Episode Transcript
Emily Haruko (00:19)
Hello and welcome everyone! This is your host of Saroca Speaks, Emily, and I'm joined today, of course, by my beautiful co-host.
Claire Adamou (00:28)
It's Claire
Emily Haruko (00:29)
And we have a phenomenal guest with us today, the lovely and talented and absolute legend, Rebecca Liggero Welcome to Saroca Speaks.
Becky Liggero (00:41)
Thank you so much for having me. I love seeing you guys here. makes me smile. So big.
Emily Haruko (00:46)
It's so great, it's so good. Listen, Bex, you've been a friend for 15 years. We have so much history and memories together, building a friendship, working alongside each other. And there's much I could say about you and all your accomplishments and who you are as a human. But I'm gonna put it on you. If someone was gonna introduce you and describe who are you in the world and what do you do, what would you hope that they would say about you?
Becky Liggero (01:12)
Well, I think for sure when it comes to what I do, I identify most with being able to interview people and for them to have an amazing experience doing it. I would love for my interviewees to walk away and be like, that was so fun. I enjoyed it. I was nervous at first, but it was actually a great time and now I want to do it again. So I identify more with that than maybe what some people think that I would identify with as a journalist or reporter.
It's more about the people I interact with and getting them to talk about the subjects that they're super passionate about. And this is like everything that I love to do in my life in terms of work, in terms of my spare time. love spending time with amazing people. You guys both know I'm a total people person. So really fortunate that my job is something that I absolutely love to do, which is the advice I would give anyone into this world as to how to build an amazing career.
but that's a whole other subject.
Emily Haruko (02:07)
Well, we are going to get into all of that today from the amazing network that you have and maybe what some of the qualities that you come by totally naturally and honestly.
are that generate that. We're going to talk a little bit about your career from account manager in the online gaming space to industry reporter to now working in the blockchain space. We're going to talk a little bit about your personal growth journey and what this wild ride has elicited in terms of your personal and professional growth. Yeah, we'll take a little trip down memory lane. For anyone that's listening, we hope you enjoy the ride.
Claire Adamou (02:44)
Amazing. So why don't we start there? Why don't we start in memory lane? So thinking about your time with GPWA, you lived, you were born in Boston, right? So it's not just live, breathe Boston. You were from Boston. You've now been a UK citizen, not just living here. You're actually a citizen now, which I'm sure you are so proud on and we can touch on that.
Becky Liggero (02:42)
Love it. Bring it up.
Claire Adamou (03:07)
As Emily mentioned, you are an onsite reporter for Calvin Air and now you're in the blockchain space with CoinGeeks. So your career has pivoted a number of times. At what turning point did you realize that this was a wildly unique path that you took?
Becky Liggero (03:26)
Yeah, I'd say pretty early on that journey. 20 years ago, 20 years ago and a half actually is when I started working in the online gambling space. That was through GPWA slash Casino City. And actually Casino City didn't even own GPWA at the time. This is that far back. And I stumbled across that job opportunity.
Emily Haruko (03:28)
Okay.
Becky Liggero (03:45)
It was in a newspaper, like a hard copy newspaper.
did not know it was going to be online gambling. It was just account manager. And so, you know, I walked into the office and had a series of interviews with Michael Corfman, who perhaps some of the listeners know, who's a beautiful human being. I still see him to this day and just love him. So much respect for him. And they were like, we want young blood. This is great. I was young back then. And so, you know, I ended up getting that job.
Emily Haruko (04:09)
Okay.
Becky Liggero (04:13)
So this is where everything just, my life just completely changed, completely changed. So pretty quickly they were like, okay, with your personality, we're going to start sending you to events. We want you to represent the brand and deal with the affiliate managers in person. So I was like,
yeah, great. Started traveling, hit the events in Montreal, GIGse back then, the CAC, the Casino Affiliate Convention in Amsterdam, started meeting Claire, this is where I met you.
Emily Haruko (04:30)
you
Claire Adamou (04:39)
Yeah.
Becky Liggero (04:40)
going to all these conferences, meeting so many amazing people. And I was like 30 years old, single, like, this is awesome. So I could go on and on. Let me, let me try to convince it. So after about five years of that, I met Calvin Air, who was representing, you his brand back then, the Bodog brand. And he was doing conferences and going to events and things. And I was like, this brand's awesome.
Emily Haruko (04:47)
you
Becky Liggero (05:04)
This man is amazing. Like I want to work for this company really bad, but it was like such a long shot. But to make a long story short, ended up introducing myself to him at his conference. We kept in touch. And then about a year down the line, more, maybe more than that, a couple of years down the line, sorry, four years, he decided to launch a media site. And he's like, look,
Emily Haruko (05:26)
Mm hmm.
