Fantasy players are passionate about their game, and the day their passion reaches its peak is Draft Day. When national and local restaurant chains who already have a sports theme realized these players would gravitate toward a place where fantasy players were welcome, and that they’d probably be hungry and thirsty when they got there, a new revenue stream was born.

Beyond being just a place to hold the draft and watch the games, leading national chains are leveraging fantasy to make a direct connection with their patrons through the use of games, content and events. Attendees at the 2015 Fantasy Sports Trade Association’s annual Winter Conference on Jan. 15-16 at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, will hear from industry leaders about what their strategy is to attract and retain fantasy players throughout the season, and what else they need from fantasy companies to make it successful.

Clif Ma, Senior Director of Fantasy Sports for Yahoo will moderate the session on Jan. 16 at 3:10 p.m. He’ll talk about this growing trend with Ben Nelsen, Vice President, Financial Planning & Analysis for Buffalo Wild Wings, one of the leading sports-themed restaurant chains in America.

The 2015 Fantasy Sports Trade Association (FSTA) will hold its annual Winter Conference on Jan. 15-16 at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. Among the planned events is the FSTA Experts’ League Fantasy Baseball Draft, Live on SIRIUS XM Radio, on Jan. 15 and sessions on fantasy sports legal issues, new product launches and marketing fantasy sports on Facebook. To register for the winter conference, go to www.fsta.org.