Judge Mark Farrell, founder of the nation's only Gambling Treatment Court, will highlight the presentations at the 2008 Midwest Conference on Problem Gambling and Substance Abuse. Farrell, from Amherst, N.Y., along with Dr. Westley Clark from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, have been confirmed as keynote presenters during the fifth annual conference, Aug. 13-15, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel St. Louis-Clayton.

A full-day pre-conference session on motivational interviewing is scheduled on Aug. 12 at the conference location. Cost of the full-day training is $25 for early bird, and $50 for regular registration.

An optional event, "Blues at the Zoo," is being planned again this year following the rave reviews from last year's event. With the help of sponsors, event organizers are planning to keep the cost of the optional event at $25 per person.

Registration for the conference will be available soon on this Web site.

Cost of attending the two-and-a-half-day conference will be $150 for early bird registration, and $180 for regular registration. The student rate for attending the conference is $75 for early bird, and $90 for regular registration.

Registration, event schedules, presentation and keynote information and additional details about the optional event will be posted as they become available.