Becky Liggero (05:28)
calls me out of the blue. He's like, I need a face of this media site. And this is where Emily and I started working together. And he's like, what do you think? And I'm like, man, I don't do video stuff. This was like before video was cool. This was like video was something that was just brand new at that time. No iPhones to shoot videos of. I swear to God, I'm.
Emily Haruko (05:48)
I do often say CalvinAyre.com I do often say CalvinAyre.com
was the first website that like there was some other like industry kind of news sites kind of, but it was like the first dedicated place that was covering.
Becky Liggero (05:58)
Yeah.
First one. Yes.
Emily Haruko (06:03)
everything and anything iGaming related. That was my experience. Of course, I'm a little biased.
Becky Liggero (06:07)
It was the first.
Yeah. So basically, you know, he's like, I think you'll be really good at it. So, you know, I'm like, hell yeah, I'm going to do this. So I ended up leaving Casino City and going to work for Calvin and some other people that he had on his team already, Emily's cousin. And we started this site.
And I just went in there and I was so nervous at first. I didn't know what I was doing. I knew the industry, but not how to act on camera. Really uncomfortable. I was like sweating. I was like terrified. And Emily, poor Emily, had to deal with me back in the day when I was so nervous. To what? Oh God. Even when I look back to my first videos, I'm like, Oh my God. But anyway, so that was, Oh my God, tell me. No, go, go.
Emily Haruko (06:43)
It's really beautiful to watch your growth and your journey. Yeah.
tell you our very first, sorry, I'll tell you
our very first gig and we met for the very first time in Vancouver, downtown Vancouver, ⁓ Yaletown, J Todd, Calvin Air, August 2009, that's when that was, August 2009. We go out on this yacht with two promo models, J Todd, Becky, me, Fawn, Calvin.
Becky Liggero (07:03)
Which ain't hard, yeah.
I just saw, by the way.
Yeah.
Emily Haruko (07:20)
And I think that was about it. And our whole, the gig was to film us, you know, rolling around this yacht in English Harbor and have Becky and J Todd and Calvin having a great time. And that was the first time we met back. So that was our first gig. And that was the first of many, many a tale of you, and a camera operator going on some adventure.
Becky Liggero (07:30)
⁓ you're right.
⁓
I was, and I was terrified. I can remember absolutely being like, why did I agree to do this? I can't believe that. can't do this. Like shaking. I was so nervous. So nervous back then. my gosh. But anyway, so that continued for, I would say a good solid 10 years. What you just described doing these lifestyle videos, these videos at conferences, talking with so many amazing personalities in the online gambling space, famous people, which I think will
potentially get into later. And then basically it wasn't by my choice, but Calvin himself decided to pivot from focusing on doing media in the online gambling industry to more into the Bitcoin and blockchain space. And so slowly, slowly I made the transition from this one world that I knew very, very well into a world that I didn't know a thing about.
Claire Adamou (08:05)
Mm-hmm.
Becky Liggero (08:27)
So this was another big point in my career where I had to just leave my comfort zone. It was, I could do these interviews and these videos like my eyes closed. You know, I knew everything, I knew everybody. was just, it was just a mechanical at that point. I still loved it, but, but when I was transitioned to the CoinGeek brand, I was like, man, I don't know anything about blockchain. Not, not anything. So I had to study.
Emily Haruko (08:41)
Thank
Becky Liggero (08:54)
completely new material and I had to make new connections all over again because I'd walk into those conferences and be like, I don't know anybody here. You know, maybe one person or two, but not, you know, what we're used to from the online gambling space where it's like this big gigantic reunion. So at first that was not as terrifying as going on camera the first time, really, honestly, because I think probably I was more mature in my career at this point.
Claire Adamou (09:02)
Mm.
Okay.
Becky Liggero (09:18)
and knew how to deal with these fears. But I had to really change how I was doing things on a daily basis and spend tons of time studying, which I do love to do. I loved school and all of that. now I'm not, by no means am I an expert, but I can for sure hold my own in that space as well. And where I get really excited is where those two worlds intersect each other. So this is kind of the spot where I feel the most at home.
Emily Haruko (09:18)
Mm-hmm.
you
Mm. Mm.
Becky Liggero (09:43)
now.
Emily Haruko (09:43)
You mentioned, you know, doing a lot of research and you know, you've always been like, you've always been so well educated with everything, every person that you interview, everything that you get into, you know, you're, definitely have a tendency to educate yourself. So that may be one aspect in terms of how you support yourself or how you bridge those gaps or face some of those fears, but tell us a little bit more about what do you think was required of you in your personal journey, like in your personal growth journey, as you faced some of those, you know, the edges of your comfort zone and
really needing to take a leap or being invited to take a big leap and doing so. What do you think was required of you personally?
