MSMo 361 Si Redd - The King of the Slots&Video Poker, Ext. Ver. - a podcast by USM Center for Oral History

    William “Si” Redd was born in Union, Mississippi in 1911. The son of a share cropper, Redd dreamed of becoming an attorney until he got his first pinball machine and realized that coin operated amusements were his true calling.

     Redd eventually became the distributor for Bally Manufacturing. He explains how his experience with pinball machines led him to modernize the slot machine industry.  As video games became popular in the early ‘80s, Redd recognized their potential for the gaming industry and in 1980 founded International Game Technology. His biggest innovation was to develope video poker machines that flush-mounted directly into casino bars which he recognized as wasted space.

    Known as the “King of Video Poker,” Si Redd was inducted into the Gaming Hall of Fame. He passed away in 2003. Pleased enjoy this extended version of the original broadcast.

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