Founded in 2001 by former partners and senior consultants ofmajor consulting firms such as KPMG Peat Marwick,PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte & Touche and Bearing Point,WhiteSand Consulting has always had an emphasis on the gaming andhospitality industries. Scheri says the company has played keyroles in the opening of new casino hotels and casino racetracks inAtlantic City, Las Vegas, California, Iowa, Indiana, Louisiana andAustralia. It also puts on the annual Gaming Technology Summit inLas Vegas.

"It's something we have been building up to for the past threeyears," Scheri says. "We've done a some management work and someM&A work and have actually chased a couple of acquisitions. Nowwe want to do it in a more formal way with a fee-based structurethat includes short-term options, which we think works out a lotbetter for clients."

In the partnership scenario, Scheri says it might be with abranded gaming company or others who are entering the market. "Theywould bring the name recognition and the bulk of the financing andwe would bring the gaming management expertise," he says.