A new Las Vegas-based startup is bringing artificial intelligence to the casino floor. Hey Seven, founded by a former marketing executive with MGM Resorts, Caesars Entertainment, and Seminole Gaming, has launched an AI platform designed to help casino operators identify, engage, and retain premium players through personalized, automated interactions.

The platform combines gaming data, behavioral insights, and AI-driven conversations with players to build what the company describes as a holistic player profile. This allows operators to tailor offers and identify emerging VIP customers more effectively than traditional systems.

“Player development has reached a scale that humans alone simply cannot manage,” said Mikhail Gaushkin, co-founder and chief commercial and revenue officer at Hey Seven. “Hey Seven enables operators to discover high-potential players earlier, build stronger relationships and continuously improve every interaction through AI that learns over time.”

Unlike traditional customer relationship management and casino management systems that primarily analyze historical player activity, Hey Seven’s platform actively communicates with players to gather real-time information about their preferences, travel plans, sentiment, and gaming intent. These conversations generate insights that can be shared across marketing, hotel, food and beverage, and operations departments.

Gaushkin brings more than 25 years of experience in gaming, technology, and marketing. He previously served as senior vice president of marketing and player development for Seminole Gaming and Hard Rock International, and held leadership roles at MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment before moving to technology companies including GoDaddy and JetSmarter.

The platform includes AI tools that automate premium player engagement, recommend incentives, identify potential VIP customers, and monitor communications for responsible gaming considerations. The system is designed for land-based, online, and omnichannel gaming operators and measures the impact of player engagement against control groups to evaluate revenue performance.

The launch comes as casinos increasingly explore AI applications for customer engagement and marketing. In a separate development, Caesars Entertainment disclosed that board member Courtney Mather resigned effective July 6, according to a regulatory filing. Mather had joined the board in 2024 through his connection with investor Carl Icahn.

Meanwhile, Alberta became the second Canadian province to launch a regulated online gaming market, opening opportunities for Las Vegas-linked gaming companies. Caesars Entertainment, BetMGM, DraftKings, FanDuel, and Bally’s are among the operators entering the Alberta market, providing new growth avenues beyond U.S. state-regulated markets.

Sources: Las Vegas Review-Journal, Review-Journal – Gaming News