Kirk Sanford News

Kirk Sanford serves as CEO of Sightline Acquisition Corp. After 14 years heading Global Cash Access Inc. (GCA), a subsidiary of Global Cash Access Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: GCA), Kirk Sanford resigned as CEO in November 2007.

GCA is a provider of cash access products and services to more than 1,100 clients across the globe. These clients include gaming concerns where GCA provides the patrons cash access via various methods including ATM withdrawals, debit and credit card transactions as well as check verification and money transfers.

GCA maintains a proprietary database of gaming patron transaction data and credit history spanning millions of gaming patrons worldwide. This aids GCA in developing and deploying technologies and strategies to increase client profitability and efficiency.

Kirk Sanford has over 15 years of high level financial and economic leadership experience behind him.

Sanford served as CEO and also Chairman of the Board of Global Cash Access Inc. (GCA) for 14 years, retiring from this position in November, 2007. Sanford and GCA achieved over $1.5 billion in valuation during this time, as well as annual revenue of $600 million and an employee base of over 400 employees across the world.

Running a casino is a complex endeavor composed of a myriad of discreet constituent parts which must come together to form an intimately well functioning whole. It is certainly no secret that one of the crucial factors contributing to a well run casino is the ease of use and quality of its cash access machines. Global Cash Access is without a doubt one of the most trusted provider of cash access products and other related services for the gaming industry; not only in the United States but all over the world. GCA provides products and services to more than 1,100 gaming facilities internationally, including North America, Latin America, Europe, the United Kingdom and Asia. In the year 2007 more than $21 billion in cash in over 80 million transactions were processed.

Global Cash Access (GCA) received the 2003 Top 20 Most Innovative New Gaming Products Award from Casino Journal for its cash services product QuickJack Plus. QuickJack Plus is GCA’s highly user-friendly interface located in the casinos, and it allows the patrons to cash in a variety of the tickets and vouchers they receive, as well as perform all the required ATM, debit and credit card, and players’ club cash activities. Furthermore, QuickJack Plus can be augmented with many other functions that each gaming property may require. Joining together with NRT Technology Corporation for the QuickJack Plus interface, Global Cash Access was able to increase its tally of Casino Journal awards to five. Kirk Sanford, chief executive officer of GCA was “thrilled,” to quote him, to be honored once again. During Sanford‘s tenure as CEO, GCA has been at the forefront of the gaming technologies.

Casino Journal has, for 7 years, awarded its Top 20 Most Innovative New Gaming Products Awards to each year’s most innovative gaming products. In 2003, Global Cash Access (GCA) was included among the winners of the Top 20 Most Innovative New Gaming Products Awards of 2003 for two of GCA’s products. These two awards join the previous three awards that GCA has received for its products in the past. In awarding GCA these awards, Casino Journal recognizes the innovation and great potential of  two new products, QuickJack Plus and Plus QuikCash Plus (QCP) Web. In 2003 when the awards were made, QCP Web, had been installed at 124 casinos on 1,200 terminals. QCP Web is a full-service transaction processing system, and QuickJack Plus is a user-friendly interface for many of the various gaming patron activities while at the casinos. Kirk Sanford, CEO of GCA, said that the awards marked GCA’s efforts to “deliver forward-thinking products that improve operations, increase revenues and enhance the gaming experience.”

Kirk Sanford was thrilled once again by the recognition his company, Global Cash Access (GCA) received from the gaming community. In 2003, GCA was awarded two prizes for two of its individual products that were recognized as being among the Top 20 Most Innovative Gaming Products of 2003. Casino Journal has made these awards since 1996, acknowledging GCA’s two products QCP Web and QuickJack Plus. Visit our “In The Public Eye” page for this and other news.

You might think the phrase “responsible gambling” is an oxymoron, but at casinos in Detroit they are about to enter into the second phase of a two phase program to promote just that: Responsible Gambling.

Kirk Sanford of Global Cash Access in partnership with the National Council on Problem Gambling is making a huge effort to educate and counsel the public so that an enjoyable hobby or pastime does not turn into an addictive problem.

Accounting for approximately 95% of all cash access machines at casinos, all GCA machines will have Point-of-Decision messages printed on sticker and receipts, and 60% of the machines will also have telephone handsets which connect to a 24-hour “help-line” service center. Using the code word ‘think’ will signal to the service representative to automatically connect the customer to the National Council on Problem Gambling Hotline.

In addition, the program to promote responsible gambling also allows customers to exempt their credit cards so that if a request is made by the customer to withdraw more than a set amount of money, the withdrawal will be denied.

To learn more about this service you can see our page “Casino Cash Machines Offer Exclusion.”

Can gambling guarantee you millions of dollars? Kirk Sanford, CEO of Global Cash Access, has proven that it does! Sanford’s company upgraded cash access systems at over one thousand casinos in 1999 in a $5 million project. In an article that appeared in Business Solutions in May 1999, Jim Roddy covered the various aspects of Global Cash Access’ technological advances and the business models it had successfully implemented. The article included  an interview with Sanford. Read about it here.

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Feb. 25, 1999 /PRNewswire/ — Kirk Sanford has been named chief executive officer of Global Cash Access (GCA), the largest provider of cash access services to the gaming industry. Sanford, 32, previously served as executive vice president of sales, marketing and product development for GCA, holding the position since USA Processing teamed with First Data Corporation (NYSE: FDC – news) and Bank of America (NYSE: BAC – news) to form Global Cash Access last year. Prior to that time, Sanford was general manager of USA Processing/ BA Merchant Services Gaming Venture, where he managed operations, sales, marketing and product development. Global Cash Access provides a full range of electronic funds transfer and other services to more than 1,200 gaming properties nationwide.