Chuck Mathewson, one of the legends of the gaming industry, has died at the age of 93. Mathewson was chairman of International Game Technology from 1986 to 2003, a period in which IGT achieved unchallenged dominance of the slot market. Mathewson is universally credited with transforming IGT from a small Reno-based company into one of the giants of the casino industry.
Mathewson took over as chairman of IGT’s board in February 1986, when George Drews resigned as president and CEO. IGT founder Si Redd temporarily assumed CEO duties and elevated Mathewson, a member of the board, to chairman. Within a month of his taking over as chairman, IGT launched Megabucks, the first wide-area progressive slot machine. In December of that year, Redd sold his controlling interest in IGT and Mathewson became president and CEO.
It was the beginning of IGT’s rise to dominance, when it would take over the market from former leader Bally with the introduction of groundbreaking slots like Double Diamond and Red, White & Blue. By the 1990s, IGT was named one of the 1,000 most valuable companies in the U.S. by Business Week magazine.
The 1990s also saw the launch of Wheel of Fortune, the most successful slot franchise in the company’s history. That landmark game grew out of a dinner Mathewson had with the producer of TV’s Wheel of Fortune game show, Ed Rogich, longtime sales and marketing VP for the company, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Mathewson was inducted into the American Gaming Association’s Gaming Hall of Fame in 1997.
It was the culmination of a career that had humble beginnings. Matheson worked in his family’s grocery business before serving two years in the U.S. Army, subsequently earning a degree in finance in 1953 from the University of Southern California through the GI Bill. He made his name in the securities business in the years that followed, helping to found investment firm Jefferies & Company in the 1960s.
His investments led him to IGT, then a small Reno-based slot machine maker. He joined the IGT board in the early 1980s. By 2000, when Mathewson co-founded the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers, IGT owned 75 percent or more of the worldwide slot market.
“Chuck lived an exciting and successful life as a veteran, businessman, philanthropist, and friend to everyone he met,” his family wrote in a statement issued following his death October 29.
Many of the state of Nevada’s luminaries paid tribute to Mathewson following the news of his passing. “Chuck’s example was one that all Nevadans could relate to: Respect the value of great ideas, encourage the value of great ideas in others, and use all of your energy and support in making these dreams a reality,” said former Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval in a statement.
“Chuck will always be remembered as one of our region’s greatest business leaders,” said Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve. “Chuck was a northern Nevada icon and will be sorely missed.”
