Advertise on podcast: MaxBet Podcast

Joe Solosky, Managing Director of Sports Betting at NASCAR, joins the podcast for a wide-ranging conversation on what sports betting looks like from a motorsports and league-side perspective. Before helping build out NASCAR's sports betting strategy, Joe spent six years with the FBI, giving him a unique lens on regulation, integrity, and how leagues think about betting partnerships. We talk about how sports betting fits into motorsports, how prediction markets are viewed from the league side, and how quickly "the future" is arriving in this space. It's a practical, thoughtful conversation about where betting, leagues, and regulation are actually intersecting right now.  

Aristocrat CPO Matt Primmer joins MaxBet and gets right into it, including whether he prefers Lightning Link or Buffalo and how he looks at product even when he's off the clock. We chat about his mindset around change and adapting, why doing things the same way as before usually means something is wrong, and how intensity, efficiency, and short meetings shape the way he leads. He also shares why, despite running global product, he is very clear that he is the lowest on the totem pole at home. There is real talk about lessons learned, parenting, club sports, and what balancing product and family actually looks like.

Emily Haruko Life Coach and CEO of Soroca joins the show to talk about what actually improves teams and company culture. Emily works within B2B organizations to help leaders strengthen communication, increase efficiency, and build healthier work environments. A major focus of her work is emotional intelligence. She shares a study where Coca-Cola implemented emotional intelligence training and saw a 15% increase in earnings. We'll have whatever they're having. We also get into how leaders can recognize different employee states, how communication flow impacts performance, and why culture shows up in the "doing". Practical, clear, and relevant whether you lead a team or work within one.

Mark Phillip, CEO of MetaBet and Are You Watching This?!, breaks down the future of sports betting, real-time sports technology, and the rise of prediction markets. An MIT dropout with a brilliant mind for product and data, Mark brings sharp insight and surprising clarity to one of the fastest-moving sectors in gaming. If you work in sports betting, iGaming, trading, or anything tied to real-time sports experiences, this episode is for you.  

Marcus Yoder showed up with clear opinions on M&A in gaming and did not dance around any of them. We talked through a bit of the IGT and Everi merger, how leaders should think about integration, and what actually builds culture once the dust settles. This one leans into people more than deals. How they react. How they stay connected. How you keep a team steady when everything around them is shifting.  If you work with humans in any capacity, this one is for you.

The unregulated U.S. gaming market is worth hundreds of billions, and states are finally starting to realize what they're leaving on the table. This week on the MaxBet Podcast, Shawn Fluharty joins us to talk about how iGaming legislation actually gets passed, who's shaping the conversation behind the scenes, and why education and relationships are the real shortcuts to getting things signed. We cover the gap between lawmakers and operators, the federal vs. state debate, and how regulation could unlock massive new revenue for states ready to move out of the gray market and into the future. It's smart, surprising, and more entertaining than a conversation about legislation has any right to be.

Julia Weygandt came ready with stories about gaming culture, consulting, and one very weird German regulation about free fruit. She's been in this business for more than twenty years and has seen it all; the cultural curveballs, the boardroom dynamics, and the kind of conference stories that only make sense if you've worked in gaming. The industry has grown up a lot in recent years, and we talk about what progress really looks like from the inside. If you've ever smiled through a networking event and questioned all your life choices, this episode is for you. Quick flex: Eilers & Krejcik Gaming is one of our sponsors, which means this episode is officially smarter than it sounds, and they have great taste.

Online casino is changing and not everyone agrees on where it is headed. Ben Clemes and Seth Young from High Roller Technologies join the podcast to talk honestly about regulation, grey markets, sweeps, prediction markets, payments, and what responsible growth should look like in iGaming. Seth brings a sharp perspective on how legal gaps drive product evolution, and Ben explains how operators can balance business goals with player trust. If you are into the business side of iGaming, this one is for you.

