Lottery Industry Hall of Fame
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The 2024 Lottery Industry ​Hall of Fame induction ceremony
​The 2024 Lottery Industry ​Hall of Fame inductees
Congratulations to the newest members of the Lottery Industry Hall of Fame
​
The 107 members of the PGRI Lottery Industry Hall of Fame have voted for and elected seven industry leaders to be inducted into the Lottery Industry Hall of Fame for 2024.  The Lottery Industry Hall of Fame was founded in 2005 as a means of honoring those who have done the most to promote excellence and integrity in our industry and make the world lottery industry the great success. The recipients of this award are all a credit to that ideal and are joining a select and distinguished group of world lottery industry professionals.

PGRI Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony for ​Renato Ascoli, Paul Erickson, Jannie Haek, 
Nikos Nikolakopoulos, Sam Wakasugi, Paul and Susan Jason
 
was held at the World Lottery Summit (WLS) 
​
World Lottery Summit in Paris: Wednesday, October 23, 2024 17:00 – 17:45  (5:00 to 5:30pm) Meeting room 252B 
Venue: Palais des Congrès de Paris   Click here to read their bios. 
*Special thanks to Rebecca Paul (pictured front row) for leading the ceremony

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​Some of the current members of the Hall of Fame on hand to welcome the new inductees were: BACK ROW: L-R  Michael Conforti, Jay Gendron, Mathew Whalen, Bret Toyne, Doug Pollard, Hansjörg Höltkemeier, Keith Cash, David Gale, Mark Michalko, John Schulz, Andreas  Kötter, Luca Esposito, Rose Hudson, Younes El Mechrafi, Scott Gunn, Arjan Van’t Veer    MIDDLE ROW: L-R  Pat McHugh, Michael Chambrello, Sarah Taylor, Angela Wong, Wendy Montgomery, Jennifer Westbury, Diane Thompson, May Scheve, Sue van der Merwe, Konstantinos Ferris, Lynne Roiter, Jean-Luc Moner-Banet, Stéphane Pellez, Romana Girandon, David Barden  FRONT ROW: L-R  Renato Ascoli, Paul Erickson, Jannie Haek, *Rebecca Paul, Sam Wakasugi, Nikos Nikolakopoulos and Paul and Susan Jason (not pictured).  photo credit: https://www.domagalskiphotography.com/
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The 2023 Lottery Industry ​Hall of Fame ceremonies

PGRI Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony 
for ​Keith Cash, Sarah Taylor, and Jennifer Welshons 
was held at the NASPL conference in Milwaukee on
​November 1st, 2023. 

​On hand to welcome the new inductees were 
​Front row:  (L) to (R)  Jennifer Westbury, Wendy Montgomery, Keith Cash (Class 2023), Sarah Taylor (Class 2023), Rebecca Paul, Jennifer Welshons, (Class 2023), John Schulz, Matt Whalen, May Scheve. 
Back Row R to L: Scott Gunn, Gary Grief, Jay Gendron, Doug Pollard, Mark Michalko, Pat McHugh, David Gale

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The induction ceremony for the Mr Farris, Mr Kötter, Mr van’t Veer was held at EL Congress in Šibenik, Croatia on Tuesday June 6 (4:30 pm in the Main Hall);Lottery Industry Hall of Fame members on hand to welcome the inductees from the First Ceremony were: L-R HANSJORG HOLTKEMEIER, DOUG POLLARD, JENNIFER WELSHONS (2023), SARAH M. TAYLOR (2023), JENNIFER WESTBURY, PHILIPPE VLAEMMINCK, KONSTANTINOS FARRIS (2023),  LYNNE ROITER, ANDREAS KöTTER (2023),  REBECCA PAUL, OLLI SAREKOSKI, ROMANA GIRANDON, ARJAN VAN'T VEER (2023), FRIEDRICH STICKLER, RAY BATES, DAVID GALE.  The ceremony for Mr Cash, Ms Taylor, and Ms Welshons, the ceremony was held at the NASPL conference in Milwaukee on November 1st- photo above.   ​Click here to read their biographies


