The late Robert “Bob” McMonigle and longtime European gaming executive David Orrick were awarded the two memorial awards for professionalism and communications sponsored by the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers (AGEM).
The awards, traditionally presented during the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas, were handed out Wednesday as part of the G2E Virtual conference.
The family of McMonigle, who died in March at age 75, was presented with the Jens Halle Memorial Award Honoring Excellence in Commercial Gaming Professionalism.
McMonigle spent 17 years with slot machine developer International Game Technology, holding various positions, including executive vice president of corporate relations and North American sales. He recognized by company officials as the most successful slot salesman in gaming history, with IGT routinely receiving 70% market share of new casino openings as the riverboat gaming boom in the early 1990s.
McMonigle helped establish AGEM and created a path for the organization. He served as AGEM’s first president through 2005 before moving on to work for a variety of other gaming-supplier companies.
Bob McMonigle (l) and David Orrick; AGEM memorial award winners
“I can say from an IGT perspective, Bob’s presence is felt every day here based on his incredible success selling our games and machines going back to the beginning of the riverboat gaming era,” said AGEM President Luke Orchard, who also serves as Senior Vice President, Chief Compliance & Risk Management Officer for IGT. “Like Jens Halle, Bob’s reputation for forging positive relationships with operators throughout the industry is legendary.”
McMonigle’s wife, Joni, was presented with the award.
Orrick, 71, received the Peter Mead Memorial Award Honoring Excellence in Gaming Media & Communications. He is a 27-year veteran of the gaming industry and currently serves as director of industry relations for Merkur Gaming, part of Germany’s Gauselmann Group.
Orrick started in the gaming industry in 1993 as editor of Euroslot magazine after a 17-year career as a motorsport journalist, editor, author, and publisher. He also served as founder, editor, and publisher of Casino International magazine before joining Spanish slot machine manufacturer Recreativos Franco, S.A as the international communications manager in 1997.
AGEM Executive Director Marcus Prater said Orrick actually proposed the idea of the memorial awards after the passing of both Halle and Mead.
“David fits the bill in so many ways as first a gaming journalist and later as the head of communications for many respected international gaming suppliers,” Prater said. “He has traveled the world representing our industry with both a gruff scrutiny and a positive twinkle in his eye.”
Halle, a longtime Bally and Novomatic executive in Europe and CEO of Merkur Gaming in Florida, and Mead, founder, and publisher of Casino Enterprise Management magazine, both died in 2015.
Ainsworth Game Technology founder Len Ainsworth and former Las Vegas Review-Journal gaming columnist Howard Stutz – now executive editor of CDC Gaming Reports – were the initial recipients of the AGEM Memorial Awards program in 2016.
Since then, Rick Meitzler, Gavin Isaacs, Tom Nieman, and now McMonigle have received the Jens Halle Award, and while Roger Gros, Frank Legato, the late Dave Palermo, and now Orrick have received the Peter Mead Award.
