The Alt Gaming Hall of Fame

The American Gaming Association’s Gaming Hall of Fame represents all that is good about the industry. The members of the hall are indeed worthy and impactful. They are all giants of the industry and deserve their places in gaming history.

But let’s talk about the history of the hall itself. It was actually launched in 1989 by the company that published a trade magazine, the long-departed International Gaming & Wagering Business (founded, incidentally, by former gaming executives Howard Klein and Gary Selener).

One of the first people inducted, and rightfully so, was Steve Wynn. But in 1995, when Donald Trump was included, Wynn resigned. At that time, they were involved in a heated rivalry in Atlantic City. I witnessed Wynn’s tirade in front of one of the IGWB editors. Since that publication was the main rival to my publication, Casino Journal, I had to smirk. Wynn was re-inducted in 2006 after he got over his Trump Derangement Syndrome and the AGA was in charge.

But I digress. While I appreciate all the great members of the hall, there are many individuals who are not in it who should be included. So let me propose an Alternative Hall of Fame. It’s not really the dark side of the business, but the underappreciated and overlooked who should be included.

I’ll lead off, however, with two men who are neither underappreciated nor overlooked—Howard Hughes and Elvis Presley—but have failed to reach the AGA hall. Full disclosure, I was on the nomination committee for the AGA hall for a couple of years and I brought both of these individuals up as candidates. Apparently, each of them has organizations that have survived long after their deaths that limit how their names can be used, which of course involves a ton of money.

So it’s understandable why they aren’t officially in, but they’ll support our Alt Gaming Hall of Fame. The industry truly would not be the same if Hughes hadn’t pushed the Mob out of Vegas. And casino entertainment was forever changed by Elvis’ invention of the residency.

Unfortunately, lots of the people I will nominate are no longer with us. Let’s start with Billy Wilkerson, who founded the Flamingo in Las Vegas, prior to the arrival of Bugsy Siegel. He was also the founder of the Hollywood Reporter, a key publication covering the movie business. Unfortunately, like Gaming Hall of Fame member Jay Sarno, Wilkerson was a compulsive gambler and never was able to capitalize on his foresight about the gaming industry.

Martin Stern Jr. was the seminal architect for Las Vegas. When it came to the city skyline, he created it from the ground up. From the International (later the Hilton, now the Westgate) to the MGM Grand (now the Horseshoe), Stern was there. All of today’s great gaming architects are indebted to his vision and artistry.

There are a few politicians in the AGA hall. But one they missed was very important to gaming’s expansion beyond Las Vegas. New Jersey Governor Brendan Byrne backed the 1976 gaming referendum to legalize casinos in Atlantic City. It would never have been approved without Byrne’s commitment to keeping the industry clean and Mob-free.

The recently deceased G. Michael “Mickey” Brown deserves a place in any Hall of Fame. Mickey legitimatized tribal gaming in the investment community by lining up financing for and operating Foxwoods and a dozen other tribal casinos across the country.

In the last couple of years, Charlie Lombardo and Debb Nutton were named to the AGA hall. Charlie was an esteemed slot executive for almost 50 years, and Debi was the table game guru. But so many others who have toiled away in obscurity made similar contributions.

Let’s start with Roy Student, who led real innovation, whether it was player account systems, server-based gaming or non-gaming amenities. Roy recognized the future and made it happen.

Or how about Tom Cantone, who still is working for the Mohegan Tribe? Tom transformed casino entertainment in the 1980s in Atlantic City when he hired Robin Williams, Eddie Murphy, Cher, Billy Crystal and dozens of other young acts that broke the mold of the casino entertainer.

And let’s expand the Alt Hall of Fame to recognize international gaming giants. Simon Thomas is in the midst of changing what gaming in the U.K. is all about with his Hippodrome casino in downtown London.

And the Asian members of the Alt Hall would number in the dozens, just starting with Stanley Ho and his progeny. Or Genting’s KT Lim and Australia’s Kerry Packer. The list goes on.

I’ll stop adding names now because I’m sure to omit some more-than-qualified individuals. So let’s honor all those who have achieved the pinnacle of their profession by being named to the AGA Gaming Hall of Fame. But also, let’s not forget those who built the industry brick by brick and deserve at least a mention in the history of this great enterprise.