Global Gaming Women celebrates Virginia McDowell's induction into AGA's Gaming Hall of Fame Class 2022

Global Gaming Women issued a statement Wednesday congratulating founding Board chair Virginia McDowell for being one of the three inductees to the American Gaming Association’s (AGA) Gaming Hall of Fame Class of 2022. Honorees will celebrate at an induction ceremony during Global Gaming Expo (G2E) at The Venetian Expo in Las Vegas this October.

GGW Board Chair and President Cassie Stratford, SVP of Legal Operations and Compliance at Boyd Gaming, said: "From the beginning, Virginia has been tirelessly focused on acquiring the support and resources necessary to develop the next generation of women leaders in the gaming industry. On behalf of Global Gaming Women's board and members, we congratulate her on this incredible recognition of her contributions to the gaming industry."

McDowell's accomplishments and a lifetime of work have been recognized through several prestigious awards, recalls the nonprofit organization. She received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 25th Annual East Coast Gaming Congress and is the first female inductee to the Mississippi Gaming Hall of Fame. 

She served as the only female president and chief executive officer of a top publicly traded gaming operating company from 2007 until she retired from Isle of Capri Casinos in April 2016. 

She now serves as a Non-Executive Director of Entain, where she chairs the Environmental, Social, and Governance Committee. She is a member of the Board of Trustees of Saint Louis University, a trustee at HavenHouse St. Louis, and an advisory board member of the St. Louis Crisis Nursery.

Since 1989, the Gaming Hall of Fame has recognized gaming legends, pioneers and business leaders for their lasting impacts on the industry. "[They] have each helped transform the gaming industry in their own significant ways,” said last month AGA President and CEO Bill Miller of this year's inductees. “From leading casino and manufacturing operations across the country to serving in a multitude of board and advisory roles, their influence has spanned the U.S. and global gaming industry—and we are all better off for it.” 

The other two inductees this year are Gavin Isaacs, former President and CEO, Scientific Games Corporation and current Chairman of Games Global; and Michael Rumbolz, former CEO and current Executive Chairman of Everi Holdings.