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Holly Hampton Is The American Amusement Machine Associations First Woman President

NORTHBROOK, IL -- The American Amusement Machine Association elected Holly Hampton as its president during its annual Meeting and Gala held here last week. Other newly elected officers are Family Entertainment Group's George Smith, vice-president; Apple Industry's Allen Weisberg, treasurer; Game Exchange of Colorado's Rich Babich, assistant treasurer; Bandai Namco's Frank Cosentino, secretary; and AMI Entertainment Network's Bryan Aune, assistant secretary. Hampton, 37, is director of innovation at Bay T...

October 9, 2017 | Nick Montano

NORTHBROOK, IL -- The American Amusement Machine Association elected Holly Hampton as its president during its annual Meeting and Gala held here last week. Other newly elected officers are Family Entertainment Group's George Smith, vice-president; Apple Industry's Allen Weisberg, treasurer; Game Exchange of Colorado's Rich Babich, assistant treasurer; Bandai Namco's Frank Cosentino, secretary; and AMI Entertainment Network's Bryan Aune, assistant secretary.

Hampton, 37, is director of innovation at Bay Tek Games Inc., a Pulaski, WI-based amusement machine maker and owner of the Skee-Ball brand. The marketing expert joined the game manufacturer 16 years ago and began her volunteer work at AAMA nine years ago. Known for her passion and commitment, Hampton is also the first woman to serve as president of AAMA, which was founded in 1981.

Holly Hampton is AAMA's new president

Hampton succeeds Chris Felix of Crane Payment Innovations who began his term in August 2015. AAMA officers are elected to two-year terms.

During Felix's term, AAMA created and rolled out the Fair Play Pledge, a contract that every association member must enter to guarantee that any game they sell or operate in the United States will give the player a fair chance of winning. During her tenure, Hampton will oversee implementation of the Fair Play Pledge, enforcement of which begins at the association's 2018 meeting.

Amid the deluge of hurricanes, the destruction of earthquakes and the Las Vegas shooting, Hampton asked association members to reflect on the amusement industry's mission. "What we do is special," she said. "We create games. We create millions of smiles around the world."

The AAMA Meeting and Gala was held from Oct. 2 through 6 at the Renaissance Chicago North Shore. AAMA executive vice-president Peter Gustafson reported that participation for this year's meeting was up in most areas -- seminars, welcome dinner and new product exhibitors among them. The association's membership numbers are up, too; the group now has 165 members, compared with 152 a year ago. The meeting's highlight was the Gala dinner honoring Firestone Financial's David Cohen, who is this year's winner of AAMA's Lifetime Achievement Award.