Eric Fisher and Rick Velotta have been named winners of the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers’ 2025 Memorial Awards. Fisher will receive the Jens Halle Memorial Award honoring excellence in Commercial Gaming Professionalism and Velotta will receive the Peter Mead Memorial Award honoring excellence in Gaming Media & Communications.
AGEM created the annual awards program to acknowledge Halle’s and Mead’s lasting effects on gaming. AGEM formally recognizes the honorees each year at the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas, and this year’s awards ceremony will take place on October 8 at 2 p.m. in the G2E Networking Lounge on the exhibition show floor.
Fisher’s career focuses on advancing payment technologies in gaming, retail, banking and vending, with a strong emphasis on integrating cashless and digital solutions to enhance operator revenue and player experience. Fisher served as Crane Payment Innovations Senior Vice President & General Manager. Under Fisher’s leadership, the company experienced significant expansion. In 2017, he oversaw the launch of Crane Connectivity Solutions featuring Easitrax Connect, a platform designed to help operators manage the casino floor in real-time providing live visibility to device performance, data analytics and up-to-the-minute insights.
Two years later, Fisher was integral in the acquisition of Cummins Allison, enhancing the company’s portfolio in bill validation, cash processing, and digital payment systems.
Fisher’s tenure was marked by a focus on technological transformation, helping the gaming sector adapt to diverse payment preferences amid evolving consumer behaviors. His work has focused on driving revenue growth for operators while elevating the player experience through technology
“Eric Fisher was a mentor to me when I first joined the AGEM Board of Directors,” said AGEM Board of Directors Chair Ryan Comstock, who also serves as Chief Operating Officer at Ainsworth Game Technology.
“He was incredibly thoughtful and generous with his time, helping me quickly get up to speed. His guidance made a lasting impression on me, and it’s a bit of a full-circle moment to now see him receive this well-deserved award honoring excellence. Eric’s leadership and dedication have had a lasting impact on AGEM and the broader gaming industry, and I couldn’t be more pleased to see him recognized in this way.”
Velotta is a veteran journalist with more than 50 years in the field, the past 35 years spent in Las Vegas. He serves as a gaming-tourism reporter and assistant business editor at the Las Vegas Review-Journal, where he has worked since 2013.
A graduate of Northern Arizona University, Velotta earned the school’s top journalism honor during his studies. His reporting often looks at the economic effects of major events like the Super Bowl and FIFA World Cup, regulatory changes in Nevada gaming, and industry trends such as esports and casino expansions. Velotta’s work has chronicled the transformation of Las Vegas gaming from its 1990s boom to today’s hybrid digital-physical landscape, emphasizing regulatory evolution and economic resilience.
“For decades, Rick Velotta has always been a go-to for coverage of our gaming industry in Nevada,” said AGEM President & CEO Daron Dorsey. “Whether at Nevada Gaming Control Board or Nevada Gaming Commission meetings or reporting on issues affecting our gaming industry, we read Rick’s coverage to help understand and stay connected with the events of the day.
“More than that, Rick has always been patient, professional and approachable in his reporting on stories and issues of all shapes and sizes. Rick’s contributions to gaming have benefited gaming suppliers, operators, decision-makers and the public over the last few decades and we are thrilled to recognize Rick with this year’s Peter Mead award.”
Previous winners of the Jens Halle Award are Len Ainsworth, Rick Meitzler, Gavin Isaacs, Tom Nieman, Robert “Bob” McMonigle, Sebastian Salat, Roy Student, Bob Manz, and Steve Sutherland.
Previous winners of the Peter Mead Award are Howard Stutz, Roger Gros, Frank Legato, Dave Palermo, David Orrick, Alan Feldman, Frank Fantini, Victor Rocha, and Lori Nelson-Kraft.
Halle was a longtime Bally and Novomatic executive in Europe, and most recently CEO of Gauselmann Group’s Merkur Gaming before his passing. Mead was the founder and publisher of Casino Enterprise Management magazine.