The 2022 Lottery Industry
​Hall of Fame ceremonies

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2022 Lottery Industry Hall of Fame Ceremony  from WLS 2022 Vancouver, Canada  Tuesday, October 18th 5pm. pictured L-R Back Row Bret Toyne, Doug Pollard, Risto Nieminen, Hansjörg Höltkemeier, Charles McIntyre, Scott Gunn, Gary Grief, Pat McHugh, John Schulz, Jay Gendron, Michael Conforti, Norm Lingle, Rose Hudson, David Gale. 2nd Row L-R Younes El Mechrafi, May Scheve, Henry Chan,  Jean-Luc Moner-Banet, Angela Wong, Wendy Montgomery, Class of 2022 David Barden, Drew Svitko, Romana Girandon, Luca Esposito, Rebecca Paul, Jennifer Westbury, Lynn Roiter, Sue Van Der Merwe, Reidar Nordby, Michelle, Carinci, Carla Schaefer, Rose Hudson, David Gale, Lorne Weil (in attendance)

The 2022 Lottery Industry
​Hall of Fame inductees

Congratulations to the four newest members of the Lottery Industry Hall of Fame
 The 94 members of the PGRI Lottery Industry Hall of Fame have voted for and elected four industry leaders to be inducted into the Lottery Industry Hall of Fame for 2022.
The Lottery Industry Hall of Fame was founded in 2005 as a means of honoring those who have done the most to promote excellence and integrity in our industry and make the world lottery industry the great success. The recipients of this award are all a credit to that ideal and are joining a select and distinguished group of world lottery industry professionals. 

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2022 Lottery Industry Hall of Fame Ceremony  from LOTTERY EXPO NYC 2022 The Sheraton Times Square Hotel  pictured L-R Bret Toyne, Jay Gendron, Lorne Weil, Mathew Whalen, Bishop Woosley, Gary Grief, John Schulz, Pat McHugh, Chuck Kline 2nd Row: May Scheve, Jennifer Westbury, 2022 Inductee David Barden, Rebecca Paul,  2022 Inductee Drew Svitko,  Wendy Montgomery, Angela Wong

David Barden


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Romana Girandon

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David Barden 
President & Chief Executive Officer, New Mexico Lottery; President, Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) ​ 

Drew Svitko 
Executive Director, Pennsylvania Lottery; 
Chair of the Powerball Group
David and Drew were honored at 4:30 pm Wednesday August 31, 2022 - Eastern Time U.S. at the ​Sheraton Time Square Hotel, New York.  

Romana Girandon
President & Chief Executive Officer, Loterija Slovenije (Slovenian National Lottery); 2nd Vice President of European Lotteries

Luca Esposito
Executive Director, World Lottery Association; General Secretary of the Global Lottery Monitoring System (GLMS).  
Romana and Luca will be honored​ Tuesday, 18 October 2022 at 17:00 - 17:45; West Level 3 - Meeting Room 301 Vancouver Convention Centre (VCC) West, Vancouver Canada

Luca Esposito


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Drew Svitko

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Please click here to read their bios.


The 2021 Lottery Industry
​Hall of Fame inductees

Congratulations to the three newest members of the Lottery Industry Hall of Fame
 The 94 members of the PGRI Lottery Industry Hall of Fame have voted for and elected three industry leaders to be inducted into the Lottery Industry Hall of Fame Class of 2021
​Induction Ceremony 
​
The three Class of 2021 Hall of Fame inductees will be honored in a LIVE ceremony at 4:30 pm Wednesday October 27, 2021 - Eastern Time U.S. at The Hermitage Hotel, Nashville, TN
  
Please click on each name to read their biographies

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2021 Lottery Industry Hall of Fame Ceremony photo from LOTTERY EXPO 2021 The Hermitage Hotel Nashville, TN  pictured L-R Gary Grief, Pat McHugh, Mike Chambrello, Steve Saferin, Lorne Weil, Lynne Roiter, Doug Pollard, Rebecca Paul, 2021 Inductees Wendy Montgomery, John Schulz, Angela Wong, May Scheve, Bret Toyne, Mark Michalko, Carla Schaefer, Matt Whalen, Bishop Woosley, Jay Gendron
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​Wendy Montgomery,
Senior Vice President, Global Brand, Marketing and Communications, IGT 

