Don’t Call It a Comeback

New ownership, new leadership and a renewed sense of pride and purpose have made IGT an unlikely underdog.

When Daniel Cohen, private equity partner at Apollo Global Management, went before the Nevada Gaming Control Board in June 2025 for a licensing hearing related to Apollo’s $6.3 billion dual acquisition of IGT and Everi Holdings, he was rather blunt in his assessment of where the IGT business stood at that time.

Cohen said the brand “has a margin profile that is significantly lower than our largest peers, which, you obviously know, are Light & Wonder and Aristocrat.” He assured regulators that Apollo would do everything in its power to “close that gap” between them.

Since then, the new entity’s overhaul has been defined in part by a collection of industry All-Stars on par with the Dodgers and Yankees:  accomplished CEO Hector Fernandez has taken the same position at IGT; the same goes for Andy Hendrickson, who now holds the dual role of CTO and chief product officer; and Jamie Knight, who spent two decades in gaming, has quickly risen through the ranks and will become chief studios officer in January upon the retirement of current CSO Jean Venneman.

This influx of new talent and leadership has brought fresh perspectives to one of the gaming industry’s most storied and respected brands. But while the history of IGT still holds enough prestige to attract this top-level talent, they are as straightforward as Cohen was in evaluating where things stand and where they need to go for IGT to reclaim the top spot.

“On day one for the first global town hall, I deployed our strategy, which is the five C’s: culture, capabilities, commercialization, content and cash flow creation, and I worked really hard to focus the team on those five things,” Fernandez says. “Because one of the things that I had realized as an outsider looking in is that IGT had tried to be too many things to too many people at the same time. They had really gotten away from their core, the things that had made it great back in its peak.”

The biggest priority in the short term has been the fifth C, cash flow creation, as that allows for more investment into the other four, Fernandez says. This has been done partly through some reorganization: IGT announced layoffs in March that affected some 700 roles, or about 10 percent of its global workforce. Then in July, GGB was first to report that the company will shutter its electronic table games division in 2027 as it looks to “focus on core business priorities and long-term growth objectives.” While Fernandez notes that IGT is “largely behind the reorganization part of the business,” that spirit of self-evaluation is never complete.

“We’ve been very hard at work, but I would tell you, no organization is ever done with transformation,” he says. “You have to look in the mirror each year and say, ‘Where have I not done enough? What are the things I need to change?’ One of the advantages we have today is that we do that every single day. We ruthlessly prioritize the things that we’re going to change and pivot on.”

“On day one for the first global town hall, I deployed our strategy, which is the five C’s: culture, capabilities, content, commercialization and cash flow creation… I had realized as an outsider that IGT had tried to be too many things to too many people.”

Hector Fernandez, CEO, IGT

From a games perspective, Knight agrees that the company had gotten away from what made it successful historically. Its studios had become “factories,” she says, constantly pumping out games without the “passion and the creativity and the production value that really are needed” to get ahead in an ultra-competitive landscape.

“What we’re doing is creating a culture of accountability, giving the studios more control, giving them all the pieces they need with clear direction and strong support and freedom to really challenge conventional thinking,” Knight says. “What I’ve learned by making content most of my career is, that’s how we succeed. It turns into successful products when we give people that accountability and control, and that excites me.”

A Little Privacy, Please

Perhaps the biggest immediate change for IGT in the aftermath of the Apollo acquisition has been its switch to private ownership after decades as a publicly traded company. Fernandez noted that the plan is to eventually go public again in the future. But for now, the lack of earnings calls and investor scrutiny is allowing the company to move more freely, break down silos and be more honest in its assessments.

For CEOs of public companies, Fernandez says, the bulk of their time is spent “between investors, the board and M&A.” But in a private setting, Fernandez can split that time more evenly among customers, employees, Apollo and future planning.

“Every day I wake up and think about what’s right for the business over the next three to five years versus what’s the right thing for the business this quarter,” he says. “When you’re a public company CEO, it’s a bit like being an NFL coach. You’re not worried about the next game. You’re just worried about winning today, because if you don’t win today, you may be fired on Monday.”

Very few of the top suppliers in the industry are privately owned, which can make it something of a competitive advantage, especially with regard to talent. The company has been aggressive in fielding candidates with non-compete obligations because of its long-term view. Indeed, Fernandez, Hendrickson and Knight all sat out with non-competes from their previous stops before making the move to IGT. That kind of patience is rare, and most publicly traded companies grapple with “a lot of sub-optimal long-term value destruction that we’re very fortunately not dealing with,” Fernandez says.

IGT wasn’t the only company to delist as part of the unique transaction, as the Everi team is also going through the same changes as part of the merger. When Apollo’s Cohen went before the NGCB in mid-2025, he stressed a desire to become the “operator’s supplier,” a one-stop shop for “basically every one of your product needs.” The addition of Everi’s sizable financial technology business will be a particular point of emphasis and a differentiator for the new entity moving forward.

“When (Apollo) looked at IGT and Everi, they viewed it as these two businesses that, if you can bring them closer, you can unlock a value to a customer that nobody else has,” Fernandez says. He adds that “none of the other suppliers has access to” a comparable fintech segment. 

The payment space is a difficult nut to crack in gaming, as the challenge has always been to try and replicate the seamless experiences that consumers are used to with nearly every other industry. Everi, which itself was born from a prior merger with Global Cash Access, has a big head start in overcoming the operational and regulatory challenges that come with moving money on the casino floor and elsewhere.

