Stan Fulton, the man who first marketed a “wheel” slot machine, which eventually became the Wheel of Fortune game, the most successful slot game of all time, passed away last month at the age of 86.
After developing the “Wheel of Gold,” Fulton sold his company, Anchor Gaming, to IGT for $1.3 billion. He later donated $6.7 million to UNLV to construct a building that now bears his name and houses the International Gaming Institute.
After selling Anchor, Fulton used the proceeds to buy the Sunland Park Racetrack in New Mexico.
Fulton arrived in Nevada in the 1970s developing a company called Fortune Coin, where he developed the industry’s first video slot. He expanded into a Nevada slot route, Anchor Coin. Anchor Gaming also ran Colorado casinos. Wheel of Gold was introduced in 1995, and quickly became popular as the first machine to offer a bonus.
IGI Executive Director Bo Bernhard explained how Fulton’s donation came about.
“In the 1990s, when industry visionaries like Shannon Bybee, Bill Curran, UNLV’s Vince Eade, and others worked with UNLV President Bob Maxson to launch the International Gaming Institute, it became clear very quickly that what was needed was a special space to convene, on neutral terrain, the great thought leaders of global gaming,” he said. “Stan stepped up and provided the funding needed to launch this incomparable place, which today hosts literally thousands of industry leaders each year—hailing from 30-40 countries. Over the years, this building has convened leaders from every major gaming company and global jurisdiction, and those discussions have led to breakthroughs in everything from sports wagering and the NFL to gaming innovation to slot operations to public policy to responsible gambling. Without Stan, this never becomes the truly ‘international’ center its founders intended, and the thousands of students, government officials, and leaders who have benefited from his generosity will be forever grateful.”
Patty Becker, a former member of the Nevada Gaming Control Board and gaming attorney, as well as a one time leader of the IGT, said Fulton was down to earth.
“When I headed the International Gaming Institute Stan negotiated with Jim Rogers (two tough guys) to financially incent me to build IGI as a business unit so he would be proud of having his name on the building,” she said.“For the five years I was at IGI and since then, we had lunch a few times a year at either Applebee’s or another equally inexpensive place. He always paid leaving a $100 bill for the waitress.”
Becker pointed out that UNLV wasn’t the only recipient of Fulton’s largesse. He continued to donate to UNLV after the IGI was established, and was the largest single donor to New Mexico State University at $17 million. He gave lavishly to the Ruvo Center for Brain Health, and contributed $5.25 million to construct a student center and 2,000-seat sports arena at Hope International University in Fullerton, California.
“He was so old guard gaming,” she says. “He continued to play poker until he got ill this past year because he loved to gamble. Something so rare in today’s executives.”
