David Orrick Receives European Casino Award

David Orrick, director of industry relations at Merkur Gaming, has been an established name in the international gaming industry for close to 30 years. Now he has been honored for his many years of service at the European Casino Awards ceremony in the Grand Connaught Rooms in London’s Covent Garden. In February, he received the Jimmy Thomas Outstanding Contribution Award.

“This award means a lot to me. Any recognition from within the industry in which one is privileged to work is a great honor and particularly so in this case as it reflects on long service throughout the companies that I have worked with during my time in the industry,” said Orrick after the award ceremony.

The European Casino Awards honor products, services, operators and personalities of the European casino industry in 21 categories. The award ceremony is organized by Datateam Business Media, publisher of Casino International.

A British citizen, Orrick is a true veteran of the international entertainment industry. Over the past decades, he has worked for numerous renowned gaming companies. Since January 2016, he has been contributing as director of industry relations to the steadily growing success of Merkur Gaming, the international development and sales brand of the German Gauselmann Group.

“David is an industry professional who knows and understands the world of gaming and its protagonists like no other,” said Athanasios “Sakis” Isaakidis, chief executive international at Merkur Gaming. “His expertise, professionalism and commitment are highly respected both within and beyond Merkur Gaming by industry and media representatives around the world.

“We are thrilled for him to have received this special award; it is an important acknowledgement of his contribution to the industry—which in David’s case has always been more of a passion than work.”

The award presented to Orrick bears the name of one of the best-known icons of the British leisure and gaming industry. Jimmy Thomas, who died last August, led the industry from the front for over 70 years. As well as founding the company Automatics Co. Ltd., the crowning achievement of his career was acquiring the multi-award-winning Hippodrome Casino leisure center in the heart of London.