Becky Liggero (10:18)
Yeah, I think the first thing is that I definitely needed to reach out to people that have either been through what I was going through or were already quite established in the technology worlds and that area. But the first person that I went to, to be honest, when I learned from Calvin and the team that I was making this change in the type of content and type of people that I'd be covering and interviewing was my father. He's very, very...
very educated in technology. He's amazing on camera and he's a teacher at a very prestigious university still as a professor in the Boston area. And so he and I had really long conversation about how I should tackle this. And of course he was a big influence on the way that I educate myself. And so I took his advice there, everything he said I did.
Claire Adamou (11:04)
you
Becky Liggero (11:07)
And he was he was absolutely right. So that was something was reaching out to folks that I thought would be able to help me and give me advice. And people are so happy to give you information, I find. So I found folks internally at CoinGeek Kurt Walker Jr. is somebody I would love to give a shout out to who sat with me on Zoom calls and walked me through how Bitcoin works. Walked me through the white paper. You know, so people are
They were so excited to teach you. So this is for sure an area that I was so happy about and love to pass on to others. I'm like, you need to reach out to those around you because they're usually happier to help than you think they would be. They make time for it.
Emily Haruko (11:37)
Hmm.
Hmm.
⁓
Claire Adamou (11:51)
And I think that's something, and we may have touched on this in other episodes as well, and we may have touched on it. We just had an interview with a guy called Stephen that will be coming out shortly. He's not in the industry, but we talked about sort of leadership, leading ourselves, leading others. And one of the things that
that sticks with me about sort of leading ourselves and leading others is really the ability of asking questions and being inquisitive. And I think, you know, that's why you have carved out this incredible career because you're asking the right questions of people to bring that knowledge to the industry, right, in a public forum. But you're using your skill set in asking those questions and being inquisitive to learn completely.
relearn a brand new industry. And I think, like you say, it's, it's, some people see that as a sign of weakness, like, I don't know anything about this. Can you help me? It's almost like, can you help me teach me how to do my job? But it's, but it's when you change that narrative, and it becomes so much clearer and so much calmer. And like you say, so many people are open to helping and providing knowledge.
Emily Haruko (13:03)
Hmm.
Becky Liggero (13:04)
You know what?
I love what you just said because you're totally right. And I remember when I had to interview every single speaker at maybe the first CoinGeek conference, they've been rebranded since then. And this was before I had a chance to actually study the material. It was literally like, okay, we need you to just interview every speaker at this event. Bang, there you go. And I was like...
I don't know anything. So what I actually did, and it worked so well for me, is before the camera started rolling and I started talking to the speaker, I was like, look, honestly, I was like, I don't really know a huge amount about this just yet. I'm just starting to learn. So bear with me. And if you could just help me with maybe a couple of key points that you think someone maybe new at this would be interested in learning about, or, you know, and they're like, oh, great, no problem. They weren't like, oh God, I'm gonna...
Emily Haruko (13:51)
And.
Becky Liggero (13:52)
this is a waste of time. I don't want to do an interview with you. They were super happy to do it because most people out there don't know anything about this stuff. They don't.
And my interviews and actually a lot of coin geek interviews, they're not meant for somebody who's already, you know, in the trenches with all the technical terminology. It's meant for the early adopters or people that are interested in potentially using this tech for their business, but they don't know where to start.
So having a beginner ask the questions is actually really good for our audience. But I was straight up, I'm like, sorry, I might make some mistakes with the terminology, please just bear with me. They're like, no problem, this is great, we want you to.
Emily Haruko (14:32)
There's that authenticity piece and this your ability to be genuine and real like that in itself is probably why or you know, I would imagine people are more inclined to help you you're not trying to be something that you're not and I think
You know, you are so genuine, Becky, and you like, you have such a big heart and you truly love up on everyone. And I think those are maybe some of the answers to my next question. But if I think about it, like you're probably like the most networked person I know, like, I don't know that I've ever been anywhere with you in a business fashion or capacity where you haven't known like 75 % of the room. I might be exaggerating, but right, you are a truly networked person. And I think there's something really beautiful.
Becky Liggero (14:52)
you
Emily Haruko (15:12)
about that in terms of the testament that it is to your career and the value and the genuine person that you are. But for those of us that maybe are a little bit more introverted or maybe don't come by the ability to network honestly, well not honestly, but you know what mean, we don't come by it as something that lights us up or that we really feed off where I sort of, I kind of deduce that it does feed you in that way. What might you say are some of the...
the ways in which you've built your network, advice or tips on someone in terms of how important it is or what you've done to be able to establish yourself so well in that way.
Becky Liggero (15:47)
Yeah, think clearly I'm a people person. that's, but not everyone's a people person, like you said. So for those that don't love interacting with others, which is I do, I think in a way I got a bit lucky. We all make our own luck, but I got lucky where I was sent to conferences in the online gambling space when they were a lot smaller in the mid 2000s. So it was super easy to meet people back then, you know, and it was like all these parties and
Emily Haruko (16:05)
and
Becky Liggero (16:13)
And everyone actually wanted to talk with me because I was representing an affiliate. So I was able to send traffic to their brand. So they would invite me to dinners and things. And then I met the folks at the dinner and then it just ballooned from there. So what I always say to people in the online gambling industry and even beyond it, when they ask, where do I start? How do I enter the space now? You know, 2025 is so big. How do I find my group, my people? And I always say that the
You start with the smaller events. There's plenty of niche events that take place in iGaming or in any industry I'd imagine, at blockchain for sure. And you go to these smaller events where there's a hundred people, maybe even 50 people or a meetup or something like that. And you start with two or three people and you then, when you go to the next event, you meet up with those people and then they've got their little network.
