From a state legislator who’s gaming legalization bill opened up America to casinos to a man who sparked the racino revolution, the 2018 class of the American Gaming Association’s Gaming Hall of Fame was inducted during G2E last week.
Peter Carlino was responsible for helping to get the racino industry off the ground with Penn National Gaming, growing from one racetrack to a nationwide company that now boasts 38 casino properties. He recently helped to launch the real estate investment trusts in the gaming industry with the formation of Gaming & Leisure Properties Inc., the first casino REIT soon followed by spinoffs from MGM and Caesars.
Richard Haddrill was a longtime CEO of Bally Technologies and encouraged innovation at all levels of technology. He is currently vice chairman of Scientific Games, which acquired Bally’s in 2014. He is also a former chairman of the AGA.
As a gaming regulator in Nevada, Phil Hannifin helped to oversee the removal of organized crime influence over the state’s gaming industry and the ushering in of corporate ownership. As a casino executive, Hannifin worked for Howard Hughes’ Summa Corporation, Harrah’s casino, the original MGM Grand, and became a board member for Reno-based Fitzgerald’s, helping to lead a single-property company to a nationwide seven-casino organization.
Steve Perskie was a young assemblyman in New Jersey when he authored the Casino Control Act, which permitted gaming in Atlantic City, located in his district. He later served as the chairman of the state’s chief regulator, the Casino Control Commission, helping to reform a bloated organization. He later served as a judge in the state. The success of legal gaming in New Jersey is credited with encouraging the spread of casinos across the country.
