PlayStar introduces its newly formed Advisory Board

PlayStar, one of the top 10 online casinos in New Jersey, has announced the creation of a new Advisory Board. The board will support the company’s efforts to sustain its growth in The Garden State while exploring further expansion opportunities.

Comprised of John Finamore, Jai Maw, Carl Sottosanti, Alison Digges, Richard J. St. Jean and Terrence Gray – six luminaries from within the iGaming and investor communities– the Advisory Board will look to pool its wealth of combined knowledge to build on PlayStar’s success and take the brand to even greater heights.

John Finamore is a former Penn National Gaming and Station Casinos Executive with over 40 years of experience in hospitality and casino gaming. Throughout his career, he has been responsible for more than $3bn in annual revenues, 15 distinct properties and 8,000+ employees.

Jai Maw is the Co-founder and President of Betting Hero – one of the industry’s leading customer acquisition and retention companies. Since 2018, the business has attracted more than 600,000 new customers for leading operators across North America and is trusted as a voice-of-customer expert. Maw has been recognized by Global Gaming Business and Gaming Intelligence respectively as a 40 Under 40 and Hot 50 recipient.

Alison Digges has held significant roles in the online gaming industry at the C-suite level, most recently as the Managing Director of UK & Ireland at Entain PLC, where she was also a member of the Digital Board. Before that, she worked at IGT as Vice President of Europe, overseeing the P&L for their high-growth gaming and lottery business. Over the past four years, she has served as an advisory board member for several start-ups and also been a board member for The Restaurant Group during its time as a publicly listed company, up until its acquisition by Apollo Global.

Carl Sottosanti started his legal career at a large Philadelphia law firm. Following several corporate positions, he joined Penn National Gaming in 2003, where he specialized in M&A, corporate governance, commercial transactions, and compliance, last serving as EVP and General Counsel. He has been retired since 2021and has provided advisory services to various gaming and technology companies, as well as companies looking to enter the industry.

Richard J. St. Jean brings over 35 years of experience in the gaming and hospitality industry. Most recently serving as COO of Morongo Casino Resort & Spa, he has held senior executive roles at prominent companies such as Caesars Palace, Station Casino, and Penn Gaming. Richard is also the founder of Coastal Gaming, LLC.

Terrence Gray is a global investment management executive with over 30 years of experience leading strategy and driving growth for premier financial institutions, including Lazard, Global Thematic Partners, Deutsche Asset Management, Southern Bridge Capital, and Scudder Investments. Throughout his career, he has successfully raised over $5 billion across private and public markets.

Peter Ekmark, Chief Executive Officer at PlayStar, said: “At PlayStar, we’re incredibly proud of the significant strides our brand has made in the New Jersey market. Breaking into the state’s top 10 in 2024 is a true testament to how far we’ve come.

“That said, we’re not content to rest on our success – our goal is to continue building on this momentum and become a leading force in the industry, not only in New Jersey but across North America. The creation of our Advisory Board will help us achieve this by leveraging the collective expertise of five highly talented individuals from the casino and hospitality sectors.”