William Redd, also known as Si Redd (1911–2003) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He was the founder of

International Game Technology International Game Technology PLC (IGT), formerly Gtech S.p.A. and Lottomatica S.p.A., is a multinational gambling company that produces slot machines and other gambling technology. The company is headquartered in London, with major offices in ...

, a slot machine manufacturer and distributor. He was the owner of the

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...

, a hotel and casino in

Mesquite, Nevada Mesquite is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States adjacent to the Arizona state line and northeast of Las Vegas on Interstate 15. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 20,471. The city is located in the Virgin River valle ...

. He was the rightsholder of

video poker Video poker is a casino game based on five-card draw poker. It is played on a computerized console similar in size to a slot machine. History Video poker first became commercially viable when it became economical to combine a television-like moni ...

, and he became known as the "king of slot machines".

Early life

William Redd was born on November 16, 1911 in

Union, Mississippi Union is a town in Neshoba and Newton counties, Mississippi. The population was 1,988 at the 2010 census. Geography Union is located at (32.571320, -89.118118). Most of the town is in Newton County with a portion extending north into adjacen ...

. His father was a sharecropper. He grew up in

Philadelphia, Mississippi Philadelphia is a city in and the county seat of Neshoba County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 7,118 at the 2020 census. History Philadelphia is incorporated as a municipality; it was given its current name in 1903, two year ...

. Redd attended East Central Junior College in

Decatur, Mississippi Decatur is a town in and the county seat of Newton County, Mississippi, Newton County, Mississippi. The population was 1,841 at the 2010 census. This town is named after war hero Stephen Decatur, Stephen Decatur, Jr. Geography Decatur is located a ...

, and he graduated from the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment. ...

Oxford, Mississippi Oxford is a city and college town in the U.S. state of Mississippi. Oxford lies 75 miles (121 km) south-southeast of Memphis, Tennessee, and is the county seat of Lafayette County. Founded in 1837, it was named after the British city of Oxf ...

Career

Redd began his career in college, when he invested in a

pinball Pinball games are a family of games in which a ball is propelled into a specially designed table where it bounces off various obstacles, scoring points either en route or when it comes to rest. Historically the board was studded with nails call ...

machine in a small eatery in Mississippi. He subsequently founded Northwestern Music Co., and he distributed

Wurlitzer The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...

jukebox A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that will play a patron's selection from self-contained media. The classic jukebox has buttons, with letters and numbers on them, which are used to selec ...

es in

Sterling, Illinois Sterling is a city in Whiteside County, Illinois, Whiteside County, Illinois, United States. The population was 14,782 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, down from 15,370 in 2010. Formerly nicknamed "Hardware Capital of the World", the ...

and

Dixon, Illinois Dixon is a city and the county seat of Lee County, Illinois, United States. The population was 15,733 as of the 2010 census, down from 15,941 in 2000. The city is named after founder John Dixon, who operated a rope ferry service across the R ...

with his brother-in-law. He subsequently became a distributor for

Bally Manufacturing Bally Manufacturing, later renamed Bally Entertainment, was an American company that began as a pinball and slot machine manufacturer, and later expanded into casinos, video games, health clubs, and theme parks. It was acquired by Hilton Hotel ...

in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1967, he moved on to the

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

market. Redd founded a subsidiary, Bally Distribution Co., and he distributed jukeboxes in

Carson City, Nevada Carson City is an independent city and the capital of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,639, making it the sixth largest city in Nevada. The majority of the city's population lives in Eagle Valley, on the ...

and Las Vegas. He also acquired the rights to

. In 1975, he founded Sircoma, later known as the

, a slot machine manufacturer and distributor based in Reno, Nevada. He sold it to Gtech in 1986, and he served on its board of directors until 1991. Redd developed Pride of Mississippi, a gaming boat off the coast of Mississippi on the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

, but it went bankrupt and he lost US$20 million in it. He was the owner of

, a hotel and casino in

from 1976 to 2001. He sold it for US$31 million. Meanwhile, he founded the Mesquite Vistas Land Development Co. and the Oasis Golf Course. Redd was inducted into the

Gaming Hall of Fame The Gaming Hall of Fame was established in 1989 to recognize individuals who have played a significant role in the gaming-entertainment industry. The Gaming Hall of Fame Charity Gala is an annual event organized by the American Gaming Associatio ...

in 1991, and the Nevada Business Hall of Fame in 2002.

Philanthropy

Redd made charitable contributions to the

University of Nevada, Las Vegas The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes the S ...

, where he was a member of the UNLV Gift Club Palladium Society. Moreover, the Si Redd Room and the Redd Vision video screen scoreboard at the

Thomas & Mack Center The Thomas & Mack Center is a multi-purpose arena located on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in Paradise, Nevada. It is home of the UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team of the Mountain West Conference. History The facility was fi ...

are named in his honor. He received the Chin's Humanitarian of the Year Award from the

Muscular Dystrophy Association The Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) is an American 501(c)(3) umbrella organization that works to support people with neuromuscular diseases. Founded in 1950 by Paul Cohen, who lived with muscular dystrophy, it works to combat neuromuscular di ...

in 2001. Redd founded the Las Vegas International Cultural Trade Center and Wild Animal Conservancy. He donated US$150,000 to Problem Gambling Consultants, a non-profit organization for gambling addicts.

Personal life, death and legacy

Redd was married three times. His first wife, Ivy Lee, died in 1974. His second wife, Marilyn, died in 1996. His third wife, Tamara, outlived him. He had two daughters, Vinnie Copeland and Sherry Green. He resided in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

and summered in

Solana Beach, California Solana Beach (''Solana'', Spanish for "warm wind") is a coastal city in San Diego County, California. Its population was at 12,941 at the 2020 U.S. Census, up from 12,867 at the 2010 Census. History The area was first settled by the San Dieg ...

. He was a member of the

Las Vegas Country Club The Las Vegas Country Club is a private membership club located in the Winchester area of metropolitan Las Vegas, Nevada. History It was built on the site of a 1950s horse and automobile racetrack named Las Vegas Park and later the Las Vegas Park ...

. Redd died on October 14, 2003 in Solana Beach, California. He was 91 years old. His funeral was held at the Palm Mortuary in Las Vegas, Nevada. His son-in-law, Alan Green, serves as the chief executive of the Mesquite Vistas Land Development Co. and the Oasis Golf Course.

References

External links

Si Redd
on the

's Lee Business School's

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...