2022 Hall of Fame

ALAN B. SOLOMON - INDUSTRY PIONEER

In 1992, as a pioneer in regional gaming, Allan B. Solomon received one of the first gaming licenses in the state of Mississippi. Solomon is currently a principal and Chairman of Foundation Gaming Group and of Foundation Gaming & Entertainment, which owns and operates WaterView Casino & Hotel in Vicksburg and Fitz Casino & Hotel in Tunica.

A top graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, Solomon, a Brookline, Massachusetts native, attended Boston College Law School while working as an accountant. He graduated at the top of his law school class both at Boston College and at New York University, where he earned a Master of Law in Taxation. While in Boston, Solomon met his future wife, Shirley, who lo and behold, was born and raised in the Mississippi Delta, establishing Solomon’s first-hand knowledge of Mississippi. In the 1990s, Solomon began working with Bernie Goldstein, often considered the father of riverboat gaming, and with Solomon’s familiarity of Mississippi, sparked their interest in gaming opportunities on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Their company, Isle of Capri Casinos, opened the first casino in Mississippi in 1992. For more than 16 years as an Isle executive, Solomon played a central role in establishing and growing the company as one of the leading regional gaming operators.

Solomon’s involvement in, and commitment to, the gaming industry in Mississippi for the past 30 years has included the development, acquisition or operation of nine casinos in the state. In addition, most companies that own and operate casinos in the state are based elsewhere. As a result, while few people can boast about having been part of one Mississippi-based gaming company, both of the companies Solomon has helped lead maintained their deep Mississippi roots. Foundation Gaming is based in Robinsonville, Mississippi, and until being displaced following Hurricane Katrina, Isle of Capri was headquartered in Biloxi, and at one time was one of the largest Mississippi-based publicly traded companies of any kind in the state. These companies and their Mississippi properties have been responsible employing for more than 10,000 Mississippians. Solomon has always given back to his community, serving as president of several Jewish organizations. In recognition of his outstanding service and achievements, Solomon was awarded the American Jewish Committee’s Judge Learned Hand Human Relations Award. Despite having spent more than 30 years in the casino industry, Solomon said being inducted into the Mississippi Gaming Hall of Fame has been an unexpected pleasure and surprise. His friends and colleagues, however, know that this has been a long time coming for the man who doubled down on Mississippi as a successful gaming destination.

VIRGINIA MCDOWELL - INDUSTRY INFLUENCER

Virginia McDowell served as the only female president and chief executive officer of a major gaming operating company from 2007 until her retirement from Isle of Capri Casinos in April 2016. While in this position, she worked with Isle properties in Lula, Natchez, Vicksburg and Biloxi, Mississippi.

McDowell has worked in the industry in regional and destination markets for 40 years, and was named Gaming Executive of the Year by Casino Journal magazine in 2009. Prior to coming to Isle of Capri Casinos, McDowell spent 16 years working in the Atlantic City market before joining Argosy Gaming Company in Alton, Illinois, as a member of the turnaround management team. From 2005 through 2007, she returned to Atlantic City to serve as executive vice president and chief information officer for Trump Entertainment Resorts, Inc.

Her achievements include combining casino experience with strong business skills and a demonstrated ability to communicate at every level. McDowell has served as a frequent featured or keynote speaker, moderator or panelist at universities, civic and charitable organizations and major industry conferences, Including the Global Gaming Expo, the International Association of Gaming Advisors and Regulators, and, of course, the Southern Gaming Summit. McDowell is currently a non-executive director of Entain plc (LSE:ENT), where she chairs the Environmental, Social and Governance committee and serves as the designated workforce director. In addition to Entain, she serves on the executive committee of Global Gaming Women, a nonprofit she co-founded in 2016 with a mission to support, inspire and influence the development of women in the gaming industry through education and mentoring. McDowell is a member of the Board of Trustees of Saint Louis University, where she chairs the marketing committee; a trustee at HavenHouse St. Louis; and an advisory board member of the St. Louis Crisis Nursery.

CRAIG NEILSEN - COMMERCIAL GAMING

Craig H. Neilsen was an American gaming executive who founded Ameristar Casinos, Inc. and formed the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation to fund scientific research and quality-of-life programs for people living with spinal cord injuries. What started in 1958 when Craig’s father, Ray Neilsen, was hired as the construction contractor for Cactus Pete’s Desert Lodge in the high-desert city of Jackpot, Nevada, became a highly successful multi-state gaming company under the leadership and visionary direction of Craig.

