Eilers & Krejcik Gaming has announced that Dan Marks and Bruce Rowe will be inducted into the EKG Slot Awards Hall of Fame as members of the Class of 2026. The induction ceremony will take place on February 26, 2026, at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, alongside the annual EKG Slot Awards.
Marks will be honored in the Game Development category as the eighth inductee in that classification, while Rowe will be recognized in the Slot Operations category as its sixth inductee. The selections were made by the EKG Slot Awards Board of Advisors.
Todd Eilers, Principal at Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, LLC, said: “Once again, our distinguished Board of Advisors has selected two outstanding individuals to be inducted into the EKG Slot Awards Hall of Fame. Both Dan Marks and Bruce Rowe have made substantial and long-lasting contributions to the gaming industry and are well deserving of this honor.”
Rowe’s career spans more than 45 years across casino operations, gaming technology, and consulting. He spent over two decades with Harrah’s, now Caesars Entertainment, where he held senior executive roles, including Corporate Vice President of Slot Operations and R&D.
In those positions, he oversaw more than 42,000 slot machines across 26 properties and contributed to enterprise-wide slot strategy, operational standards, and major capital contract negotiations that supported billions of dollars in annual revenue. His experience also included participation in 18 casino development projects spanning riverboat, land-based, Native American, and international markets.
Rowe later transitioned into the gaming manufacturing and technology sector, serving as Vice President of Business Strategy at GTECH before joining Bally Technologies. At Bally, he held roles including Senior Vice President of Strategy and Senior Vice President of Customer Consulting and Sales Support, working with executive leadership on long-term growth initiatives, customer partnerships, and emerging markets such as internet gaming.
In 2013, he founded Renaissance Casino Solutions, LLC, and continues to provide consulting services focused on slot optimization, casino design, and strategic planning. His industry recognition includes the Harrah’s Leadership Award and the Casino Marketing Lifetime Achievement Award.
Marks entered the gaming industry in 1998 after completing his education and joining High 5 Games. During his tenure there, he served as LLC Manager and created slot titles including Black Widow, Twin Win, DaVinci Diamonds, and Golden Goddess, several of which continue to perform strongly in the high-denomination segment.
He also patented gameplay mechanics such as exploding symbols, split symbols, WYSIWYG symbols, and replacement stacked symbols, which influenced modern slot design.
In 2010, Marks co-founded Spooky Cool Labs, which was acquired by Zynga in 2013 and contributed to the launch of Hit It Rich Casino, generating more than $2 billion in lifetime revenue. He later founded Gimmie Games, a multi-channel slot studio producing more than 60 games annually across land-based casinos, social casinos, and iGaming platforms.
Marks currently serves as a Master Patent Inventor at Aristocrat with more than 95 issued patents.
Original article: https://www.yogonet.com/international/news/2026/02/11/117542-dan-marks-and-bruce-rowe-selected-for-ekg-slot-awards-hall-of-fame-class-of-2026
