Shares slide after Scientific Games appointed gambling greenhorn as new CEO

Lottery tech provider and gaming machine supplier Scientific Games Corp. has named a new man to replace gaming industry veteran Gavin Isaacs as its CEO, a move that sent the company’s shares plummeting.

Kevin Sheehan, former chief executive of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd., was tapped to take over the post of CEO and president at Scientific Games, while Isaacs will become vice chairman of the board of directors.

Sheehan, who was Norwegian’s CEO for seven years, was credited for guiding the cruise line operator through its initial public offering in 2013. However, Sheehan—a gambling industry newcomer—has some big shoes to fill.

“Given Mr. Isaac’s ‘cult’ status amongst gaming investors, we sense there are some owners who stayed loyal to the stock because of his direct oversight, who may now be more compelled to exit the name,” Stifel Nicolaus & Co. analyst Steven Wieczynski said in a note, according to Bloomberg.