Company: Spectrum Gaming Capital

Matt Para has more than 20 years of experience in the igaming and sports betting industry, having most worked at Hard Rock International as Vice President of Online Gaming Operations and, before that, Director of Online Gaming. Para also served as Senior Operations Manager for Scientific Games where he worked on all product offerings including casino, poker, and sportsbook.

With a proven track record of success at launching in regulated markets, optimizing operations, and improving margins, Para brings firsthand experience and intimate knowledge of the regulated igaming and sports betting landscape to the newly regulated markets of North America. His primary objective is to contribute to the development and education of the newly regulated market with a sustainable approach to profitability and scale.

Para has contributed to major igaming publications, serves as an advisory board member to BWG Strategy and regularly provides market analysts with a view from the ground floor in terms of operator trends, regulatory outlook and supplier analysis. Para studied International Business at Washington State University.

James Becker is an Analyst at Spectrum Gaming Capital, where he contributes to a variety of financial advisory assignments, including mergers and acquisitions, valuations, and market analyses. In this role, he supports complex transactions by conducting in-depth research, building financial models, and preparing strategic insights for clients across the gaming and leisure industries.

James began his career as an Analyst at Woodbridge International, a lower-middle-market investment bank. There, he managed virtual data rooms, authored confidential information memoranda, and coordinated due diligence between buyers, sellers, and third-party advisors. His work helped facilitate 10 successful transactions spanning diverse sectors.

Before entering investment banking, James gained buy-side experience as an intern at Liberfield Capital, a fundamentally focused hedge fund, where he produced research reports and modeled derivatives strategies centered on volatility trends. He also interned at Bondcliff Partners, conducting acquisition target research and delivering strategic updates on Internet of Things (IoT) market developments.

James holds a master’s degree in finance from Northeastern University and a Bachelor’s degree from Unity College.

David Isaacson is Senior Vice President and Partner at Spectrum Gaming Capital. Isaacson has been analyzing the gaming industry since 2010 across both domestic and international markets and for both land-based and digital. At SGC he works on a broad range of projects, including strategic and M&A advisory engagements, capital raises, market analyses, litigation support, valuation and digital gaming, among other areas.

He joined Spectrum Gaming Capital in 2013 from Moody’s Investors Service. At Moody’s he covered a portfolio of gaming, lodging and cruise companies and, previously, as a Structured Finance Analyst covering asset backed securitizations. In his work at Moody’s, David was responsible for assigning rating recommendations, monitoring ratings and drafting credit related research on commercial casino companies, Native American casinos and gaming equipment manufacturers, and on the gaming and leisure industry generally.

David has an MBA from NYU’s Stern School of Business with a concentration in Corporate Finance and Accounting, and a bachelor’s from Yeshiva University where he majored in Economics and graduated with honors.

Robert Heller is co-founder and CEO of Spectrum Gaming Capital with over 40 years’ experience in investment banking for land-based and digital gaming companies and resort development, having initiated over $50 billion in debt and equity financings.

Heller joined Spectrum from UBS Investment Bank, where he coordinated the bank’s global gaming franchise. Previously, he founded Heller Gaming & Leisure, a boutique investment banking firm specializing in casinos, hotels and resorts.

From 2004 to 2006, he served as founding President and CFO of Bahamar Resorts, Ltd., overseeing a 2,000-room resort complex in Nassau, Bahamas that evolved into a $3 billion redevelopment project. He coordinated land assemblage, acquisitions, government negotiations, joint ventures, and raised nearly $500 million in initial financings.

Heller spent 23 years in bulge-bracket investment banking as a Managing Director at Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns, and Salomon Brothers specializing in gaming, lodging and leisure transactions.  

A graduate of the City University of New York, Heller began his career as a CPA with Price Waterhouse & Company. He is a frequent speaker at gaming, lottery, and sports industry conferences, globally.  He formerly served on the boards of London Exchange–listed Dolphin Capital Investors and the American Gaming Association, and has lectured at the NYU Real Estate Institute and Cornell Hotel School.