Patty Becker is a gaming industry pioneer whose advocacy for women gives her status as a Gaming Hall of Fame legend.
Her legendary career began as a young woman from Las Vegas whose parents owned a children’s shoe store and who fell in love with the law after she read “To Kill a Mockingbird.”
She spent her career as a lawyer and executive in government and gaming, most notably as Nevada’s first woman deputy and chief deputy for the Gaming Control Board and Gaming Commission. (No other woman was appointed for another 35 years!).
Becker’s many accomplishments during that time included serving as Chief of Staff of Nevada’s governor and famously arguing the “Black Book” case against notorious “Casino” mobster Tony Spilotro before the Nevada Supreme Court.
After experiencing a sense of social isolation as one of few women in senior gaming roles, Becker took it on her own to create Kick Up Your Heels, which blossomed into the premier fundraiser for women in gaming. Her goal was to create a warm, inclusive gathering supporting education, mentorship, and career advancement for women.
It was that concept that eventually morphed into Global Gaming Women, an organization that is now celebrating 10 years with over 10,000 members across more than 70 countries.
And it all started with a lesson in camaraderie that Becker learned while attending a weeklong Alaskan fishing trip with 24 men.
Women in gaming firsts
Patricia Becker has over 40 years’ experience in the gaming industry and currently operates a gaming consulting firm that specializes in compliance and regulatory issues. During her career in gaming, Becker held numerous executive positions, all of which were firsts for women. She spent six years as a Senior Vice President with Aladdin Gaming and nine years with Harrah’s culminating with the position of Senior Vice President and General Counsel.
In 2015, Becker was honored for her career in gaming by induction to the Gaming Hall of Fame. She currently serves on the compliance committee of Light & Wonder, Inc., Nevada Restaurant Services, Inc., and Sightline Payments LLC, and has served as a board member with many public companies.
Becker served as executive director and Boyd Distinguished Professor at the UNLV International Gaming Institute. In addition, she was Chief of Staff to Nevada Governor Bob Miller from 1993 to 1995.
She holds the distinction of being the first woman to serve on the Nevada Gaming Control Board.
In 2004, Becker was the first woman to be inducted as a Counselor into the International Association of Gaming Advisors and has served as the organization’s president. In 2009, Becker created Kick Up Your Heels to provide educational programs for women in gaming. The event morphed into Global Gaming Women, where Becker served as a board member for numerous years.
Today Global Gaming Women supports, inspires, and influences the development of women in the gaming industry. GGW brings together women from all gaming segments to enrich their professional and personal lives. Established to create a broad network that allows peers to connect with their colleagues, GGW’s goal is for female gaming professionals to learn from one another, create lasting connections, and nurture emerging women leaders.
To Kill a Mockingbird
Becker reread “To Kill a Mockingbird” as a volunteer for Leaders in Readers.
“When I reread To Kill a Mockingbird, it just reminded me of the impact it had on me about right from wrong and protecting people who couldn’t protect themselves. It is what motivated me to want to become a lawyer. As a child people would say, ‘What do you want to do?’ And I would say, ‘I want to be a lawyer.’”
After graduating from the University Nevada Reno with a degree in Elementary Education, 20-old Patty Becker was teaching second grade in Las Vegas.
She was encouraged by women in the teacher’s lounge to pursue her dream of being a lawyer. “They were fabulous women, and they just said, ‘If you’re teaching, you can go into administration, or what you’re doing today is exactly what you’re going to be doing for the next 20 or 30 years’, so they did encourage me,” she said.
Girl dads
Becker began in an era when women were not commonly in executive positions in gaming.
“After graduating from Cal Western Law School in San Diego, I was lucky that I was the law clerk for the Chief Justice of the Nevada Supreme Court, Justice Cameron Batjer. A number of times in my career I ended up working for men that had three daughters. Justice Batjer had three daughters, so hiring a female law clerk was not an issue. The experience as a law clerk aided when I argued three very prominent gaming cases before the Nevada Supreme Court,” she said.
Nevada Attorney General Richard Bryan hired Becker as Deputy AG for the Nevada Gaming Control board and Gaming Commission, the first of many firsts Becker experienced in her career.
“I was first woman Deputy and the first Chief Deputy for the Gaming Control Board and Gaming Commission. I was first woman on the Gaming Control Board, and it took 35 years before another woman was appointed. That’s a long time,” Becker remarked.
Black Book
“It was during the time they closed the Aladdin and they closed the Stardust. It was still organized crime, you know. Lefty Rosenthal and all. It was the best place to be ever.
“I argued the Tony Spilotro case before the Nevada Supreme Court, and it was the first time they allowed cameras in the room. It was taped and televised and very hyped. The case was to put Tony Spilotro into the black book so he could not go into a licensed gaming establishment.”
