Ashlyn Harrington

🚨 Venue Managers & Athletic Directors: It’s time to kill the game-day spreadsheet. Managing event staff across gates, sections, and zones on a static Excel grid is a nightmare, especially when last-minute call-outs happen. We’re building ROSTR to fix this. Instead of manually typing names into cells, ROSTR auto-deploys your staff to their physical spots instantly. Need to make a game-day adjustment? Just drag and drop to fine-tune your coverage. We are in early development and looking for forward-thinking ops managers to shape it! Check out the sneak peek video below! 👀👇 Link to join the exclusive beta waitlist is in the comments! #VenueOps #FacilityManagement #AthleticDirector #DitchSpreadsheets #TechStartup #EventTech

BetMGM is pleased to announce a new partnership with Tailgate Beach Club at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, Las Vegas’ newest sports and pop culture dayclub. The venue’s grand opening is scheduled for Saturday, May 16, with a high-profile celebration featuring a special live performance by Snoop Dogg. Through this collaboration, #BetMGM will integrate its brand into the experience, including an on-site activation team to introduce new players to the BetMGM app, as well as digital and static signage featuring live odds displays. The venue will serve as a gathering place for BetMGM players, with watch parties centered on marquee matchups and major sporting events. The activation builds on BetMGM’s broader presence across the Las Vegas Strip, which includes nine retail Sports Books at MGM Resorts International properties, and reinforces Nevada’s role as a key market within the company’s omnichannel strategy. Read the full release in the comments ⬇️

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Six Flags Entertainment Corp. (NYSE: FUN) is completing planned layoffs at parks and operations across its U.S. footprint, including Sandusky’s Cedar Point, according to company officials. The staff reductions come as the company works on achieving $120 million in merger-related cost savings by the end of 2025. Executives have previously indicated the cuts would equal a little more than 10% of the business’s full-time U.S. workforce of roughly 5,000. Those financial synergies follow the $1.9 billion acquisition of Six Flags’ former Texas-based parent company by Cedar Fair Entertainment Co., Cedar Point’s prior Sandusky holding company. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gNiJJzZP

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Disney World is kicking off Cool Kids Summer with a host of new and updated attractions for guests like the reimagined Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster starring The Muppets, a brand-new Bluey experience, and so much more. TravelPulse’s Editor-in-Chief Eric Bowman spoke with Jodi Bainter, Vice President of Domestic Leisure Sales for Disney Destinations, to learn more about what travel advisors need to know about this season’s events! Watch the full interview at https://bit.ly/3S1babk. 🏰🪄🫧

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The Walt Disney Company recently named Paul Roeder its Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Communications Officer. Roeder is a 25-year Disney veteran and most recently served as EVP, Communications – Disney Entertainment Studios, Direct-to-Consumer, and International. Roeder oversaw the development and implementation of global communications strategies for The Walt Disney Studios and its collection of world-renowned production studios, including Disney, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, 20th Century Studios, Searchlight Pictures, Disney Theatrical Group, and Disney Music Group. Roeder will report directly to Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro and will be responsible for leading Disney’s worldwide communications and public relations strategy and operations. #disney #business #leadership #communications

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Earlier this week at SBJ DRIVE, our Senior Vice President & General Manager, Michael Sciortino, joined leaders from across sports and entertainment to discuss Transforming Venue Operations Through Technology Leadership. Key themes from the conversation included: - How venues are using innovation to enhance the fan journey - The role of technology in creating more efficient, sustainable operations - Collaboration across teams to deliver seamless experiences at scale A big thank you to Sports Business Journal for hosting this meaningful conversation — and to the fellow panelists for sharing their insights. #UBSArena #SBJDrive #VenueInnovation #TechnologyLeadership

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We're kicking off the ninth season of Experience Imagination with a deep dive into the themed entertainment industry. We sat down with Jakob Wahl, President & CEO of IAAPA, and Melissa Oviedo (Ruminot), CEO of Themed Entertainment Association, to reflect on 2025, the evolving industry challenges, and the future of themed entertainment worldwide. Available on all podcast platforms.🎙️ Check out https://lnkd.in/eEGNVzBn for episode highlights and to listen! #ExperienceImaginationPodcast #FalconsCreativeGroup #ThemeParkDesign #ExperienceDesign

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Your March 2nd hand is dealt. Today’s top gaming industry headlines: 🔹 Strip gaming revenue falls 11% in January, as baccarat hold was cut in half to 13%, driving a 44% drop in baccarat revenue. 🔹 Bally’s Corporation’s buys Bronx casino site for $156.6M, advancing a 500,000-square-foot gaming project after securing one of three downstate licenses. 🔹 Supreme Court voids Trump-era tariffs, but new levies may follow, leaving Nevada industries navigating cost uncertainty and refund demands. 🔹 Alberta’s regulated iGaming launch could approach $1B annually, with up to 70% of play now in the grey market poised to shift. Swipe to read more.