IGT has shaped video poker for more than 40 years with games like Double Double Bonus Poker™, Triple Double Bonus Poker™, and Ultimate X Poker™. In this episode of MaxBet Podcast, Hillary McAfee talks with Darnell Johnson and Shannon Bloom about how multi-hand play changed the game, why volatility and configuration matter to players, how bartenders influenced the design of the PeakBarTop™ cabinet, and what makes video poker different from slots. It's the inside story of why video poker remains one of the most iconic and enduring games on the casino floor.   IGT is a proud partner of MaxBet Podcast 

Four days. A million steps. Zero chicken tenders. Hillary sits down with Korbi Carrison to talk about what really goes into pulling off the biggest show in gaming. From live animals on the floor to security guards you'd never spot, Korbi has seen it all in her 25 years at G2E, and she's spilling the tea with us.  We also cover how to actually survive the week- like for real: keeping your body moving, making networking worth it, and avoiding Hillary's infamous Uber Eats order fail at the Venetian. First year or 25th, this one's for you.

Ari Mizrachi is back and standing on business in this episode on true persistence games and advantage slot play. His first appearance in October was one of our most successful and most controversial episodes. Now, Ari returns to share where we are at now and break down why he believes advantage play is detrimental to every facet of the slot economy: operators, suppliers, and players alike. From the economics of advantage slots to the ripple effects across casinos, Ari does not hold back. To close, he delivers his next red-flag warning, a prediction he believes could become the next major threat to the casino industry. Love it or hate it, this is the conversation the gaming industry needs.

Mike is officially signing off after five years behind the MaxBet mic. In this farewell episode, we cover it all. Favorite guests, biggest learnings, funny moments, and the interviews that still get talked about years later. Before he steps away, we talk about what is coming next as Hillary takes the lead and continues building the MaxBet brand. It is a sendoff packed with stories, laughs, and a proper MaxBet vibe from start to finish.

In a MaxBet first, we were handed some top-shelf gaming industry tea. Eclipse Gaming skipped the press release and gave us the exclusive to hard launch their newest C-suite hire. A bold move. We'd say we're honored, but that feels too mature. Newly appointed Chief Product Officer Mike Trask joins the podcast for his first official interview, sharing his vision for Eclipse and where the company is headed next. We dig into hot topics across the gaming industry like the ethics of perceived persistence in slot design, what makes or breaks a product strategy, and at what point in game development does the project tend to go sideways. He also walks us through the worst day of his career- a headline moment on Yahoo News that's either a cautionary tale or a badge of honor, depending who you ask. There's button slapping, screen smashing, a certain CEO who spilled red wine on white carpet, and enough name-dropping to qualify as an industry mixer. If you've ever worked with Mike, talked to him, or accidentally passed him in an airport, you're probably mentioned. This episode was made in partnership with Eclipse Gaming

What actually happens when a casino gets hacked? Do they pay the ransom? Who loses their bonus? And how do you protect your own family from cyber threats when you're in the industry spotlight? On this episode, Melissa Aarskaug joins us to talk about cyber risk in gaming, her personal playbook for online safety (complete with a family safe word… which we're 87% sure is "MaxBet"), and why cybersecurity is not just an IT problem. We cover the GLI Bulletproof report, the ripple effect of digital breaches, and how executives need to lead from the top when it comes to cyber security. She's straight-shooting, smart as hell, and our favorite UNR grad. If you work in gaming and touch tech in any way, this one's a must-listen.

Ever wonder what it was like behind the scenes of the very first Wheel of Fortune slot machine? Spoiler: it involved a Volvo windshield motor, a string, and some serious duct tape energy. We sat down with Jean Venneman from IGT to talk about how a project they hoped would sell a few hundred units turned into a legacy that has made over 1,200 millionaires and changed the casino industry forever. Next year marks 30 years of spinning, winning, and some truly wild jackpot stories. Mike and Hillary also work through some of the worst casino advice people actually give, like why "always split tens" should probably be a jailable offense. Sponsored by IGT, powering today's conversation (and a lot of casino floors). As always, all opinions are our own, for better or worse.