EKG Hall of Fame to induct Dennis Mead, Buddy Frank, and the late Charles

February 14, 2023 12:55 PM
  • Rege Behe, CDC Gaming Reports
February 14, 2023 12:55 PM
  • Rege Behe, CDC Gaming Reports

The Eilers & Krejcik Gaming Slot Awards of Hall of Fame recently announced that its 2023 class will include Dennis Mead, Buddy Frank, and the late Charles Fey.

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The trio will be honored at the EKG Slot Awards Feb. 23 in Las Vegas.

Frank is a long-time contributor to CDC Gaming Reports, authoring columns for Frank Floor Talk, a monthly report that dives into slot and operations information.

“Once again our distinguished board of advisors has selected three outstanding individuals to be inducted into the EKG Slot Awards Hall of Fame,” Eilers & Krejcik Gaming Principal Todd Eilers in a statement.  “Both Dennis and Buddy have made substantial contributions to the gaming industry and are well deserving of this honor and the decision to honor Charles Fey is significant given his invention sparked an entire industry.”

Frank’s resume includes stints in slot operations at Fitzgerald’s Casino Hotel, the Eldorado Hotel & Casino, and the Atlantic Casino Resort, all in Reno. He also worked as the vice president of slots for Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula, California, where he set a Guinness World Record for the largest slot tournament, connecting more than 2,500 slot machines across the property.

Mead, to be inducted in the game development category, worked for IGT as a senior graphic designer and the director of graphics. He was the art director for product lines including Wheel of Fortune, Megabucks, and Quartermania, and helped develop custom slot machines for Las Vegas Strip properties including the Mirage, MGM, Bellagio, Paris, and Luxor.

Fey, one of 21 children, was born in 1862 in Vohringen, Germany. He emigrated to the U.S. in 1885 and founded Charles Fey & Company, a manufacturer of gaming devices in San Francisco in 1896. Fey is credited with designing the first modern slot machine, the Liberty Bell, in 1898.