American Gaming Association chief to retire

Frank Fahrenkopf, the CEO of the American Gaming Association, a trade body that numbers most of the major Nevada land casino operators among its members, is to retire at the end of June 2013, the Association announced Monday.

Among the first employees when the Association was formed, Fahrenkopf has been with the trade body for 18 years, managing it through steady growth and many a tough situation with skill and diplomacy, and lobbying hard for land industry interests.

His most recent project, trying to drum up support for the controversial Reid-Kyl initiative to federally legalise online poker whilst making other forms of internet gambling illegal, was not successful, however.

Fahrenkopf was no stranger to executive posts in sensitive and difficult fields when he joined the AGA; he previously served the Republican Party as chairman of its national committee.

AGA chairman and head of Bally Technologies, Richard Haddrill, paid tribute to Fahrenkopf’s service, saying that he had been a “…steady, thoughtful leader through a period of great change for our industry and has steered us through some of its most difficult challenges. The fact that today our industry is recognized as a vital part of the global economy is in no small part due to his tireless efforts and leadership.”

The Association has already retained an executive employment group to find a replacement for Fahrenkopf, who will remain available as an adviser until the end of 2013 after he retires.

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