2 Nevadans to be added to Gaming Hall of Fame
Two gaming leaders with ties to Nevada’s casino industry will be among four men inducted into the American Gaming Association’s Gaming Hall of Fame this year.
The association recently announced the Hall of Fame’s Class of 2018, which includes former Nevada Gaming Control Board Chairman Philip Hannifin and Bally Technologies and Scientific Games executive Richard Haddrill.
The association also announced that Peter M. Carlino, a former Penn National Gaming executive, and Steven Perskie, a former New Jersey legislator, judge and gaming regulator, also will be inducted in a ceremony planned at the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas. The expo runs Oct. 8-11.
Philip Hannifin
Hannifin served three terms on the Control Board from 1971 to 1977 in an era when regulators were trying to rid the state of organized crime and encourage corporate investment in Nevada by Wall Street.
Hannifin went on to become director and executive vice president of Summa Corp., a predecessor to the Howard Hughes Corporation, from 1977 to 1984. He was president of Harrah’s West, a predecessor to Caesars Entertainment Corp., from 1984 t0 1986, director and executive vice president of the MGM Grand from 1987 to 1991, director of Riviera Holdings Corp. from 1993 to 1998, and director and executive vice president of Fitzgeralds Corp. from 1991 until his retirement in 2000.
With Summa, MGM Grand and Harrah’s, his leadership was critical to the development of mega resorts that defined the Strip.
As a board director with Fitzgeralds, he helped move the company from its ownership of a single property in Reno to a nationwide operation in seven locations.
Richard Haddrill
Haddrill, CEO of Bally Technologies from 2004 to 2014 and currently executive vice chairman of Las Vegas-based Scientific Games, is known for spurring technological advancements in the gaming industry.
In his board position at Scientific, he mentors executives, supports mergers and acquisitions, provides strategic guidance, and leverages long-established relationships with key gaming operators to help drive revenues and new initiatives.
Haddrill led expansion in Class II and video lottery gaming and the development of the popular multistate lottery Powerball game. He helped drive racino legislation and led the ground-up development of New Mexico’s Sunland Park Racino.
Also known in Las Vegas as a philanthropist, Haddrill has served on the boards of the Smith Center for the Performing Arts and Boy Scouts of America.
Peter M. Carlino
Carlino took the helm at Penn National Gaming from his father, Peter D. Carlino, who was awarded one of Pennsylvania’s original thoroughbred racing licenses in 1972. The son led Penn National’s growth from a single racetrack to a diversified multi-jurisdictional owner of gaming properties across North America and continues to chair the Penn board.
Steven Perskie
As a state legislator in New Jersey, Perskie led efforts to legalize the first casinos outside of Nevada. His efforts led to the revitalization of Atlantic City, and he was appointed chairman of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission in 1990, serving in that capacity until 1994.
Past honorees
The American Gaming Association has inducted 92 men and women to the Gaming Hall of Fame, including entertainers, politicians and industry leaders from both the casino operations and manufacturing side.
Among the past honorees:
*Casino company operators William Harrah (1989), Jay Sarno (1989), Jackie Gaughan (1990), Sam Boyd (1991), William Boyd (1993), J. Terrance Lanni (2000), Steve Wynn (2006), Michael Gaughan (2009), Sheldon Adelson (2011), Gary Loveman (2013) and Diana Bennett (2017).
*Manufacturing executives Si Redd (1991), Len Ainsworth (1995), Charles Mathewson (1997), John Acres (2016) and John Breeding and Joe Kaminkow (2017).
*Entertainers Frank Sinatra (1997), Siegfried & Roy (1998), Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme (1999), Wayne Newton (2000), Paul Anka (2001), Tom Jones (2003), Don Rickles (2004), Debbie Reynolds (2005), David Copperfield (2007), Blue Man Group (2011) and Celine Dion (2013).
*Chefs Wolfgang Puck (2005), Michael Mina (2007), Emeril Lagasse (2008), Charlie Palmer (2011), Julian Serrano (2012) and Guy Savoy (2013).
*Former Nevada Gov. Grant Sawyer (1989), former Sen. Harry Reid (2001), former state Sen. William Raggio (2012), former Las Vegas Mayor Jan Jones Blackhurst (currently a Caesars Entertainment executive)(2014) and Melvin Wolzinger (2017).
*President Donald Trump is a member of the Hall of Fame; he was inducted in 1995 as a casino operator.
