▶ Black Executives On The Rise ▲

July 2024

Darnell Johnson

Current company and role: IGT, Vice President, Global Product Management

Hometown: San Francisco, California

First job in the gaming industry: Quality Engineer, Aristocrat Gaming

What do you like about working in gaming?

The work is a fast-paced business
I’m given the opportunity to address and solve different and unique challenges regularly
People and relationships. I’ve been doing this for 20+ years and many of my strongest friendships and relationships I have, originated from my time in the casino gaming industry

Did anything surprise you about the industry when you first started? (pleasant surprises, hopefully).

Before entering the casino gaming industry, I worked in the video game and technology industry in the Bay Area, and I was very shocked to see how slow the industry was at adopting new technologies.

Were you familiar with gambling before landing a job in the industry? What were your thoughts about gaming before starting to work in the industry?

No, and to be honest I had very little knowledge or interest in the casino gaming industry before joining it. I got my first exposure working as a software development consultant, taking on a project where I was helping then MGM Mirage transition from their in-house back-office system to Springer Miller Systems.

The project was a 9-month project in which I also helped opened the Bellagio and was later as to come back to assist with Y2K development and testing. I eventually became very fond of what I was doing and the industry. I enjoyed it so much, I decided to move to Las Vegas and where I took on a role with Aristocrat.

Has your impression of the industry changed at all?

Absolutely. I was a bit frustrated at first but quickly grew a strong fondness for the industry and my role. After deciding that this is what I wanted to do long term, a mentor, suggested that I should consider transitioning from the Systems side of the business to the Games side and then my fondness grew even more!

What major trends do you see emerging in the gaming industry over the next 5 to 10 years?

Online / Mobile interactions with the player (gaming, betting and payments) will continue to grow more and more. Today’s players are becoming more comfortable interacting online or in a mobile environment. Tomorrow’s players most likely will expect that to be more of the standard
Portrait (single screen) EGM’s are quickly becoming the EGM of choice for both the player and the operator for a number of reasons. I’ve had the opportunity to speak with both domestic and international operators and players and an overwhelming percentage responded that they prefer Portrait cabinets vs Dual screen cabinets
I also believe the convergence of land base and online gaming (omnichannels) will really start gaining momentum and will be a key factor in players desired gaming experience in the future. In both mature and new markets, we are starting to see signs of that convergence growing. Also, it’s proving to be a tool to address the intimidation element, we sometimes hear about from young and/or inexperience casino players.

What advice would you give to aspiring leaders in the gaming industry?

Ask questions, be like a sponge and take it all in, knowledge is a powerful tool.

Seek out a mentor, I’ve been lucky enough to have a few mentors in my career and the discussions and advice, I’ve received has really helped me better understand and navigate key situations in my professional career.

Lastly, don’t be afraid to take risks and even fail at times, I’ve learned far more from any failure that I’ve had versus any success that I’ve experienced.