Neilsen joined the family business after graduating from the University of Utah in 1967 with both a law and an MBA degree. He became President of Cactus Pete’s Inc. in 1984, and within a few years bought out the remaining shareholders. He took the company public in 1993 after turning Cactus Pete’s into a true destination resort in Jackpot.

From the desert to the Delta, Neilsen’s first project outside of Nevada was Ameristar Casino Hotel Vicksburg. The company would go on to own and operate additional market-leading gaming properties in Iowa, Missouri, Indiana and Colorado as Neilsen established a reputation for his uncompromising demand for excellence and attention to detail. Neilsen’s hard work was appreciated by both competitor and peer, and he was named the American Gaming Association’s Top Performing CEO in 2002.

Most remarkably, Neilsen achieved all of his success by turning tragedy into triumph and limitations into legacy. Before the company began its impressive path, a 1985 automobile accident left Neilsen with a severe spinal cord injury. He became a quadriplegic as a result of the accident; but, true to form, it only served to ignite his unparalleled tenacity and focus. Neilsen’s success in Mississippi and beyond gave him the ability to transform the lives of others impacted by spinal cord injuries. Founded in 2002, the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation serves as North America’s largest private funder for programming and research to improve the quality of life of people living with spinal cord injuries.

KAGEMASA KOZUKI - MANUFACTURER

Kagemasa Kozuki is founder, chairman and representative director of KONAMI HOLDINGS CORPORATION. He founded KONAMI INDUSTRY CO., LTD in 1969 to lease and maintain jukeboxes, before expanding the company in 1973 to manufacture amusement machines for arcades. Under Kozuki’s leadership, the company has grown substantially over the past 50-plus years to become a major international corporation operating four business segments: digital entertainment, amusement, gaming and systems, and sports.

Through these segments, Kozuki has made significant contributions across multiple industries including arcade, video, and card games, gaming machines and casino management systems, and health and fitness clubs.

Since its earliest days in the industry, Konami Gaming, Inc. has placed a special importance on higher education and supporting the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Since 2000, Kozuki has supported UNLV’s William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration, including the establishment of the Konami Gaming Laboratory, the founding of Hospitality Hall, the UNLV Gaming Innovation Program, and more.

Mr. Kozuki formed the Kozuki Foundation in 1982 to promote sports, educational, cultural, and social support related activities, and to improve the public good, creating a better society. Kozuki’s philanthropic efforts and his consistent support for educational, cultural, athletic, and social support related organizations have been recognized by Forbes Magazine as well as many other publications. Konami remains at the forefront of innovation, and in 2019, the company opened its new Tokyo headquarters complete with a broadcast studio for esports tournaments. With Kozuki at the helm, the company shows no signs of slowing down any time soon as it explores new markets and technologies. From his beginnings as a jukebox lease and maintenance vendor to leading KONAMI HOLDINGS CORPORATION to new heights, Kozuki’s influence can be felt around the world from Konami’s award-winning products to the lives that have been changed by the Kozuki Foundation.

JOHN HAIRSTON - REGULATOR

John Hairston is a sixth generation Mississippian, raised on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Upon graduating from Gulfport High School in 1981, he spent a year at Gulf Coast Community College caring for his ailing dad before heading to MSU, graduating magna cum laude in chemical engineering. He joined the consulting division of Arthur Andersen, and was soon assigned to assist the bank consulting group. Hairston opted to remain in the banking industry and advised clients across North America. He married fellow Mississippian and MSU chemical engineer, Ann, and they decided to move to Gulfport and raise children in their home state.

Hairston became CEO of his childhood bank in 2006, and upon acquiring Whitney National Bank in New Orleans, honored the history of the two grand old banks by renaming the merged company Hancock Whitney in 2018. Applying the lessons learned from his dad and mentors Leo Seal and George Schloegel, Hairston’s team led the growth of Hancock from $3 billion in assets in 2005 to $36 billion in assets today.

Active in the community, Hairston serves as Trustee and Secretary of the National World War II Museum in New Orleans, and on the board of directors for both the Gulf Coast and New Orleans Business Councils. He is incoming Treasurer for the Mississippi Economic Council. Governor Haley Barbour appointed Hairston to the Mississippi Gaming Commission in 2005 to assist with expediting post-Katrina rebuilding efforts, and he was appointed Chairman of the MGC by Governor Phil Bryant in 2012. Hairston cites his time with fellow commissioners and staff as a warm memory in his career, given the work product was to reopen business and reestablish jobs quickly after Katrina, and again after the Mississippi Delta Floods. Hairston has a true passion for his faith, family and the outdoors — especially on the water. John and Ann have two daughters, Dr. Taylor Hairston of Hattiesburg, and Reagan Hairston, currently in graduate school at the University of Michigan.