 

John Schulz,
Senior Vice President, Instant Products and Partner Services, Scientific Games
 
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Angela Wong,  Director of Lottery Solutions, Gaming Laboratories International (GLI) 
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Scott Gunn    
Senior Vice President, Corporate Public Affairs, IGT
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Gordon Medenica   
Director, Maryland Lottery and Gaming
  
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Bishop Woosley, 
Lottery Industry Consultant and former Director, Arkansas Lottery Commission
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Pat McHugh
Executive Vice President, Lottery Group Chief Executive, Scientific Games
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John Pollard, Co-Chief Executive Officer, Pollard Banknote Limited
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Nigel Railton  
Chief Executive Officer, Camelot UK
Senior Vice President, World Lottery Association (WLA)
Congratulations members of the Lottery Industry Hall of Fame  Class of 2020
The 88 members of the PGRI Lottery Industry Hall of Fame have voted for and elected six industry leaders to be inducted into the Lottery Industry Hall of Fame for 2020.

The Lottery Industry Hall of Fame was founded in 2005 as a means of honoring those who have done the most to promote excellence and integrity in our industry and make the world lottery industry the great success. The recipients of this award are all a credit to that ideal and are joining a select and distinguished group of world lottery industry professionals. 

Induction Ceremony
The six Hall of Fame inductees were honored in a virtual ceremony at 4:00 pm October 14, 2020 - Central Time U.S
. ​
please click on each name to read all of the biographies.
​
Scott Gunn    
Senior Vice President, Corporate Public Affairs, IGT

Pat McHugh
Executive Vice President, Lottery Group Chief Executive, Scientific Games

Gordon Medenica   
Director, Maryland Lottery and Gaming  
​
John Pollard
Co-Chief Executive Officer, Pollard Banknote Limited​ 

​Nigel Railton  
Chief Executive Officer, Camelot UK
Senior Vice President, World Lottery Association (WLA)

​
Bishop Woosley, 
Lottery Industry Consultant and former Director, Arkansas Lottery Commission

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​The 2019 Hall of Fame inductees

Younes El Mechrafi, Chief Executive Officer, la Marocaine des Jeux et des Sports (MDJS)
Mark Michalko, Executive Director, North Carolina Education Lottery
May Scheve Reardon, Executive Director, Missouri Lottery
Olli Sarekoski, Chief Executive Officer, Veikkaus
​
​Please click here to read their biographies

 
Induction Ceremonies
The four Hall of Fame inductees will be honored at the two biggest industry conference/trade shows.  
May Scheve and Mark Michalko  will be honored at the NASPL This is Winning! Conference in Little Rock, Arkansas at 5:25 pm on Weds September 18 
The Wally Allen Ballroom in the Statehouse Convention Center 
​Younes El Mechrafi and
​Olli Sarekoski 
will be honored at the at a time and venue that is convenient for them, possibly the WLA/EL Marketing Seminar in London early February 2020.   

Lottery Industry Hall of Fame International Induction Ceremony 2018 Buenos Aires, Argentina November 20, 2018. 

Click here to Watch the induction ceremony as Luis Alberto Gama Hernández and Dato’ Lawrence Lim Swee Lin were inducted at the World Lottery Summit in Buenos Aires at 4:30 pm on Tuesday, November 20, 2018
​

Luis Alberto Gama Hernández Click Here to Read Biography
National Director, Lotteries and Pools of the   Eastern Republic of Uruguay President, CIBELAE and Member of the World Lottery Association Executive Committee

Dato’ Lawrence Lim Swee Lin Click Here to Read Biography
Chief Executive Officer, Magnum Group, Malaysia;   Chair, Asia-Pacific Lottery Association (APLA)

