asset valuations to evaluate potential property sales, purchases and litigation processes. To determine the ultimate viability of a new property, Dr. Fisher’s analyses typically require the preparation of complex, detailed operating pro formas.

Dr. Fisher’s reports played a role in securing financing for some of the world’s largest gaming resorts, including the Wynn Resorts and Melco PBL developments in Macau. His global experience also includes gaming and resort feasibility projects in: Japan; Australia; Cambodia; Canada; C.N.M.I; Cyprus; Germany; Hungary; Laos; Latvia; Myanmar; Philippines; Singapore; South Korea; Spain; Taiwan; U.K.; U.S.V.I.; and Vietnam. He has also been active in analyzing the feasibility of casino and resort developments in his regional home market on the Gulf Coast, including resort project feasibility analyses in the Lake Charles, suburban New Orleans, Biloxi and Bay St. Louis, Mississippi markets. These analyses projected gaming revenues, hotel demand and operating cash flow from operations, ultimately used for gaming license acquisition efforts and transactions such as project financing and M&A activities.

Dr. Fisher is a former co-owner of Riverwalk Casino in Vicksburg, Mississippi, former co-owner of Casino Monte Lago in Lake Las Vegas, Nevada, and was approved for an individual Nevada gaming license in 2009. Prior to forming Leisure Dynamics Research, LLC in 2009, Dr. Fisher was a partner of Innovation Capital, Innovation Project Development, and was Managing Director of the casino and leisure consulting firm The Innovation Group, a position he held from 1997 to 2009.

Dr. Fisher has a Ph.D. in Economics from Tulane University with a focus on International Trade, Industrial Organization and Public Finance and an MBA from the Freeman School of Business at Tulane University with a concentration in Finance, with Beta Gamma Sigma honors. Concurrent with the Ph.D. program, Dr. Fisher was an instructor of Public Finance, Law and Economics, Microeconomics and Macroeconomics.

Dr. Fisher serves on the Board of the Arts Council of New Orleans as well as the organization’s Finance Committee.

sfisher@convergencestrat.com

• “Data Centric: Check the Freshness Date.” Global Gaming Business, May 2022.
• “Island Fever”, discussing legalization of gaming in Taiwan. Global Gaming Business, March 2009.
• “The Asian Experience,” Q&A interview. Casino Design, 2008.
• “Asian Excitement” discussing Macau’s parallel as the Las Vegas of Asia, and how other existing and emerging Asian markets compare to large U.S. markets. Global Gaming Business, December 2006.

• 2020 ICE North America moderator/speaker, “How Non-Gaming Amenities Can Draw Customers Back to Your Property”;
• 2013 Southern Gaming Summit speaker, “Non-Gaming Amenity Technology Changes, 2020”;
• 2010 Global Gaming Expo (G2E) speaker, “Singapore: Integrated Resort Model or Stand-Alone Success?”;
• 2008 G2E Asia moderator “The Macau Market: How Much is Too Much?”;
• 2008 Southern Gaming Summit panelist, “Fighting for Finance”;
• 2007 G2E panelist in session “Emerging Gaming Markets Asia”, with presentation “Asian Gaming Expansion Potential Opportunities”;
• 2007 Goldman Sachs Investment Forum at G2E Asia “Betting the Bank: Profitability and Performance of the Asian Gaming Market”;
• 2005 G2E panelist “Meeting in Macau: A Report on the First Year of Expanded Gaming”;
• 2004 Asian Gaming Expo, Singapore, panelist on gaming market potential in emerging markets;
• 2004 G2E panelist “Macau: Explosive Growth, A Risky Experiment or Both?”;
• 2003 Racino, session on racino expansion;
• 2002 G2E, panelist on racino legislation and emerging markets.

Founding partner of both Renaissance, L.L.C. and Convergence Strategy Group, Ms. Leckert has been providing planning and analytical services to clients globally since 2003. Holding the American Planning Association’s AICP credential, Ms. Leckert is skilled in strategic planning and the use of analytical tools, including geographic information systems (GIS). She routinely performs market research, feasibility studies, financial analyses, planning studies, and competitive assessments, giving her clients in the private, tribal and public sectors the data and insights they need to make critical decisions.

