American Gaming Association’s No. 2 person resigns

The American Gaming Association’s No. 2 person in leadership resigned Tuesday from the organization she helped found.

Judy Patterson, senior vice president and executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based trade organization and gaming industry lobbying group, will remain as a consultant over the next year.

Geoff Freeman, the association’s president, announced Patterson’s departure in a memo to the organization’s board of directors.

“She has been a key player in the creation and growth of Global Gaming Expo and G2E Asia, the two premier gaming industry events in the world,” Freeman said. “She also created and spearheaded industry task forces to study and address issues as diverse as regulatory reform, taxes, bank secrecy act provisions, communications and responsible gaming.”

Patterson helped found the American Gaming Association in 1995 with former organization President Frank Fahrenkopf Jr., who stepped down in June and was replaced by Freeman.

“The gaming industry and its members owe a great deal of gratitude to Judy and Frank,” MGM Resorts International Chairman Jim Murren said Tuesday. Murren is the vice chairman of the organization’s board.

“They are responsible for building and the growth of a fine organization, and it’s a logical transition,” Murren said.

Before joining the American Gaming Association, Patterson, an attorney who is a member of the Washington, D.C., bar association, served as special assistant to the president of the American Bar Association.

Freeman credited Patterson with the creation and success of the American Gaming Association, including the 1996 creation of the National Center for Responsible Gaming, the nation’s only independent, nonprofit organization dedicated exclusively to funding research and education to advance the understanding and effective treatment of pathological and youth gambling.

In 2011, Patterson helped create Global Gaming Women, which has more than 1,000 members and supports the development and success of women in the international gaming industry through education, mentorship and networking opportunities.

Contact reporter Howard Stutz at hstutz@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3871. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.