Claire Adamou (16:53)
we need.
Becky Liggero (17:02)
And it just kind of balloons from there. Cause if you go into a huge event, just by yourself, like ice or something, it's super overwhelming and you don't even know where to start. So it's, starting with the, the, you know, a core group and then expanding it from there is what I would say you need to do.
Claire Adamou (17:11)
Mm-hmm.
Emily Haruko (17:19)
I think that's fabulous advice, especially given the, you know, especially in the iGaming industry, especially given the amount of events that there are. I mean, you could be at a conference every week if you want it to be. So if you're going to spend your, your, you know, marketing dollar on sending yourself somewhere, depending on the stage of the game you're at, consider going to more boutique and niche events. I love that tip. Wonderful. Beautiful.
Becky Liggero (17:42)
Yeah. Yeah.
Claire Adamou (17:44)
And I think you're right, there are so many of them. mean, I was moderating a Women in Gaming lunch, payments and fraud, like a small conference, I wanted to call it like a workshop style, but it was small and intimate, right? It was in the hills, in a Hilton hotel. So it reminded me of being back in the day.
You know, there were sessions running, there was small networking events. And I really love that. And I think, you know, you just got to, and again, look in the right places and ask the right questions. So I think I loved, yeah, I loved what you said. And it reminded me as lockdown came, as we came out of lockdown, I think I went to the EGR awards in London and it was the day you won as well. didn't know anyone going and bearing in mind, you know, I've been in this industry.
nearly 20 years as well. I just thought this is the first event since lockdown and actually I don't know any of my friends that are going. And I walked into the room and was like, god, now I'm really nervous. And I thought, why the hell am I nervous? I've had no issues. you know, in all these years connecting, this was a few years ago, so I was probably like 15 years in. And I just beelined. I was like, okay, go to the bar, grab a glass of wine. And then I literally looked around the room.
and I saw these two guys and I thought they have kind faces.
just thought I'm gonna walk up to them and be like, hey, can I stand with you? Nice to meet you, da da, you know? And it just, was an easy introduction. So it is just facing that fear of going, God, let me just connect with somebody or find someone that's standing on their own. So I loved that advice because it made me think, today, I was like, God, this is gonna be hard work. I don't know anyone. So yeah, thank you.
Becky Liggero (19:28)
Yeah, is easier at
those social events too, the awards or the drinks or whatever, obviously are also a bit easier than if you're walking around a conference and you don't want to hit someone. And I would say with super heavy business talks straight away. I think that, I mean, of course I understand some people have goals to hit and numbers to hit and all of this and they need to do it quickly. But if you want to make these lasting relationships,
Claire Adamou (19:35)
Yeah
Becky Liggero (19:53)
you you find people that you gel with that have nice faces, kind faces.
Claire Adamou (19:55)
Yeah.
Emily Haruko (19:58)
I love it.
Becky Liggero (19:59)
You're like, that's my kind of person right there. who's smiling.
Claire Adamou (20:00)
⁓ Yeah. That's just how I had to do it. I was all frazzled and I thought, I'm just, okay, read the room, find the nice faces, head there.
Emily Haruko (20:10)
Whatever, whatever, whatever works.
Becky Liggero (20:11)
Yeah, I think whatever
Claire Adamou (20:12)
Yes.
Becky Liggero (20:13)
works. I
think also to be also kind to everybody, I guess. So when folks do come up to you, you they might not be the CEO of the biggest company yet, you know, but it's like you never know where this person or this connection might take you 10 years down the line. Cause Claire, you and I just said, we've been in the industry 20 years, Emily 15. You know, potentially the people I talked to 20 years ago, I thought were, you know, just
Claire Adamou (20:19)
Yeah.
Emily Haruko (20:20)
you
Becky Liggero (20:40)
just for there for a party or not, you very serious. And then now they're like, you know, the CEO of a public company. can't even get to them. They have so many, you know, PR people in between.
Emily Haruko (20:43)
Hmm.
Claire Adamou (20:46)
Yeah.
100%. 100%. Talking about that then, so talking about getting to the people that we used to be hobnobbing with, are now unattainable. You have interviewed some incredible, incredibly well-known names, not just gaming names, global names. David Hasselhoff, Sir Mix-A-Lot and Max Kaiser.
Emily Haruko (20:53)
Mm hmm.
