Gambling industry expert, Bill Eadington, dead at 67

Bill Eadington, University of Nevada, Reno economist, author and world-renowned authority on gaming issues, died Monday at his Lake Tahoe-area home after an 18-month battle with cancer. He was 67.

For decades, Eadington was a much-sought-after speaker at gaming conferences and was instrumental in the creation of UNR’s triennial International Conference on Gambling and Risk Taking first held in 1974.And he was the longtime director of the Institute for the Study of Gambling and Commercial Gaming, which he started at UNR in 1989. The institute, under Eadington’s tenure, has helped put UNR’s stamp on the global academic map.

"One of the coolest things about him was he had a global perspective of what we can do out of UNR for the gaming industry worldwide," said Greg Mosier, dean of the UNR College of Business, where Eadington was an economics professor since 1969. "He made that whole thing take off. He had a grand vision and he pulled it off. He was a good friend to the community. It’s a great loss."

Eadington wrote extensively on issues related to the economic and social impacts of gaming, including several books, among them "The Downside: Problem and Pathological Gambling" and "Gambling: Public Policies and the Social Sciences." He also served as a consultant and adviser for governments and private-sector organizations worldwide on issues related to gaming laws, casino operations, regulation, legalization and public policy. "He was the most influential academic in the gaming industry," said Reno gaming analyst Ken Adams. "He built that institute as an academic discipline when no one was taking it seriously. "Insiders in the industry would argue but when any legislation was discussed, he was the best guy to have testify. He brought them back to the center. He knew the good points and bad points. He had really valuable insights."

Eadington received numerous honors and awards over his career. Most recently, he was inducted in 2011 into the American Gaming Association Hall of Fame and honored with a Special Achievement Award for Gaming Education. Last summer, the National Council on Problem Gambling, of which Eadington was a board member for 30 years, presented him with the Goldman Lifetime Award for Advocacy.

A Southern California native, Eadington earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Santa Clara University and a Ph.D. in economics from Claremont Graduate School, after which he joined the teaching staff at UNR.

Eadington was diagnosed with cancer in August 2011 and had returned to Reno on Jan. 31 from the Mayo Clinic near Phoenix, Ariz., after it was determined he was too weak for further treatment, said his wife, Margaret. He is survived by his wife, son Michael Eadington, daughter and son-in-law, Diana and Darren Reed, and three grandchildren.

From Reno Gazette Journal, 12/02/2013

Professor was valued, respected in gaming industry

Bill Eadington never built a billion-dollar Strip resort. He never managed a riverboat casino or a gambling hall of any size. Eadington never created a new table game. He never developed an innovative slot machine. Yet, the influence Eadington carried inside and outside gaming circles during his 44-year academic career as an economics professor at the University of Nevada, Reno, went beyond measure. He founded the Institute for the Study of Gambling and Commercial Gaming at UNR.

Dozens of gaming industry professionals owe their careers to Eadington. Emerging gaming markets sought out Eadington's research and advice as a consultant on issues related to regulation and law, public policy, and legalization. He paved the road for academics in other disciplines, such as sociology and history, to study gaming. For the media, Eadington was a trusted resource on gaming issues, such as the proliferation of casinos and problem gambling. "He cut right to the facts," said American Gaming Association CEO Frank Fahrenkopf Jr. "He didn't go into hyperbole. He laid everything out in a matter-of-fact way. That's why he was so respected."

Eadington, 67, died Monday at his Lake Tahoe-area home following an 18-month bout with cancer. His passing was noted in similar tones by many gaming leaders as a loss not only for the industry but for Nevada as well. "We have lost someone who would look at both the positives and downsides of our industry from a forceful academic approach," said International Game Technology Chairman Phil Satre, who became acquainted with Eadington during his tenure as chairman and CEO of Harrah's Entertainment. Eadington, Satre said, was a key adviser in the task force that created the company's program that addressed problem gambling, an issue adopted by the American Gaming Association. "Bill was a gaming research pioneer," Fahrenkopf said. "He was the first academic to explore responsible gaming and tie it to the economics of the industry."