Ms. Leckert was nominated as one of the Great Women of Gaming as a “Game Changer” in 2018, was awarded the LA-APA’s “Excellence Award” for the Shreveport Common Market Assessment in 2015, and was named by Global Gaming Business as an “Emerging Leader” in the casino gaming industry, 2013/2014. During her successful career, she has evaluated the practicality and feasibility of large and small-scale developments across the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, Central America, Europe, and Africa. Her clients have included: Wynn Resorts, Rush Street Gaming, Greater Kansas Racing Alliance, Ajax Downs, Peninsula Pacific, Wilmorite, Caesars Entertainment, Isle of Capri, Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas, Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana, General Assembly of the State of Delaware, Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, Government of Bermuda, Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, Regional Planning Commission of New Orleans, and Plaquemines Port Harbor and Terminal District, Lafourche Parish, and the City of Gretna, Louisiana.

Ms. Leckert previously worked for TMG Consulting as Director of Gaming, Feasibility and Land Use Analysis, and was the Director of Development Analysis at The Innovation Group. Serving the City of New Orleans, Ms. Leckert was a City Planner and Special Assistant to the Planning Director. Her nearly two decades of work experience includes a staff position with U.S. Senator John Breaux and one with the Tax and Estates practice of the law firm Jones Walker.

Ms. Leckert has a Master of Urban and Regional Planning from the University of New Orleans, and a Master’s Certificate in Historic Preservation. In her graduate studies, Ms. Leckert assessed the economic impact of historic district designation, and made recommendations for the revitalization and redevelopment of historic neighborhoods and commercial corridors.

Ms. Leckert is a devoted family-woman, currently raising three young children with her husband. She also dedicates her time to mentoring young professional planners, as well as to her church, great causes and charitable organizations including Edible Schoolyard New Orleans, the Preservation Resource Center, and the Louisiana Children’s Museum.

spleckert@convergencestrat.com

• “Texas Teases, #4 top trend in of Back to Basics: 10 Trends for 2023,” GGB Magazine, November 29, 2022.
• “Data Centric: Check the Freshness Date.” Global Gaming Business, May 2022.
• “Online Elephant in the Room.” iGaming Business North America, Q2 2019.
• “Sports Betting and Tribes: A Long and Winding Road.” iGaming Business North America, Q3 2018.
• “Change on the Table: Implications of Sports Betting for Native American Tribes.” iGaming Business North America, November 2017.
• “First and Fast . . . or Later and Last, Project Planning to Getting the License.” Global Gaming Business, 2012.
• “A Change in the Caribbean Rhythm.” Casino Enterprise Management, 2008.

• “Industry Emerging Leaders,” Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association Conference 2023, Panelist.
• Global Gaming Women Luncheon, Southern Gaming Summit 2021, Moderator.
• “Women in Gaming,” SBC North America 2020, Sponsor & Speaker.
• “Data Analytics for Marketing: Quantitative Research to Help Maximize Your Customer Base,” Speaker, Global Gaming Expo (G2E) 2019, Moderator/Speaker.
• “UIGEA, the Wire Act, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and State-Regulated Sports Wagering in the US,” Panelist, National Council of Legislators from Gaming States Summer 2019, Panelist.
• “How a Diverse Workforce Reinvigorates Your Team,” Southern Gaming Summit, May 2019, Panelist.
• “UIGEA, the Wire Act, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and State-Regulated Sports Wagering in the U.S.: can this legal quartet ever be harmonized or is all just jumbled jazz?” International Masters of Gaming Law Spring Conference 2019, Panelist.
• “Shreveport Common: Using Hard Numbers to Validate and Implement the Vision,” American Planning Association, Louisiana Chapter 2015 State Conference, Moderator/Panelist.
• “Tools for Assessment of Markets,” University of New Orleans, Department of Planning & Urban Studies, Analytical Methods (graduate course), 2009.