Becky Liggero (20:59)
my God.
Ow.
Claire Adamou (21:16)
So thinking about all of the people that
you have interviewed, which interview threw you off your guard the most, or was the most note, sorry, most noteworthy and why?
Becky Liggero (21:27)
⁓
boy, it's such a hard question because I've seriously interviewed like thousands of people. Thousands and thousands. ⁓ I guess...
Claire Adamou (21:33)
I'm high.
Emily Haruko (21:36)
What's the first
story that comes to mind if you think about something that went awry or something, David Hasselhoff?
Becky Liggero (21:40)
Yeah,
for sure the Hasselhoff interview, that was very early in my career. That was maybe two years in. I would pay money to be able to interview him now just because, you know, my skill set surrounding on camera interviews has just developed so much since then. was so nervous. Like was already nervous to just talk to anyone. But then you put David Hasselhoff in front of me and the guy, he...
Emily Haruko (21:46)
The Haw.
Becky Liggero (22:07)
the guy who arranged the interview gave me 30 minutes with him, 30 minutes. It was unbelievable. And he, so a few things that I guess you could say threw me off. One of them just was how kind and friendly he was. I was expecting him to be a total diva and like not even caring about me at all. I'm not some like super model from Baywatch or whatever, you know, but he was, he was really, really kind. And I did actually, God, Jerome, who I still work with, a camera operator, amazing guy.
remember this story because it was so funny. I asked him about the cheeseburger video. don't know. I'm showing my age here. There was some video that got leaked. Yeah. And he was very drunk and you know, he's eating some cheeseburger and like apparently it's even though his agent said I could ask anything. This was a topic that was like off limits. So after the interview finished, the guy absolutely tore me to pieces. He's like, I can't believe that you asked about the cheeseburger. Like
Emily Haruko (22:41)
100 % I know what you're talking about.
Becky Liggero (23:02)
That was so inappropriate. Like he tore me apart. And Jerome, I was like nearly in tears, you know, and Jerome was like, dude, he said you could ask anything. I heard you ask him. You know, so I just, I guess I had to realize in that moment that, you know, this sometimes people get stressed out and they'll say things, but it just wasn't my fault. It's like, and...
Claire Adamou (23:19)
Yeah.
Emily Haruko (23:22)
Actually, you did what any great journalist would do is took probably
like the most juicy talked current controversial thing and brought it right to his face.
Becky Liggero (23:30)
Right?
But the Hoff was pretty cool about it. He just made a joke about it. Like he really, didn't faze him whatsoever, but potentially he's an actor. Maybe he tore his agent apart, you know, after I left. But anyway, so that was one interesting lesson learned there. another, something else that I witnessed when, I think it was a different time that I saw the Hoff, because he was coming to a lot of these events. He was doing slots back then.
Claire Adamou (23:42)
Yeah.
Becky Liggero (23:54)
He was filming something else before I had some time with him. And I was watching him and he repeated the same lines. It was some cheesy line. Don't hassle the Hoff, I don't know, something like this. And he did it 10 times, 15 times. And he kept saying, okay, again, let's do it again. Because he couldn't get it right. He wanted to get it a certain way. And I was like, that's awesome because
Sometimes I would be really nervous that I wouldn't hit my line perfectly for an intro or an outro or maybe ask a question properly, stumble over my words. I was really like, I gotta do it right, gotta do it right. But then I'm like, David Hasselhoff, you know, like this guy has been in front of the camera his whole life actually needs to take, you know, five, six, seven, eight takes until he gets the one that he likes.
Claire Adamou (24:36)
you
Emily Haruko (24:42)
Mm-hmm.
Becky Liggero (24:43)
So this
anecdote, actually share with really nervous interviewees when I get somebody in front of me who's like terrified. And I'm like, listen, I interviewed David Hasselhoff. He had to say it over like 10 times. So that was something that I wasn't expecting, you know, but in bit of a different way. ⁓ Showing their humanity. And then, Claire, I just wanted to add one other experience that I had of somebody who
Claire Adamou (24:48)
Mmm.
Mm.
Emily Haruko (25:01)
Cool, yeah, showing their humanity a bit. Yeah, good.
Becky Liggero (25:10)
really ballooned into someone super famous in our world. And this was Jason Robbins of DraftKings. ⁓ I interviewed him at G2E when he was just brand new and he was so accessible. I emailed him, it was like Jason at DraftKings. I was like cold emailed him. He yeah, sure. So we did this great interview. And then fast forward like five, six years, he became like, you know, this super famous guy that had this gigantic PR team. But I remember
Claire Adamou (25:16)
Mm.
Becky Liggero (25:36)
One day I was like, I don't know what to do, my phone starts blowing up. And apparently some late night show in Canada, I forget the host, like a David Letterman kind of guy, comedian, was making jokes about fantasy sports. And he referenced DraftKings and he took a screenshot of this interview that I did with Jason Robbins in like 2017 or something.