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MARTIN GROVE'S FILM FLASHBACK: MGM STUDIO OPENS 4/26/1924 -- It's been 102 years since MGM's studio opened Apr. 26, 1924, but some of the biggest problems that confronted the new company  are still plaguing Hollywood. New York theatre magnate Marcus Loew formed Metro-Goldwyn to get the volume of quality movies he needed for his growing theatre circuit. Metro Pictures, which he had bought for $3M in 1920, couldn't provide enough good films. Buying financially troubled Goldwyn Pictures for $4.7M (plus $600,000 more for the shares still owned by Sam Goldwyn, who'd already left GP) got him a state-of-the-art 46 acre studio in Culver City, a growling lion logo and a big roster of top acting & directing talent. In those early Hollywood days, no one cared about studios gobbling up other studios. Loew, however, felt Goldwyn's management wasn't up to running his new studio, so on the advice of his attorney, J. Robert Rubin, he also hired indie producer Louis B. Mayer, creating MGM. Loew acquired Mayer, his small studio and his boy wonder production assistant, Irving Thalberg, for the bargain price of $76,500. They, in turn, made MGM a powerhouse studio. Mayer & Thalberg soon found they'd inherited two big production problems from Goldwyn Pictures. The drama GREED was being finished by the notoriously difficult director Eric von Stroheim. His final cut ran 40 reels -- or about six hours! After weeks of pressure, he trimmed it to 24 reels, a running time of nearly 3 1/2 hours. Mayer & Thalberg then put an editor to work on GREED, chopping off two more reels and informing von Stroheim this was the final version. They faced an even worse problem with the action epic BEN-HUR, based on General Lew Wallace's 1880 novel, which director Charles Brabin had been shooting in Italy since October 1923. Realizing it was a budgetary disaster, Loew had Mayer secretly assemble a new team to take over in Italy -- director Fred Niblo, screenwriter Bess Meredyth and Ramon Navarro to replace George Walsh in the title role. Loew sailed to Italy in July, broke the bad news and supervised the changeover before returning to NYC in August. But the new team didn't do any better, as Mayer found out when he visited Rome a few months later. He and Thalberg agreed the only way out was to shut down in Italy, build massive new sets in Culver City and complete production there. That's where the legendary chariot race was finally shot by second-unit director B. Reeves Eason and 62 assistant directors with 42 cameras and using 200,000 feet of film. Production finally wrapped in August 1925. BEN-HUR wound up costing $3.95M -- which would be $60M+ today -- making it Hollywood's most expensive silent movie. Its worldwide release brought MGM $9M, but thanks to the very expensive deal for the film rights that Goldwyn Pictures had made, BEN-HUR didn't return a profit until it was re-released in 1931! (See more at www.ZAMM.com) #movies #martingrove #mgm        

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Bruno Mars is leveraging Las Vegas’ growing role as a global live-entertainment hub to launch his first headlining stadium tour since 2017. Live Nation has announced that “The Romantic Tour” will kick off April 10 at Allegiant Stadium. Commercial relationship between major touring artists, destination venues, and integrated resort operators in Las Vegas remains strong, with MGM Resorts and The Pinky Ring at Bellagio sponsoring all North American dates. Mars has spent the past several years anchored in Vegas through high-profile residencies, performing more than 100 shows at Dolby Live at Park MGM. While no residency dates are currently scheduled, his brand presence remains visible through The Pinky Ring lounge at Bellagio, a Bruno Mars-themed venue that has become part of the Strip’s nightlife ecosystem. The 40-date stadium tour will span North America, Europe, and the UK and supports Mars’ upcoming album, The Romantic, releasing Feb. 27. From a market perspective, the April kickoff is expected to drive increased Strip traffic and non-gaming revenue. Presale tickets begin Jan. 14, with general sales on Jan. 15. Read the full article: https://bit.ly/4pEG3gR

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The leisure and hospitality industry should always compete for sales, attendance and Guest Satisfaction. There’s one area that no one should compete in or retain information in and that’s Safety & Security…. Sharing information about safety and security incidents keeps us all safe as an industry.

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Virginia generated $81m in gaming revenue in January. The 12% year-on-year increase was helped by the launch of two new casinos. Both venues will be in temporary accommodation until 2027, but Live! Casino generated $4.6m in just its first ten days. The Old Dominion is also progressing bills that would allow a new casino to be built in Fairfax County and launch online casino gambling. https://lnkd.in/egHDi_Cz

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At SBJ’s AXS DRIVE, AEG President & CEO Dan Beckerman spoke about his view of open distribution and a non-exclusivity model for ticketing in the sports industry 🎟️ With 30 years in sports, entertainment and venue management, Beckerman cited the music industry, O2 Arena and AEG’s use of five ticketing platforms. He added that Crypto.com Arena has no exclusive ticketing partner, with the Lakers, Kings and Sparks using different platforms to expand fan reach and fill the building. https://ow.ly/ux9N50WXQhj

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PopStroke Entertainment Group to open new venue in Texas, US Golf entertainment experience brand PopStroke is expanding into central Texas, opening a venue in Cedar Park, on April 21. The Cedar Park venue features two 18-hole mini golf courses with interactive screens on every hole and proprietary scoring technology that allows guests to track their game through the PopStroke app, order food and have beverages delivered directly to them on the course. Read more: https://ow.ly/Cipo50YJBKZ

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From Compton High to Live Entertainment 🌟 AEG team members shared with students an inside look at careers across live events, music, sports, and the many ways to build a future in live entertainment 🎶 Seeing what’s possible is the first step to becoming it 💫 More here: https://bit.ly/4rBuRDF Thank you to all participants--and to AEG's @Tamala Lewis for leading this initiative, and our AEG team members who shared their insight and experience with the students: @Nakya Carter, @Chavanté Flakes, @Kyle Robinson, @Juan Mc David, @Jose Rubio, @April Cabrera, @Leilani Alvarez, @Soni Watson. #AEGVoices #WeAreAEG #AEG @AEG Presents - @Goldenvoice - @AEG Global Partnerships - @COMPTON UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

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Notable sports venue trends to watch in the second half of 2025 👀 Our Facilities & Ticketing reporter Bret McCormick shares the key trends he’s keeping an eye on, from fan loyalty and mixed-use growth to new funding models and ticketing shifts. MORE: https://ow.ly/PkiQ50Wpkhp

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