In addition, the vast amount of player information that comes from that vertical gives a more rounded view of customers and in turn leads to better products and more personalized experiences.

“I really do believe we can double that business just within the gaming vertical,” Fernandez says. “That’s not even talking about outside of the gaming vertical, which obviously has even more opportunities.”

Creativity Beats Quotas

On the content side, Knight has a lot to sort through in terms of prioritizing existing strengths while making changes for the future.

According to the most recent Eilers-Fantini Game Performance Report from August, IGT is solidly third in the industry in terms of percentage of top core games. It is the only company outside of those two to crack the top 15 spots in the Top Indexing Core Games chart, and its King Khufu and Jin Ling Link series jumped to third and fifth in the Core Parent Theme chart, respectively.

Researchers noted that overall, IGT is “on a tear with core product” and is seeing “excellent trends” in new core games. IGT and Everi were the third- and sixth-highest grossing suppliers in the report, although their combined unit total would technically qualify for second place, ahead of Light & Wonder.

While much work lies ahead to fulfill Apollo’s goal of “closing that gap” with its competitors, there are other categories where IGT and Everi are clear powerhouses and will try to remain so. The most notable is video poker, where IGT holds all 25 of the top spots on the Eilers-Fantini chart. Another is mechanical reels. Everi holds seven of the top 10 spots on the High Denomination Mechanical Reel chart and IGT holds eight of the top 10 spots on the Premium Leased Mechanical Reel chart.

“What we have here is some really good talent across all of our global studios,” Knight says. “We have experienced game designers and artists, mathematicians and producers who have created some of the most successful games that are recognizable across the industry. So we need to really build off of that strong foundation, and what will change is how we empower those teams. My belief is that great content comes from giving those talented people those priorities and the right tools and the freedom to do the best work.”

Knight says that audio has been a point of emphasis under the new regime, especially as cabinets become more immersive. Sound “plays a critical role in that overall experience,” she says, which is why her teams are “continuing to elevate how our audio supports the gameplay and the presentation” of new titles like King Khufu.

IGT’s most precious and well-known game series, Wheel of Fortune, is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, and will continue to be a focal point moving forward. Fernandez admits he was “jealous” of the Wheel of Fortune brand before he joined the company and will look to inject new energy into the new generation of games.

“We have experienced game designers and artists, mathematicians and producers who have created some of the most successful games that are recognizable across the industry. So we need to really build off of that.”

Jamie Knight, incoming Chief Studios Officer SVP of Game Studios – U.S., IGT

The latest release, Wheel of Fortune Sunny Money, is a “strong example of a vibrant, cartoony, beachy inspired theme,” Knight says, which illustrates the “freshness” and new direction of the franchise. Many of the designers who made the biggest and most beloved Wheel of Fortune games are still with the company, and the same goes for the executives who buy them for their properties and the players who play them.

“One of the things that you’ll see at this G2E is our reinvestment back into Wheel of Fortune,” Fernandez says. “And Wheel of Fortune isn’t just one brand. You can do so many fun kinds of things.”

All slot makers must balance third-party IP with in-house content, though industry trends tend to ebb and flow over time. IGT has seen success with big IP brands like Wheel of Fortune, Whitney Houston and Jumanji, and Fernandez says IGT will have “a big new” IP game to unveil at G2E. At the same time, he acknowledges that “financially, the organic brands can be advantageous because you’re not sharing that with anybody.”

Roar of the Crowd

Both Fernandez and Knight agree that content is what will ultimately drive the IGT comeback story. For Fernandez, his role is to “create the strategy and the vision and establish the guardrails to unleash the creative talent” at his disposal. By doing so, he can then “sell a solution” to a customer rather than just singular products.

The first phase of change is always the hardest and most grueling, but the work being done now will set the new foundation for years to come, he says. A turnaround at this scale could be career-defining.

“They know the work is hard because the first couple of years are really hard, but they want to be part of this comeback story,” Fernandez says. “You can look back on your career and say, ‘I was part of bringing IGT back to the prominence that it once had, that it lost.’”

As part of that journey, Knight will be “focused on making smarter choices with innovation” and “leaning into our brands so that we can start to build that trust back.” Trust will be earned by consistency quarter-to-quarter and year-to-year, without the constant pressure of stock prices and investor sentiment, at least for now.

Fitch Ratings affirmed IGT’s “BB” default rating with a “Stable” outlook in April. Analysts said this initial rating “reflects its top-three status in each of its three lines of business, supported by broad diversification across business lines, product types and jurisdictions.”

IGT’s presence in the Class III market and Everi’s success in the Class II market should “strengthen” their positions against competitors, Fitch said. Everi’s fintech business could “lengthen contracts and improve customer retention” because of its complementary nature alongside the traditional gaming business. 

“(IGT) could slowly bridge the gap with other suppliers by continuing to focus on premium cabinets, producing a steady stream of high-quality games, and maintaining its dominance in adjacencies such as video lottery and poker terminals,” analysts said.

From an industry perspective, Fernandez says everyone is “rooting for us.” A healthy and hungry IGT is good for gaming as a whole, he contends, because “it creates competitiveness and equilibrium.”

“I remind customers all the time it’s a very competitive industry for sure, but the pie is big enough. I think some people in this industry have forgotten that,” Fernandez says.