LAS VEGAS, Nevada – (PRESS RELEASE) -- Representatives from the gaming
entertainment industry's 25 largest suppliers and several gaming companies
were in attendance today as the American Gaming Association (AGA) and five
of its largest member companies announced a new Tier II Diversity Reporting
program for suppliers. The program, which will begin in early 2007,
requires suppliers of participating gaming companies to submit quarterly
reports detailing the amount of business they contract with minority-,
women-, and disadvantaged-owned business enterprises (MWDBEs).
Gaming companies participating in the program include Boyd Gaming
Corporation, Harrah's Entertainment, Inc., MGM MIRAGE, Penn National Gaming
and Station Casinos. Mark Stolarczyk, vice president of corporate
purchasing for MGM MIRAGE and chairman of the AGA Diversity Task Force's
subcommittee on purchasing, announced the program to an audience at The
Mirage Events Center that included representatives from companies such as
Aristocrat Technologies, the Coca-Cola Company, Ecolab and Pepsi-Cola.
"As an industry, we have been long-time champions of diversity, both in
our human resources and procurement and contracting practices," said Frank
J. Fahrenkopf, Jr., president and CEO of the AGA, who gave a brief history
of industry diversity initiatives at the event. "We regard diversity as a
business imperative, and the new Tier II reporting program helps us ensure
our biggest suppliers share that vision, as well as a commitment to
diversity in their procurement and contracting practices."
For now, gaming industry suppliers only will be required to submit
indirect tier II reporting, which means they will be required to report the
total amount of business they do with MWDBEs whether or not the products or
services from those companies are then passed on to gaming companies.
However, according to Stolarczyk, some individual gaming companies will
likely require suppliers to provide direct tier II reporting, meaning they
also will be asked to report on diversity business with vendors and
suppliers whose products get passed on directly to the gaming companies.
While there is currently no threshold suppliers must meet in their
diversity reporting to do business with participating gaming companies,
Stolarczyk pointed out that, when selecting between two similar companies
for procurement and contracting opportunities, the company doing a better
job with diversity practices will have a distinct advantage.
"As gaming companies, we all consider diversity in procurement to be a
critical component of our business practices," Stolarczyk said. "We want
our suppliers to see the need for diversity in this area with that same
level of importance, and this program encourages them to do just that."
Rick Darnold, vice president of strategic sourcing for Boyd Gaming
Corporation, and Punam Mathur, senior vice president of corporate diversity
and community affairs at MGM MIRAGE, also spoke at the event, focusing
particularly on the business case for diversity in the gaming entertainment
industry.
The American Gaming Association (AGA) is the national trade association
for the commercial casino industry. In addition to representing the
interests of its members on federal legislative and regulatory issues, the
AGA serves as a clearinghouse for information, develops educational and
advocacy programs, and provides leadership on industry-related issues of
public concern.