Loveman, Fahrenkopf, two others tapped for Gaming Hall of Fame

LAS VEGAS -- The chairman of Caesars Entertainment Inc. and the former chief of the American Gaming Association (AGA) head a four-person list of inductees into the Gaming Hall of Fame for 2013.

The American Gaming Association announced the class Wednesday.

Gary Loveman, chairman and CEO of Caesars Entertainment, and Frank Fahrenkopf Jr., who led the American Gaming Association during its first 18 years, head the list.

Also being inducted into the Hall of Fame are singer-entertainer Celine Dion and celebrity chef and restaurant operator Guy Savoy.

The Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be Nov. 14 at Caesars Palace.

Loveman joined Caesars, then known as Harrah’s Entertainment, as chief operating officer in 1998. He had served as an associate professor at the Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration.

Since being named CEO in January 2003, Loveman has presided over a period of growth that included the 2004 purchase of Horseshoe Gaming and the World Series of Poker and the 2005 acquisition of Caesars Entertainment Inc.

Fahrenkopf Jr. founded, and for nearly two decades piloted, the commercial casino industry’s Washington D.C.-based trade association. He was chairman of the Republican National Committee for six of President Ronald Reagan’s eight years in the White House and led the party through successful presidential elections in 1984 and 1988. He continues to serve as co-chairman of the Commission on Presidential Debates.

Dion is one of the most successful performers in pop music history, having sold more than 200 million albums. In March 2003, Dion began “A New Day ?” at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace.

Savoy opened his first restaurant, Restaurant Guy Savoy, in Paris. In May 2006, he brought the restaurant to Caesars Palace.