Tribal Gaming Pioneer Brown Dead at 82

Michael “Mickey” Brown died in early October. He was the first director of the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement. In this role, he directed the regulation of and investigations into companies that wanted to enter the New Jersey casino industry—operators or suppliers—and led the licensing process for some of the most powerful companies in the world. When he resigned, he used his legal expertise to help grow Indian gaming. One of his first clients was the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation in Connecticut. He and the then-chairman Richard “Skip” Hayward had a great connection and worked to grow Foxwoods Resort Casino from a small bingo parlor to the huge casino resort it is today.

When he resigned in 2010 after suffering a stroke, he was the president of Seneca Gaming. At the time of his stroke, he was to be inducted into the American Gaming Association’s Gaming Hall of Fame, but the board wanted to hold off for when he got well, which never happened.

There are few people who meant so much to the expansion of gaming as Mickey Brown. He was a giant in the industry.