Large order greets IGT's new president

Talk about starting a new job on the right foot: Barely more than an hour after Renobased International Game Technology announced last week that Thomas J.

Matthews had been promoted to president and named chief executive officer, the company also announced that a big customer was accelerating its purchases of IGT machines.

Matthews, who previously was IGT's chief operating officer, succeeded Thomas Baker as chief executive and president.

Baker, in turn, will become chairman of the board and will succeed Charles Mathewson, who resigned as a director to become chairman emeritus.

Mathewson described the moves as "a natural management progression." The new president's tenure got off to a roaring start when Las Vegas-based Station Casinos Inc.

said it is accelerating its purchase of IGT's cashless slot machines so it can complete its transition to ticket-based technology within two years.

The new agreement between the two companies calls for delivery of 2,700 machines in IGT's 2004 fiscal year and 2,300 machines in the next fiscal year.

IGT officials said the new schedule "considerably accelerates" an earlier deal with Stations Casinos.

Ward Chilton, senior vice president of North American sales for IGT, said the deal gives the gaming-machine manufacturer a good start toward its goal of selling 60,000 to 65,000 machines in fiscal '04.

Matthews, IGT's new president and CEO, held similar positions with Anchor Gaming before its acquisition by IGT in 2001.

Since the purchase, he's been working a chief operating officer and served on the IGT board.

Baker had been president of the company since 1996 and chief executive officer since late 2000.

He joined the company in 1988 as chief financial officer and held top financial positions in the company until leaving to take executive positions with Boomtown in late 1995.

He returned to IGT early in 1996.

Mathewson was appointed to the board in 1985 and named chairman of the

board a year later.