GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 35 - June 2016

The “Friend to the Village Idiot” celebrates 10 years at the helm A look back on where we started, how we got where we are today, and what the next 10 years might bring by Aaron Todd T he GPWA is likely the only organization in the world whose executive director pub- licly calls himself the “Friend to the Village Idiot.” But 10 years ago, on July 2, 2006, that’s exactly who Michael Corfman became when John Derossett announced that he and his wife, Marlene, had sold the GPWA to Corfman and Casino City. “The decision to sell GPWA in the first place was extremely difficult for us,” John wrote in a post on the GPWA Forums. “Our decision ultimately led to the sale of GPWA to Casino City and Michael Corfman for a number of reasons. Michael shares similar visions to what I had hoped for GPWA to become as an industry leader. I simply did not have the resources to get it ‘over the hump’ that was in the way. Casino City does.” 21 The “Friend to the Village Idiot” celebrates 10 years at the helm