Click here to watch the 2018 North American Induction Ceremony  held during NASPL 2018 Cleveland, Ohio on September 26, 2018 honoring Chuck Kline, Bret Toyne and Mathew Whalen.  Current Members of the Hall of Fame on hand to congratulate the new inductees were L-R Back Row Bill Fox, Doug Pollard, Norm Lingle, Charlie McIntyre, Rose Hudson, David Gale, Gary Grief, Jay Gendron, Jim Kennedy, Gerry Aubin;   L-R Front Row  Don Sweitzer, Jennifer Westbury, Matthew Whalen (2018 Inductee), Tom Delacenserie, Rebecca Paul, Bret Toyne (2018 Inductee), Chuck Kline (2018 Inductee), Steve Saferin and ​Carla Schaefer.

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Luis Alberto Gama Hernández
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Chuck Kline
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Dato’ Lawrence Lim Swee Lin
Congratulations to the 2018 members of the Lottery Industry Hall of Fame
 The 78 members of the PGRI Lottery Industry Hall of Fame have voted for and elected five industry leaders to be inducted into the Lottery Industry Hall of Fame for 2018.

2018 Induction Ceremonies
​

The five Hall of Fame inductees will be honored at the two biggest industry conference/trade shows.

​To be inducted at the NASPL Conference in Cleveland, OH at 5:45 pm on Weds September 26:

Chuck Kline 
Click Here to Read Biography
Senior Vice President, Licensing, Scientific Games Corporation

J. Bret Toyne  Click Here to Read Biography
Executive Director, Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL)

Matthew Whalen   Click Here to Read Biography
Senior Vice President & Chief Technology Officer Lottery, IGT
 
To be inducted at the World Lottery Summit in Buenos Aires at 4:30 pm on Tuesday, November 20:   

Luis Alberto Gama Hernández  Click Here to Read Biography
National Director, Lotteries and Pools of the   Eastern Republic of Uruguay
President, CIBELAE and Member of the World Lottery Association Executive Committee 

Dato’ Lawrence Lim Swee Lin   Click Here to Read Biography
Chief Executive Officer, Magnum Group, Malaysia;   Chair, Asia-Pacific Lottery Association (APLA)


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J. Bret Toyne
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Matthew Whalen

​2017 International Lottery Industry Hall of Fame
Induction Ceremonies

Lottery Industry Hall of Fame Inductions took place in two ceremonies this year.  The first induction was held at  3:10 pm on Friday September 15; Oregon Convention Center,  C123/124 NASPL.  The second induction took place during LOTTERY EXPO 2017 in Buckhead, Atlanta October 26, 2017. 
Current members of the Hall of Fame on hand to congratulate the new inductees L-R backrow: Doug Pollard,
​Gary Grief, Rose Hudson, Jay Gendron, Jim Kennedy, Tom Shaheen, middle row: Jennifer Westbury,
Rebecca Paul, Margaret DeFrancisco, Donald Sweitzer
front row: Inductees Tom Delacenserie, Paula Otto, Alice Garland, Charles McIntyre 
(
Marzia Mastrogiacomo was inducted on October 26th in Buckhead, Atlanta
during Lottery Expo 2017


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Congratulations to the newest members of the Lottery Industry Hall of Fame!

NOTE++  Change of time and Room number for Lottery Industry Hall of Fame Induction ceremony will now be held at​  3:10 pm on Friday September 15; Oregon Convention Center,  C123/124 NASPL 
​
The five 2017 Hall of Fame inductees: (pictured L-R)

--  Thomas Delacenserie, President & Chief Executive Officer, Kentucky Lottery Corporation
--  Alice Garland, Executive Director, North Carolina Education Lottery
--  Marzia Mastrogiacomo, Senior Vice President Lotteries, Lottomatica S.p.A.
--  Charles R. McIntyre, Executive Director, New Hampshire Lottery
--  Paula Otto, Executive Director, Virginia Lottery\
​

The 74 members of the PGRI Lottery Industry Hall of Fame have voted for and elected five industry leaders to be inducted into the Lottery Industry Hall of Fame for 2017.
​

