Bud Russell, former IGT president, dies in Reno

RENO - John J. "Bud" Russell, the former president of the Reno-based International Game Technology from the mid-1980s to mid-1990s, has died. He was 82.

Daughter Kathleen Russell told the Reno Gazette-Journal on Tuesday that he died in Reno on Monday night with his wife and eight children at his side. The cause of death was not disclosed.

Russell, an Oklahoma City native raised in Long Beach, Calif., owned a business consulting firm before then-IGT CEO Chuck Mathewson hired him as vice president in 1986. Russell was named president two years later. Over the next decade he helped make IGT the world's biggest maker of slot machines.

Kathleen Russell said he was especially proud of implementing an employee profit-sharing plan and cash bonuses and helping to create an on-site child care program.