William “Si” Redd

William "Si" Redd (1911–2003) was an American entrepreneur and gaming industry pioneer known as the “King of Video Poker.” Born into poverty in Union, Mississippi, as the son of a sharecropper, he began his career in college by investing in a pinball machine and later built a successful business distributing Wurlitzer jukeboxes and amusement machines through his Northwestern Music Co. In 1967 he moved to Reno, Nevada, to distribute slot machines for Bally Manufacturing, establishing Bally Distribution Co. and retaining a majority stake.

When Bally did not share his enthusiasm for video-based gaming, Redd sold the distribution company back to Bally in the mid‑1970s but negotiated the rights to develop video slot machines. In 1975 he founded Sircoma (later renamed International Game Technology), and in 1980 he formally incorporated IGT, which went public in 1981. Under his leadership, IGT became the world’s dominant slot‑machine manufacturer, controlling about two‑thirds of the U.S. market.

Redd also owned the Oasis hotel‑casino in Mesquite, Nevada from 1976 to 2001 and attempted the Pride of Mississippi riverboat venture, which ultimately failed at a loss of about $20 million. He sold his controlling interest in IGT in 1986 and retired. Redd was inducted into the Gaming Hall of Fame in 1991 and the Nevada Business Hall of Fame in 2002. He died at his home in Solana Beach, California, on October 14, 2003, at age 91.