Three Las Vegas women with ties to the gaming industry have been honored for their contributions to the sports and entertainment world.
WISE Las Vegas (Women In Sports and Events) is a group that empowers women in the business of sports and events with the tools to achieve their career goals at every stage of their professional journeys, including students and the next generation of leaders.
Those honored include Lori Nelson-Kraft, senior vice president for corporate affairs for the Las Vegas Grand Prix and former Station Casinos executive; Stephanie Bruckner, executive director of global portfolio strategy with Light & Wonder; and Diana Bennett, chair of the Board and co-founder of Paragon Gaming and founder of Rebels EmpowHer.
Bennett is a second-generation casino operator and philanthropist. She serves on multiple 501C3 boards throughout Nevada. She and her cousin, Scott Menke, founded Paragon Gaming, an owner, operator, and developer of multiple properties throughout the western United States and western Canada. Paragon is still running various properties in Nevada.
As president of the Bennett Family Foundation, she is one of Nevada’s most recognized philanthropists. Her foundation supports many organizations that focus on health, education, and well being of women and children throughout the valley. In 2024, Bennett founded Rebels EmpowHer, a transformative career development program designed to empower UNLV student-athletes and prepare them for life after sports.
Bennett has been recognized as one of the top 10 women in gaming and received the ultimate honor of being inducted into the American Gaming Hall of Fame in 2017.
With almost two decades in gaming, technology, and hospitality, Bruckner serves as the Executive Director of Global Portfolio Strategy at Light & Wonder. Since 2016, she has advanced through pivotal roles in market research, customer/player insights, and business analytics to oversee global hardware and technical product management, as well as shape the global games portfolio strategy.
Bruckner’s career began at Paragon Gaming in 2006 as a Development Analyst, then ascended to Development Manager, where she oversaw new business casino and resort development opportunities across North America. Over the years, Bruckner has held various roles at Caesars Entertainment, including Director of Enterprise Gaming Analytics, and Product Owner at Caesars Interactive Entertainment (now Caesars Digital), where she managed the Caesars online gaming platform for the New Jersey market. Before that, she launched the North America Market Research program at Aristocrat Gaming, delivering key customer insights, player segmentation, and market analytics to drive player led product and commercial strategies.
Bruckner co-founded and co-chairs Light and Wonder’s EmpowHer Employee Resource Group. She most recently co-launched and sponsored the UNLV Rebels EmpowHer presented by Diana Bennett, a career center dedicated to equipping student-athletes with the resources to launch their careers post-collegiate sports, which will retain and seed future women leaders into our local economy.
Nelson-Kraft oversees communications, government affairs, and community engagement. Before joining the Las Vegas Grand Prix, she served five years as senior vice president of communications for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and 14 years as vice president of corporate communications for Station Casinos.
Nelson-Kraft currently serves as a Board Trustee for the Vegas Chamber of Commerce and as the President of the Leadership Foundation. She also serves on the Board of Directors for Noah’s Animal House, a full-service pet shelter located next door and in partnership with The Shade Tree Shelter in Southern Nevada and with the Domestic Violence Resource Center in Northern Nevada in support of victims of domestic violence.
