Global Gaming Women announce award winners

(PRESS RELEASE) -- Global Gaming Women is pleased to announce the 2018 winners of its annual Great Women of Gaming Awards. This year’s class of winners are:

Game Changer Category
Pokin Yeung – Founder, CEO Absolute Games. Yeung sold her company to Penn Interactive Ventures and is currently employed by them.

Leadership Category
Julia Boguslawski – Chief Marketing Officer and Executive Vice President of Investor Relations, AGS.

Service Star Category
Dale Merrill – SVP of Human Resources and Administration, Foxwoods Resort Casino.

Rising Star Category
Michelle Schenk – Senior Manager for Global Communications, IGT.

Lifetime Achievement Category
Debra Nutton – Executive Vice President of Casino Operations of Wynn Las Vegas and Encore Resort, Wynn Resorts Retired.

These Great Women of Gaming award recipients will be honored at the Global Gaming Women Monday, 8 October 2018 morning session of the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas. Ms. Becky Harris, Chairwoman of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, will present the awards to each of the winners.

“We are thrilled to announce these outstanding leaders as winners of this year’s Awards. Each in her own way has helped to move the gaming industry forward,” said Phyllis Gilland, President of Global Gaming Women. “We also congratulate each of this year’s nominees who represent the diversity, skill and leadership of the most accomplished women in the gaming industry.”

Nominations were judged by an esteemed committee of gaming leaders including, among others, Great Women of Gaming committee co-chairs Lauralyn Sandoval, Vice President of New Markets at Aristocrat Technologies, Inc. and Suzanne Trout, Chief Marketing Officer at Foxwoods Resort Casino; Christie Eickelman, Vice President of Marketing at Gaming Laboratories International; Dee-Wild Shyver, Associate Editor and Senior Advisor for Fantini’s Gaming Report and Fantini Research; Debra Nutton, Executive Vice President of Casino Operations of Wynn Las Vegas and Encore, Wynn Resorts; Bahar Alaeddini, Partner at Harris Hagan; Halise Ekmen, Director of Finance at Chumash Casino; Janet Beronio, Retired Regional President, Caesars Entertainment; Omer Sattar, Co-Founder and Executive Vice President Strategic Initiatives, NRT/Sightline Payments; Clive Hawkswood, CEO Remote Gambling Association UK; John Hagan, Partner Harris Hagan UK; Tracy Damestani, CEO National Casino Forum Europe; Sue Harley, Retired UK Gambling Commission and Ladbrokes Executive; Stacy Papadopoulos, AGA Senior Vice President of industry Services and General Counsel; Katharine Meczka , Executive Director of Cross Property Marketing Strategy, MGM Resorts International; Gavin Isaacs, Vice Chairman of the Board, Scientific Games; Eileen Moore , Regional President, Caesars Entertainment and Christiana Houck, Director - Learning Solutions, Aristocrat Technologies, Inc.

The Great Women of Gaming Awards, originally created by Casino Enterprise Management (CEM) Magazine and Peter Mead in 2004, were designed to recognize and encourage outstanding achievements by women in the gaming industry. In 2016, CEM transferred the Awards to Global Gaming Women. In keeping with the mission of Global Gaming Women, the Awards have been enhanced to broaden the awareness, strengthen prestige and celebrate the success of women in the worldwide gaming industry. Additionally, the Awards seek to engage more women in fields related to gaming and further Global Gaming Women’s goal of diversity in leadership.