Claire Adamou (25:48)
Mm.
Becky Liggero (26:04)
this and had it in the upper corner while he was delivering his, you know, I don't know, little spiel about about DraftKings. And all the people watching this show are like, you're on TV, like this big program right now. I have the screenshot like on my desktop.
Claire Adamou (26:19)
I love that.
Emily Haruko (26:20)
I love it. I want to see it. I'm like, what Canadian? I'm like, we have
a late, we have late night talk shows. We do. I, I didn't know. Send it to me. I, I don't, I mean, I'm not much of a like mainstream TV person, but I mean, maybe we do have Canadian late nights.
Becky Liggero (26:26)
Yeah, I think I'm almost positive. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'll share it with you afterwards.
No, this was years ago,
years ago. But yeah, so there were a lot of people that now, you know, they're spoken about as if they're, you know, they're these pioneers, these legends, these folks that there's no chance that they would show up at a conference. But back then, you know, I had hours with them. It was great, amazing.
Claire Adamou (26:53)
Yeah,
Emily Haruko (26:54)
Talking about that network, right? Like you had hours with them back in the day, or all these people. think, you know, this is the other thing you mentioned. Sometimes you go to these events or people are trying to like close the deal really fast or, you know, in terms of how to network, you know, maybe if it's not hardwired into your personality. And I think that that's the other perspective I know that helps me as a more introverted person is looking at it as a marathon, not a sprint. It's like,
Claire Adamou (26:54)
I love that.
Becky Liggero (27:19)
Yeah.
Emily Haruko (27:19)
I am so like aware of and present. Excuse me. I am so aware of and present that somebody you meet today, you know, might be your client next tomorrow or next year. Or maybe you're their client in another three years from now. You just never know. Or maybe you just remain friends and allies and peers and you know, what have you. But I think that long term approach that marathon.
approach is really what supports me in terms of like, yeah, nurturing relationships and investing in them over time.
Becky Liggero (27:52)
So great. think someone like Jason Robbins, who is a beautiful person, by the way, I didn't even say that he was a delight to talk to. But, I had a great conversation with him. We had a nice chat before and after and all of this. And even when he did become this big name, I still I was able to reach him and he was super polite, you know, and I'm sure if I had needed something or he would have he would have been very kind about it and done what he could because, you know, you just it's this marathon.
Right? You at the time I didn't
Claire Adamou (28:19)
you
Becky Liggero (28:19)
know he was going to be this super famous guy, but you you treat everyone with total respect and have a nice chat with everybody and keep in touch and you just never know. You just never know.
Emily Haruko (28:29)
Here's a testament
to you and that. And when we started Saroca, reached out to you, let you know what I was up to and what we were doing. And I think shared with you that we were going to do this Women in Gaming Leadership Development Program. And you said, let me see if I can get Patti Hart's email, former CEO of IGT. And she put us in, so you did, you still had her email.
Becky Liggero (28:46)
Patti Hart. Yes.
Yes.
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Emily Haruko (28:56)
You emailed
her, put us on it. She took a meeting with us right away, introduced us to Patti Becker. Patti Becker was one of many people that referred us to Global Gaming Women and talk about nurturing a marathon or a long-term relationship. All of that started over two years ago, about two and a half years ago. We had our first meeting with GGW in August of 2023.
Becky Liggero (29:01)
Yeah.
Amazing.
Emily Haruko (29:19)
And in September, Claire and I are leading their executive conference in Las Vegas for their 100 executive women. So the testament to nurturing the long-term relationships and you being able to use your network for referrals. you know, it's like Patti Hart remembered you from God, I don't even know how long. Tell us that story. You met her and she was so generous with her time. us a little bit of how that went down.
Becky Liggero (29:20)
my God.
Yay!
awesome.
Yeah.
Yeah, I, she's just such a beautiful person too. I actually met her outside of a conference. I was at the gym in central London. I used to go to a Virgin Active, in, in central. And one morning I was there and I'm like, that's Patti Hart. I know it's her because I remember going to see all of the IGT unveilings, cutting the ribbon. And she was always there.
I don't believe I ever got an interview with her, her executives, her right-hand men would always do something with me. And I went up to her and I was like, I'm so sorry to bother you. was like, but you're Patti Hart, right? And she was like, yeah, am. And I was like, I'm Becky, CalvinAyre.com da da da, G2E, this that, IGT. And she was super friendly. And she was like, you know what? I'd love to have a coffee sometime. She was very...
excited to meet another woman in gaming who was so passionate about the industry and had this whole career ahead of her. Cause this was, this was years ago now, 10 years, something like that. And so I took her up on it. You know, I can't remember how we came up with the, the, we exchanged information or whatever, but we had a coffee. She gave me some advice, gave me her email.
