Lyle Berman

Mr. Berman’s business acumen began at a very young age and has resulted in over 40 years of experience in retail, gaming, food and beverage and many other industries. He has extensive public company experience as well as executive experience running large national companies, with a focus in strategic operations, food and beverage, and retail sales.

After attending the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania from 1959 to 1961, Mr. Berman graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in Business Administration in 1964.

After graduation, Mr. Berman began his career with Berman Buckskin, his family’s leather business. Over the next 16 years, he helped grow the business into a major specialty retailer with 27 outlets. Sales increased from approximately one million to over $25 million in just seven years, making Berman Buckskin one of just two major players in the industry at the time.

After selling Berman Buckskin to W.R. Grace in 1979, Mr. Berman continued as President and Chief Executive Officer and led the company to become one the country’s largest retail leather chains, with over 200 stores nationwide.

Mr. Berman led a management buyout of Berman’s in 1987, and in 1988, the company was sold to Melville Corporation and combined to form Wilsons The Leather Experts. In the spring of 1996, Mr. Berman participated, along with Wilsons’ management, in a leveraged buyout of Wilsons from Melville Corporation.

In 1990, Mr. Berman participated in the founding of Grand Casinos, Inc. Mr. Berman is credited as one of the early visionaries in the development of casinos outside of the traditional gaming markets of Las Vegas and Atlantic City. Mr. Berman worked with his business partners to raise additional capital by taking the company public in 1991. Grand Casinos became a leader in this segment of the casino entertainment, known as “emerging gaming”, and in less than five years the company opened eight casino resorts in four states with employment growing from three associates in 1990 to over twenty thousand associates in 1996. From 1990 to 1996 Grand Casinos built more casino gaming space than any other company. In 1998, Fortune Magazine named Grand Casinos the Fastest Growing Company in America.

In 1994, Mr. Berman financed the initial development of Rainforest Café, an integrated restaurant and retail concept. He served as the Chairman and CEO from 1994 to 2000. Mr. Berman led the way for expansion of the Rainforest concept with an IPO.

In 1998, Grand Casinos completed transactions when Grand Casinos’ Mississippi assets were merged with the gaming division of Hilton Hotels Corporation to form Park Place Entertainment Corporation (currently Caesar’s Entertainment). In 1999, Lakes Entertainment, Inc. was formed as a result of Grand Casinos, Inc. Indian Casino Management business not being acquired by

Park Place Entertainment (Caesar’s Entertainment). As Chairman of the Board and CEO of Lakes Entertainment, Inc., Mr. Berman was instrumental in creating the World Poker Tour. World Poker Tour revolutionized the game of poker throughout the world.

In August of 2015, Mr. Berman merged Lakes Entertainment, Inc. with Golden Entertainment, Inc. Mr. Berman served on the Board of Directors of Golden Entertainment, Inc. and provided consulting services to the Chief Executive Officer through August 2021.

Mr. Berman provided a leadership role with five public companies whose primary asset was cash looking for a company to merge with. Specifically:

• Ante I (Approx. Timeframe 1989 - 1990)
• Ante II (Approx. Timeframe 1990 - 1991)
• Lakes Entertainment ($80 Million) (Approx. Timeframe 2014 – 2015)
• World Poker Tour (WPT) ($28million) (Approx. Timeframe 2010 - 2011)
• Black Ridge Acquisition Corp (SPAC) ($140 million) (Approx. Timeframe 2018)

In looking for a merger candidate, Mr. Berman has extensive experience vetting hundreds of companies.

Mr. Berman has been awarded many honors including the following:

• B’nai B’rith “Great American Traditions Award – October 1995
• Gaming Executive of the Year Award – April 1996
• National Poker Hall of Fame – 2002
• Casino Lifetime Achievement Award from Raving Consulting and Casino Journal – 2009
• Senior National Poker Hall of Fame – 2016
• Minnesota Poker Hall of Fame – 2016
• American Gaming Association (AGA) Hall of Fame – 2016
• Mississippi Gaming Hall of Fame – 2018
• World Poker Tour Honors Award - 2018
• Minneapolis Dealmakers Hall of Fame - 2023

Mr. Berman has served on the following Boards:

• Chairman of the Board and CEO of Lakes Entertainment, , (1999-2015)
• Executive Chairman of the Board of WPT Enterprises, (later known as Voyager Oil & Gas, Inc. and Emerald Oil, Inc.) (2002-2013)
• Director of PokerTek, (2005-2014) Chairman of the Board (2005-2011)
• Director of Allied Esports Entertainment, (AESE) (fka Black Ridge Acquisition Corp.) (2017-2023)
• Chairman of the Board and CEO of Rainforest Café (1994-2000)
• Chairman of the Board and CEO of Grand Casinos (1991-1998)
• Director of Golden Entertainment (2015-2022)

Mr. Berman currently serves on the following Boards of Directors:

• Mill City Ventures,
• Sow Good,
• Redstone American Grill,
• Epika Fleet Services, Inc (formerly Lubezone,)
• Auego Affinity
• Grin Gaming

Previously, Mr. Berman was instrumental in the creation, development and leadership of several public companies, including:

• Lakes Entertainment, , Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer (1998– 2015)
• Grand Casinos, , CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors (1991-1998)
• World Poker Tour Enterprises, , Executive Chairman of the Board (2002-2013)
• PokerTek, , Director (2005-2014) and Chairman of the Board (2005-2011)
• Rainforest Café, , Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer (1994–2000)
• GIII Apparel Group, , Director
• Wilsons The Leather Experts, Director