Bill Eadington, the first academic to really take the gaming industry seriously, passed away in February after a long battle with cancer. Eadington founded the Institute for the Study of Gambling and Commercial Gaming at the University of Nevada Reno, which began in 1989. He was also the founder of what could be the first conference to consider gaming issues, the International Conference on Gambling and Risk Taking first held in 1974.
Held every three years, the conference will be held in conjunction with the University of Nevada Las Vegas’ International Gaming Institute for the first time this year on May 30 and 31 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.
Eadington also held an annual executive retreat, which has been attended over the years by many of the most senior gaming executives and regulators. The retreat tests critical thinking skills, the ability to work with other executives and developing strategies for success.
An important consultant to gaming companies, regulatory agencies and other government entities, Eadington wrote extensively about the industry, including for this magazine, and published several books including The Downside: Problem and Pathological Gambling and Gambling: Public Policies and the Social Sciences.
Eadington was inducted into the American Gaming Association’s Hall of Fame in 2011, and last year received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Center for Problem Gambling.