Harrah’s and Aladdin
“I went to work for Harrah’s first as a Vice President and General Council Harrah’s West, and then I was promoted to Senior Vice President and General Counsel for all of Harrah’s throughout my tenure. I was there for nine and a half years, and at the end of that time, Harrah’s moved all of the corporate officers to Tennessee because that’s where the corporate headquarters was, and I had a young child at the time, so I chose to remain,” Becker recalled.
“After leaving Harrah’s, I received a call from Governor Bob Miller, and he asked me to consider being his chief of staff. So, I went back into government for two years as Chief of Staff.”
“After that I moved back to Las Vegas and formed Patricia Becker and Associates and chaired a number of compliance committees. I was also a board member of three different public companies – Fitzgeralds Gaming, Powerhouse Technologies, which started as Video Lottery Technologies, and Cash Systems. And then Aladdin Gaming allowed me to continue to do all of that and asked me to come back to work for them full time, so I was there a total of six years,” Becker said.
Giving back
While serving as Executive Director of the UNLV International Gaming Institute and Boyd Distinguished Professor, Becker decided that she wanted to give back and created the Kick Up Your Heels fundraiser as a starting point to fill the voids experienced by women in gaming during those early years.
“I was lucky that I did have male advocates in my career: Dick Haddrill; Phil Satre; Richard Goeglein, and Frank Schreck were amazing advocates for me. I mean I was lucky that way, but it was lonely. It was hard to find friends; I was a wife, a mom, and a lawyer,” Becker said.
“I could see what it was like to have somebody advocate for you. People hire people they’re comfortable with and that’s just human nature. It’s not right or wrong, and I knew that women could advocate for other women and provide a comfort level that would help all of us rise.
“I picked up the phone. I just started calling women that I knew in leadership positions, whether they were at the gaming control board, or in government, or in the industry. I asked if they believed putting something together such as Kick Up Your Heels, a cocktail party to get us all together, would work. I got positive feedback. Then the first Kick Up Your Heels was amazing. The women just loved it. They wanted more, and so I knew I’d hit on something at that time” she said.
A theme and stiletto cookies
Becker wanted the first Kick Up Your Heels to be warm and inviting, so she called on her upbringing to develop a theme.
“My parents owned a shoe store, and my mother-in-law made the cookies for the event the first few years. They were decorated in a zebra and leopard print, and you’d get a to-go bag when you left. It was kind of like going to somebody’s house for dinner when they gave you something to leave with, and so that’s where the stiletto cookies came from.
“The recommended donation was the price of your last pair of shoes. So, if you had the funds to buy Christian Louboutin and spent $800 or $1,000 for a pair of shoes, you could donate $800. But if your last pair of shoes were flip flops and you wanted to donate $10, you were still welcome.
“It was a lot of work, but I never felt alone from the very beginning. I had a woman who was working for me at the International Gaming Institute, Nakia Jackson-Hale, who continues to this day to come to every Kick Up Your Heels. Phyllis Gilland hosted it for different years, and she helped me with the education committee and building the classes. Ann Simmons Nicholson came along, and once we started building the education classes, it became easier because when women attended classes, they could see what we were trying to build. They could see a vision.
“They could see the vision of GGW from Kick Up Your Heels. It was hard those first few years, really hard. I really wondered during year three if it would take off. Then all of a sudden by year five I could tell it had momentum.”
Advisory group
“Judy Patterson, Holly Weitzel and Kelly Elkin were three who helped in the beginning. Judy was at the time still working for Frank Fahrenkoph, the head of the American Gaming Association. They came to Kick Up Your Heels, and I continued to work with them. They put together an advisory group of women, kind of the Global Gaming Women advisory group. So, it was a connection, and at that point the only two women on the board of AGA were Patti Hart and Virginia McDowell, and they were part of the initial creation for GGW. But it was truly the three working women – I call them the staff people – and Judy who had the passion for it and really helped to build it those first few years.
“Judy’s the one that said, ‘Okay, we’re going to build this,’ and they spent almost a year. There was a group of women that they put together who met as a board throughout the year. Then in November of 2010, they announced the creation of Global Gaming Women at G2E,” Becker said.
Lightbulb moment
When you ask about an event that sparked Becker to create Kick Up Your Heels, she relates back to an incident while she was working at Harrah’s.
Every year Harrah’s executives would attend a fishing trip in Alaska. One of the executives dropped out and Harrah’s CEO Phil Satre said, “You know, Patty is at equal level with all of the people that we brought in the past to Alaska and her time is due.”
“I am not an outdoorsy kind of girl, and so he had one of the guys from Harrah’s Tahoe take me to the store to get waders and whatever equipment I needed. It was actually pretty funny, and I went up there with 24 guys. It’s for a week. It’s not like a day. It’s not like one evening out. It’s a week fishing in Alaska,” she said.
