Joel Simkins is the CEO & Founder of XST Capital Group LLC and brings a reputation for trusted industry insights, market relationships, and a rare track record of success advising both sell-side and buy-side clients for more than 25 years across the land-based and digital gaming (casino) industries. Prior to his recent tenure at Houlihan Lokey, Mr. Simkins was Head of Gaming & Leisure investment banking at Truist Securities, growing its business from a nascent state in 2016 to a top-seven platform during his tenure through March 2022. He is a known thought-leader in the industry, being named Best Up & Coming Analyst in the 2009 Institutional Investor Poll, ranked No. 6 overall in 2012, and is a repeat expert guest on CNBC, Bloomberg, Fox Business, and Yahoo Finance and at many industry conferences.

Bryce Littell joined XST Capital Group in 2024 as a Vice President. He helps support investment banking, capital raising, and advisory execution for the firm. Prior to joining XST Capital Group, Bryce was an investment banking associate at Jefferies in the Real Estate, Gaming, Lodging, and Leisure group. He began his career in accounting at EY before transitioning to strategy consulting. As a consultant, he was responsible for strategy and value creation initiatives for private equity clients. Outside of work Bryce can be found cheering on his favorite sports teams (including the Pittsburgh Steelers and OSU Buckeyes), exercising and traveling. Bryce received his B.S. from The Ohio State University and is an MBA candidate at NYU’s Stern School of Business.