2004 GREAT WOMEN OF GAMING
Proven leader
Pam Howatt
Previous Vice President of Game
Operations, Bally Gaming and Systems
Born and raised in Reno and now living
in Las Vegas, Pam Howatt grew up
with three older brothers—"that taught
me to be a little tougher," she says.
Howatt earned a degree in finance and
was hired directly out of college by
Harrah's founder William F. Harrah,
eventually becoming his personal
accountant. Howatt worked for Harrah
until he passed away in 1978, then continued
working for his estate.
In 1981, Howatt moved to SIRCOMA,
Inc.(Si Redd Coin Machines), just as it
was preparing to go public as IGT. She
found several people formerly from
Harrah's there, including John Bengston,
the man who hired her. She credits the
growth-oriented company, the chances it
afforded for learning, and the opportunities
to make things happen as the basis
for her success. And, of course, there was
Howatt herself.
"I think I've been very tenacious,"
says Howatt. "Being a woman in this
industry, you had to fit in, and be patient,
and you certainly had to kill yourself
working… we've all done that. But I was
truly blessed to go into IGT when I did
because it was such a small company at
that time. The opportunities I was given
there certainly rounded out my experience
for a person coming out of college as
an accountant. You got to learn about
things like operations, and marketing…it
was great experience that I wouldn't have
gotten just as an accountant."
The nature of opportunity is very clear
to Howatt, and she has always known
who she is and what kinds of opportunities
to look for. "For me, that didn't mean
taking it away from somebody else," she
says. "It meant just looking out and seeing
when something wasn't getting done.
And if you jumped in and worked and
tried some things, and it made the company
money, then that was how you grew
in the industry. I'm a process person. I'm
an operations person–it's not the most
romantic or sexy part of our business, but
it's always been the role that I did. And
I'm not afraid to step out and make
changes that will make the company
money. Those are the key things that I
have always done from day one."
Teamwork is a huge part of Howatt's
makeup, and according to her, much of
that has to do with being female. "I think
you have to know how to work with people
and be part of a team," she says.
"Overall I think (women) are better managers
and developers. That's something
that just comes a little easier for us.
Among the men who have worked for
me, I see wonderful, smart, great team
members, but they're not always the best
developers. And that's certainly something
that I have. I work real hard to be
honest with my people, and sometimes
it's painful, but how else are they going to
learn? I think that if you ask people who
work for me, they'll tell you I am very
direct, but I try also to find solutions. It's
not about saying 'you did this wrong,' but
it's about sitting down and saying 'maybe
you could try this or that.'"
Part of that teamwork, however, is still
hard-won for Howatt. "Growing up in the
seventies, women weren't in sports very
much, and so we didn't have those
opportunities to explore the team concept.
That is one of the harder things to
learn if it's not already in your head. I had
to learn. I had to be accepted. I'm blessed
that a lot of the guys I worked with are
still here. I have a good solid network of
people that I've worked with for a
long time."
Howatt says that her career has been
long, but it hasn't always been easy. "I
went for 10 years as the only female manager
in the whole group," she says. "You
have to be comfortable with that. You
have to be comfortable in your own skin,
and push through that. I wouldn't say I'm
one of the guys, but I certainly found my
niche; I found out who I was and what I
was, and you have to have that." What
makes this so important in a male-dominated
environment? Howatt says it's
about communication. "You know, you're
not the one they're going to go play golf
with, and you're not the one that's going
to have those extra opportunities to communicate
with," she says. "So you have to
make sure your communication is right.
You have to learn to say what you have to
say at the right time. You have to maximize
your time with your management
team." She laughs. "I don't play golf, anyway,"
she says.
Copyright 2011, Great Women of Gaming. All rights reserved.