Read their Bios here

​The Lottery Industry Hall of Fame was founded in 2005 as a means of honoring those who have done the most to promote excellence and integrity in our industry and make the world lottery industry the great success that is has become today. The recipients of this award are all a credit to that ideal and join a select and distinguished group of world lottery industry professionals.  The Lottery Hall of Fame is about thanking the leaders of this industry for inspiring in all of us that sense of mission, purpose and dedication that drives this industry forward.   
The process of selecting and inducting new members into the Lottery Industry Hall of Fame is formal and strictly controlled by the current members of the Hall of Fame.  PGRI administrates it at the direction of the Hall of Fame membership who are the only ones to nominate and vote to admit new members.  The voting process happens in the middle of the year and the induction ceremony is a high-profile event held at one of the lottery industry conferences.  

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2016 International Lottery Industry Hall of Fame International Induction Ceremony in Singapore
The ceremony was held at the World Lottery Summit, Marina Bay Sands, Singapore on Tuesday November 8, 2016.
Current Members on hand to welcome the new inductees were:  (Back Row L-R):  Jay Gendron, Rose Hudson,  Jim Kennedy, Mike Conforti, Gary Grief, and David Loeb,  2016 Inductees: Hansjorg Holtkemeier and Dermott Griffin
​(Front Row L-R): Bill Thorburn, Ray Bates, Don Sweitzer, Connie Laverty-O'Connor, Henry Chan, Friedrich Stickler, Reidar Nordby, Jr., Rebecca Paul, Thierry Pujol, Jennifer Westbury, Jean-Luc Moner-Banet, and Stavros Michael;
2016 Inductee: Sue Van Der Merwe
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2016 North American Lottery Industry Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
The ceremony was held at the NASPL Atlanta Conference on October 4, 2016.

(L-R): Margaret DeFrancisco, Carla Schaefer, Tom Shaheen, Jennifer Westbury, Jay Gendron, Mike Chambrello,
Connie Laverty-O'Connor, Gerry Aubin, Jim Kennedy, Don Stanford, Gary Grief; 
​2016 Inductees: Rose Hudson and Norm Lingle;
​
Steve Saferin, Tom Little, Don Sweitzer, Doug Pollard, David Gale, Rebecca Paul, Michael Conforti

Watch the Video!

Class of  2016 Lottery Industry Hall of Fame Inductees!

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Dermot Griffin
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Hansjörg Höltkemeier
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Rose J. Hudson
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Norman Lingle
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Sue van der Merwe
​The ceremony to induct the two North American industry leaders was held Tuesday, October 4, 2016 at the NASPL Atlanta Conference.  ​​​
The ceremony to induct the three global industry leaders will be held Tuesday, November 8th at 5:00 pm at the World Lottery Summit Conference at the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.

Congratulations to the 2016 Lottery Industry Hall of Fame Inductees!

Congratulations to the newest inductees of the 2016 Lottery Industry Hall of Fame! The sixty members of the PGRI Lottery Industry Hall of Fame have voted for the 2016 Hall of Fame inductees, and they have elected these five industry leaders to be inducted into the 2016 Class of the PGRI Lottery Industry Hall of Fame.  

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2015 Global Lottery Industry Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
Hall of Fame 2015 Global Induction Ceremony in Marrakech, Morocco, May 2016
(L-R): Jim Kennedy, Connie Laverty-O’Connor, Jean-Luc Moner-Banet, Stavros A. Michael, Dr. Ioannis N. Katakis, Thierry Pujol, Philippe Vlaemminck, ​Rebecca Paul, Ray Bates
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2015 North American Lottery Industry Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
Hall of Fame 2015 North American Induction Ceremony in Dallas Texas, October 2015
BACK ROW (L-R): Connie Laverty-O’Connor, Jennifer Westbury, Don Sweitzer, Gary Grief, Mike Chambrello, Jim Kennedy, ​Arch Gleason, 
Rebecca Paul, David Gale, Gerald Aubin, Margaret DeFrancisco, Carla Schaefer 
FRONT ROW (L-R): 2015 Inductees Doug Pollard, Jimmy O’Brien, Tom Shaheen, Jay Gendron
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