Consumer >> Sector Roundtables >> March 22, 2004
WILLIAM J. LERNER is the Senior Gaming Analyst at Prudential Equity
Group, LLC. Prior to focusing on gaming and lodging, Mr. Lerner covered
the TV and radio broadcasters as an Associate Analyst. His experience
also includes coverage of Mexican telecoms and strategy at Deutsche
Morgan Grenfell in New York and Mexico City. He is the author of The
Irwin Directory of Emerging Market Brokers, published by Irwin
Professional Publishing in 1996. Mr. Lerner received a BA from Syracuse
University and an MBA from Boston University. Profile
BRYAN MAHER is a Director and Senior Equity Analyst with Credit Lyonnais
Securities (USA), Inc. He is currently responsible for providing equity
research on 20 US companies in the lodging and gaming industries. Prior
to joining Credit Lyonnais in 1999, Mr. Maher was at Deutsche Banc Alex.
Brown (and its predecessor companies BT Securities and BT Alex. Brown)
and Dean Witter Reynolds. Mr. Maher was also an analyst at the Trump Taj
Mahal in Atlantic City, New Jersey, from 1990 to 1991. Mr. Maher
received a BS in Finance from Clemson University and has an MBA in
Strategic Management from Georgia State University. He has made numerous
appearances on the various financial news networks and has been widely
quoted in media publications on topics related to the US lodging, gaming
and leisure industries. William Schmitt is an Analyst at CIBC World
Markets, covering the hotels/lodging/casinos industry, among other
sectors. He was previously a gaming and lodging analyst at Wasserstein
Perella and Gerard Klauer Mattison. Mr. Schmitt received a BA from
hobart College and an MBA in Finance from Fordman University. Profile
from an operating point of view?
Mr. Maher: We essentially had a downturn in lodging stock prices as we
went into the