It was at that point that the lightbulb moment came to Becker.
“You could tell that the camaraderie made a difference. They got to know you in a different way. They were comfortable with you. They laughed with you. I think that that’s when I realized that women needed to have something where we could advocate for each other, where we were comfortable with each other. We needed to know about jobs that were upcoming. We needed to be able to say another woman’s name when a position for a seat on the board of directors became available. I guess that is what Kick Up your Heels meant to me,” Becker declared.
Patty Becker Pay It Forward Award
In 2014, Global Gaming Women created their flagship award, the “Patty Becker Pay It Forward Award,” given to women who embody Patty Becker’s legacy of generosity, mentorship, advocacy, and unwavering commitment to helping others succeed
Criteria for the award is a member who demonstrates advocacy for the advancement of women in the gaming industry and made meaningful contributions that advance women in gaming. The nominee is a member who acts as a game changer by supporting and empowering fellow women in gaming to thrive and succeed.
I asked Becker how she felt about having a flagship award built around her legacy.
“I was flattered and honored, but now it’s so fun for me because I am not part of the selection process. I get to meet these women after the selection; I call them and tell them that they have received the honor. And the afternoon of the event, I host the women so I can get to know them better, know about their background better. Getting to meet the next generation of leaders is heartwarming and amazing. It’s way beyond any of my expectations,” she said.
Accomplishments
I asked Becker when she looks back at Global Gaming Women, what accomplishments was she proudest of for the years she was involved and into today?
“I think that what they’ve created the last 10 years, and the last five years is absolutely amazing. The podcasts, the fact that they have taken the mentoring worldwide. Can you imagine today going to a gaming show and not having women speakers? But that’s the way it was.
“Think about it. There was Claudine Williams, Elaine Wynn, and Jeanne Hood. And that was about it. Then all of a sudden, on every panel here’s diversity, and diversity helps everyone.”
Leveling the field
I wondered where Becker thinks the gaming industry has made progress since the inception of Global Gaming Women.
“The gaming industry made huge strides in promotion of women, leveling the playing field so that women have a chance to interview and have a chance to be considered at all levels within the industry. They could do better still on the board of director’s level. They could do better on senior management, but it’s taken huge strides. There’s opportunity there,” Becker said.
Cultural changes
I asked what Becker thought about the changes in culture within the gaming industry since the start of Global Gaming Women.
”It’s more inclusive,” she remarked. “And there’s a whole different knowledge base; whether it’s sexual harassment, and the fact that you know there’s a place to call now in any major company where someone can file a complaint or leave an anonymous tip if there is a problem within the industry.
“I think that true leaders understand why diversity is important for leadership. There is a whole different growth, a whole different place where the industry is going. Sports wagering, internet, AI – it’s just so fast-paced that I think all leaders want diversity. They want input of the next generation. They want the next generation of leaders to be more diverse,” Becker stated.
Proudest moment
With the creation of Kick Up Your Heels, the Patty Becker Pay It Forward Award, and board membership of Global Gaming Women, I asked Becker what she would like people in the gaming industry to remember about her and her contributions to these programs?
“Having the award named after me is one of my proudest moments. Raising a son who’s a good human being, I am very proud of that. Also, I think if people remember that I have a good sense of humor, that I laugh at myself, that I’m warm, that I’m friendly, that I’m approachable, that would be great for me.”
Secret to success
I asked Becker what she thought was the secret to her success.
”Education really helped me. Early in my career, someone said to me that there’s the Five Ps: Prior preparation prevents poor performance. I don’t wing it. I’ve never gone into a meeting unprepared. I work hard at that. I’ve worked hard. You know, I don’t underestimate my value, but I don’t just walk in and do something off the cuff.”
The fishing trip story
To reinforce Becker’s lifelong dedication to preparation through hard work, she told me a story of her approach to joining 24 men on a weeklong fishing trip in the wilds of Alaska.
“At the time of the Harrah’s Alaska fishing trip, I happened to be dating my husband, Steve DuCharme, who has a bawdy sense of humor. He’s a retired policeman, and he’s very good at joke telling. So, I memorized all these jokes, and I would just tell them at dinner until all of the guys were really comfortable with me. But let me give you an example. Chuck Mathewson was one of the guys on the trip and for the rest of my entire career, every time Chuck saw me, he would talk about our fishing trip in Alaska and laugh about it.”
For Patty Becker, with over 40 years in government and the gaming industry, the creation of Kick Up Your Heels, the Patty Becker Pay It Forward Award and board membership on Global Gaming Women, it was the realization that women needed camaraderie, education, and mentoring to level the playing field in the gaming industry.
It was those realizations that made Patty Becker one of the true legends in gaming.
Tom Osiecki is a casino consultant who writes an occasional column for CDC Gaming Reports called Faces of Gaming, about interesting and engaging people in the gaming industry.