Um, and it was beautiful. It should absolutely zero to gain from that. She was not doing interviews anymore. So I said to her, I was like, can I, can I offer you some sort of media interview or, know, something, something like that, know, is the thank you. She's like, no, no, I don't, I'm not doing that stuff anymore. I just, you know, it just makes me happy to see people in this space that are excited and passionate and want to go places. Just nothing in return. Yeah. Yeah.
Emily Haruko (31:04)
Exposure.
Wonderful, yeah, beautiful.
Claire Adamou (31:17)
Love that.
Emily Haruko (31:21)
Love it.
Becky Liggero (31:21)
Love it.
Claire Adamou (31:24)
And that reflection, I love meeting people like that. And I think, you know, we've come across people in this industry that are the complete opposite souls to that, right? We've all been around those people. And I think this, you know, these kinds of stories are what makes the industry so incredible and makes, you know,
Emily Haruko (31:32)
Thank
Claire Adamou (31:43)
the opportunities and the love and the passion and the drive and the ambition, all worth it in this industry is to meet people like that. Yeah, I absolutely love that story. love knowing that there are still, know, people can manifest into your life and appear into your life at just random times, right? You're in the gym, totally unexpected.
of however many thousands of gyms in London, that that was the time and place that that meeting was meant to happen. I love it.
Becky Liggero (32:11)
Exactly.
So
cool. So cool.
Emily Haruko (32:18)
Yeah, trusting the process. I love it.
Vax, tell us what are you most excited about these days? What are you up to? Where can people find you if they want to follow you or what you're up to? Tell us a little bit about what you're excited about and where are you hanging out these days?
Becky Liggero (32:34)
I think I mentioned earlier that what I'm most excited about is where the online gambling world intersects, frontier technologies, blockchain, AI, this kind of thing. And that truly comes from my love that will never die for the online gambling worlds. I have such an attachment to the folks that make that work. So where those two worlds intersect is super exciting for me. And I'm really hoping that we see a lot.
of things happening with the startups and even with the larger companies in this space. So I can come to the conferences and shoot lots of video. I had such a good time at IGB Live. But where you can find me is all over CoinGeek. I've always loved representing a brand. know, CalvinAyre.com Casino City, Bodog Becky back in the day. just, yeah. So that's my brand. That's my love right now is CoinGeek.
Emily Haruko (33:07)
you
Becky Liggero (33:22)
You know, if you follow the all the social channels of CoinGeek on all of the obvious platforms, there's so much to learn
and see there. Still doing all the great video content. It's yeah, it's something that I'll do forever, I really think.
Emily Haruko (33:36)
Very cool. Is it time for iGaming OGs?
Claire Adamou (33:37)
and open.
It is time for iGaming OGs. So Becky, we have two questions for you that we ask every guest of ours that has been in the industry that we consider one of the OGs just along with us and some of us say dinosaurs, some of us use the OGs. So we're going to go with the OGs because we are not that old.
Becky Liggero (33:52)
Love it.
OG it is.
Claire Adamou (34:07)
dear it is. All right, so our first question for you. With over a couple of decades in the industry, how have you seen the role of women in gaming evolve and what changes do you hope to see moving forward?
Becky Liggero (34:20)
There have been a lot of changes, I would say.
Claire Adamou (34:23)
Yeah
Becky Liggero (34:24)
Yeah, when I first entered the industry there, there are models everywhere, topless people. It was crazy. I didn't bother me, to be perfectly honest with you, but I know that some people didn't like the message that that sent. And I totally understand that. But I think the whole industry has matured. Everyone in it has also matured. Oh, geez, not dinosaurs. And so I think that the natural progression would be to move away from just
Emily Haruko (34:38)
Haha
Becky Liggero (34:50)
you know, models for really no reason. It's like, why, why are we doing this? And have a bit more tasteful gimmicks and, and entertainment at, at booths and things like this. For sure, more women have entered the industry. That's without a doubt based on just observation of walking around a conference and people that I see in the news and this sort of thing. I think in my mind, actually being a woman in the industry is an advantage.
I think for several reasons. One, I think when you're trying to network or go up and talk to people, just being a woman is even different. It's something different. It's not another guy. So if there's a couple of guys with friendly faces sitting around, I'm sure they would be happy
Emily Haruko (35:28)
you
Becky Liggero (35:28)
to talk to a friendly girl versus another dude. So potentially it's an icebreaker. Also, people remember you.
Claire Adamou (35:32)
Yeah.
Becky Liggero (35:38)
because there aren't as many of us, even though we're getting there. I also think that women are really excited to help and mentor other women in this space. Yeah, so Patti Hart is a perfect example of someone who did that for me. Not to say she wouldn't do it for a man. I don't mean to say that, but I think it was just that extra something that...
Emily Haruko (35:39)
Okay.
Claire Adamou (36:02)
me.
Emily Haruko (36:03)
Incentive.
Yeah.
Becky Liggero (36:05)
incentive, that was the word I'm looking for.
