For many, July 2014 was a sad time for Nevada gaming, the month when a group of Italian lottery company executives using the name Gtech Holdings, acquired IGT, the shorthand version of International Game Technology.

It was sad because a stalwart of the state’s gaming business, founded by the legendary Si Redd in 1990, was being sold off to foreign buyers half a world away for $6.4 billion.

What was to become of IGT, a Silver State institution that brought fame to Nevada as the leading manufacturer of video poker games and slot machines?

The Italian core group of executives decided to spin off a portion of the company and merge it with Las Vegas-based Everi Holdings Inc. and base the gaming equipment manufacturing group in Nevada.