In 1974, Eadington created the International Conference on Gambling and Risk Taking, an event held every three years. Last year, a partnership was struck with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas to host the 2013 conference. Bo Bernhard, executive director of the International Gaming Institute at UNLV, said Eadington was mocked by academic peers back in 1969 when he arrived at UNR. They thought the study of gaming, at the time, was a joke. "He single-handedly created a multidisciplinary field for gaming," said Bernhard, whose background is in sociology. "That's the good thing about the spirit of the conference. He wanted gaming to be looked at through the quantitative language of math and artistic language of science."

David G. Schwartz, director of the Center for Gaming Research at UNLV, credited Eadington with exposing him to the idea of studying gaming. Schwartz, a graduate student in history at the University of California, Los Angeles, encouraged him to explore gaming research. "In many ways, Bill put a lot of people on the path toward a career in gaming," Schwartz said. One person who ended up in gaming thanks to Eadington is Mark Lipparelli. The former Gaming Control Board chairman, who has held executive positions with such companies as Bally Technologies and Shuffle Master, was headed toward law school until he took several economics courses at UNR from Eadington. Instead, Lipparelli attended graduate school at UNR and earned a master's degree in economics. "Few contributed more over the span of time in enhancing the credibility of our industry," Lipparelli said. "I don't think anybody realizes how significant Bill's influence and reach was in the gaming industry. He brought so many people through his executive development program." Lipparelli spent time in Eadington's classroom as both an undergraduate and graduate student. "He was a tough professor, but he was very balanced," Lipparelli said.

Jeffrey Compton, who publishes cdcgamingreports.com, said he wouldn't have discovered gaming without Eadington, who had invited him to a conference in London. Later, Compton attended Eadington's executive gaming program. "I owe a great debt to Dr. Eadington," Compton said.

Eadington published several books on gaming, including "The Downside: Problem and Pathological Gambling" and "Gambling: Public Policies and the Social Sciences." In 2011, the American Gaming Association inducted Eadington into the Gaming Hall of Fame, in the same class as Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman Sheldon Adelson, chef Charlie Palmer and the Blue Man Group. Fahrenkopf said Eadington had the largest and loudest cheering section at the induction dinner. Eadington may have belonged to the gaming industry, but to Reno, he helped put UNR on the academic map. "One of the coolest things about him was he had a global perspective of what we can do out of UNR for the gaming industry worldwide," Greg Mosier, dean of the UNR College of Business told the Reno Gazette-Journal. "He made that whole thing take off. He had a grand vision and he pulled it off. He was a good friend to the community. It's a great loss."

By Howard Stutz in Gaming Wire 18 February 2013

Bill Eadington, World Renowned Gambling Expert, Dies. Respected By All, Devoted To His Cause

Bill Eadington died this month at the age of 67. Professor Eadington was the longtime director of the Institute for the Study of Gambling and Commercial Gaming at the University of Nevada, Reno.

Standing Above The Heated Rhetoric

With a lifetime devoted to understanding all aspects of the gaming world, what most set him apart from other experts in the field was Professor Eadington's belief that groups who differed in their outlook on gambling would make more progress if they worked together, rather than criticizing one another. He had a reputation for being "the smartest guy around" said one of his colleges, and for "all intents and purposes, he invented the field of gambling studies." Simply put, anybody and everybody on an academic level wanting to understand the world of gaming better, went to him.

Young Prodigy Brought Dignity To His Field

Receiving his bachelor's degrees in mathematics and economics from Santa Clara University at the tender age of 23, he completed his course work for a doctorate in economics at Claremont Graduate School. His commitment to a more comprehensive understanding of a world viewed by many in a negative light led him far and wide. He did consulting work for governments in South Africa and South Korea on the economic potential of gambling even as he served on the board of the National Council on Problem Gambling, which gave him a lifetime achievement award last year. In 2011, Professor Eadington was elected to the American Gaming Association's Hall of Fame, a small and eclectic group that includes Wayne Newton, Donald J. Trump and David Copperfield.

By Sam P | Feb 18, 2013 Gambling, AGA, University