 Welcome to Casino Life... And a back-to-back issue... Apologies however, for a gloomy start but overall it's been a bad month all round with people leaving us far too soon. As I write this I've just heard about Peter Mead from CEM passing away and that is on top of the sad news about my friend Peter Bodell. As anyone who met him would testify, Peter was a man with a sparkling sense of humour, charm and a generous spirit; I still have the exclusive gold membership card for the VIP National Casino in Moscow after all these years. He formally handed it over in the middle of a crowd of industry giants. The room went quiet and he winked as he said: "I hope you realise you can't apply to be a member here- you are chosen." He then added lowly me to the official list of celebs such as Jose Carreras and Roger Waters who had had the fortune to meet him and become exclusive members. I also remember him bailing a group of us out of the clutches of armed militia at 3.00am at a chilly -20, but that's another story. The reason that these untimely events shock is because they happen so early to people we know. They are sometimes colleagues and friends who share our interests, our passion for the industry. They know what it's like to be part of this rollercoaster ride from the Lada taxi with no floor to the handshake with Mike Tyson. But, on reflection we should not be that surprised. The industry we love is founded on stress, late nights, endless flights and a generally unhealthy environment - and that eventually takes its toll. This is perhaps the message to us all - to take stock.  Our lead story this issue is the Mohegan Sun and quite rightly. Everyone knows it's a major concern but were you aware that it has more than 10 million visitors a year and generates the highest gross gaming revenue for any single property in the Western Hemisphere? Me neither. Interesting also that for its first major overseas expansion it has its eye firmly on South Korea - with an initial development phase costing $1.6 billion. Impressive. This edition also contains one of our regular Technology in Casinos supplements (right) where we have exclusive Guest Editor comment from James Boje Managing Director EMEA, Aristocrat Technologies, followed by an interview with Gavin Isaacs President & CEO, and Ken Jolly, VP of Scientific Games Asia. Back to the main edition we have an interview with Marcus Prater President of AGEM followed by part 2 of the Mark Wayman, interview, Founder and CEO of The Foundation, LLC who gives out some more advice to those seeking better employment elsewhere. Meanwhile, Robert Ambrose urges us to "Stop training and start educating!"
Have a differing view on any of my ramblings? Want to be interviewed and put your venue on the map? Then please drop us a line or forward this to a friend. Glyn Thomas Editor in Chief | 