There's plenty, I could go on with all the beautiful women that I've met that were supporting everything that I was doing, always offering to help, ⁓ proactively asking me if I needed help. So I think that that is happening now. And for sure, I'd love to see more of that. And I think we are seeing more of that with
Emily Haruko (36:14)
Hmm.
Hmm.
Claire Adamou (36:27)
and
Becky Liggero (36:27)
folks that are organizing events specific to females in the space, female leaders, leadership. I know you guys work with quite a few females who are doing amazing things. So I think just continuing to do that and it's naturally happening without having to do it just to do it. That makes sense.
Claire Adamou (36:43)
Yeah. ⁓
Emily Haruko (36:44)
What about people looking to enter the industry? know, founders, people looking for some, you know, some lateral promotion inside of the industry seeking to enter it. Any thoughts or advice that you might suggest for those individuals?
Becky Liggero (37:00)
Yeah. mean, that something I would suggest for anybody is we've already covered it extensively is, is your network. If your network is absolutely everything, uh, as how I ended up, uh, where I am today. Um, you know, I mentioned, I mentioned Calvin already, and he said to me that the reason why he had his eyes on me to do the calvinair.com work is because he actually observed how I was interacting with other people in the industry. And he said,
I think you'll do a really good job interviewing these people because I've already seen how you interact with them. Just we'll put a camera in front of you and you'll do it. So that was it. Just network right there and meeting him. That was through a network as well. ⁓ I think for founders or people that maybe are entrepreneurial and they want to get into the online gambling space, is obviously I'm going to say that if they're
Emily Haruko (37:41)
Hmm.
Claire Adamou (37:49)
you
Becky Liggero (37:50)
They're really into the latest technology out there. I do think that there is so much opportunity in online gambling for this type of tech. think for sure, iGaming hasn't harnessed blockchain in the way that would yield the most potential. There's a lot of space there, especially when it comes to things like digital identity or anything to do with data. So maybe moving away from the whole payments, not away, sorry, adding to.
Emily Haruko (38:13)
Okay.
Claire Adamou (38:17)
Mm-hmm.
Becky Liggero (38:17)
what people are doing with payments. lot of opportunity there. Clearly AI is huge, but it is a bit of a hype in the moment. So you get a lot of companies, not even just startups, that are putting it up on their website. Yeah, we're like AI powered and it's not even really true. But if you combine those two technologies together, you can get rid of some of the deep fakes and the bad data and this sort of thing if you attach.
Emily Haruko (38:17)
Yeah.
Becky Liggero (38:41)
or combine AI and blockchain. So think coming up with creative ways or solutions to solve problems in online gambling, using this exciting tech, there's a lot of opportunity there, lots of space there.
Emily Haruko (38:49)
Totally.
Claire Adamou (38:51)
Mm.
Emily Haruko (38:52)
What comes to mind Claire is that, I think I shared it with you that video. Maybe you saw it too, Becky. That was, can't remember the gentleman's name that did the interview with like, it's like a, you know, an anonymous interview with a bonus fraud, like expert.
like in terms of like, that's what he does. He's making like 250 K a year on bonus fraud. And they're talking about how do they get the identities and yeah, it was fascinating and blockchain is something that would likely mitigate some of that or that risk. So it's super, super fascinating, fascinating stuff. Well, we will continue to watch the space and to be rooting you on from near and afar.
Becky Liggero (39:19)
Yes. ⁓
Totally. Totally.
Claire Adamou (39:34)
you
Becky Liggero (39:36)
Hahaha
Emily Haruko (39:37)
It was really a pleasure having you here today with us.
Becky Liggero (39:40)
it's so fun, you guys. I love you both so much and I'm so proud of what you have achieved as well. Really cool to watch both of your journeys. mean, from what we were doing to what we're doing today is pretty amazing. And Claire too, obviously you've done a million things since I first met you. my God.
Emily Haruko (39:52)
Yeah, from my...
Claire Adamou (39:55)
Peace.
So yeah, so many things.
Becky Liggero (39:58)
⁓ dear, such amazing memories.
Emily Haruko (39:59)
Yeah, it's
been a long road from yachts in English Bay with, ⁓ I think I found that video recently or some footage or something. I think I still have the hard drive with all of that stuff on it. It's not wild. The calvinair.com may be more or less gone, right? It's not up anymore, is it?
Becky Liggero (40:01)
So much love.
You
Yeah, it's I could if you want to see something though, I could probably get it for you. ⁓
Emily Haruko (40:21)
I'm
gonna keep that in mind. Amazing. Well, thank you for joining us today. Thanks for being here with us, Becky. And thanks for listening. We'll catch you all next time.
Claire Adamou (40:24)
I love that.
Thank you.
Becky Liggero (40:29)
Thank you so much. Sounds
Claire Adamou (40:30)
Yeah.
Thanks everyone. ⁓
Becky Liggero (40:32)
good. Bye.
