He helps gamblers get with the program.

• Position: Centron Software Inc. Pres. Ron Centner

Centron Software Inc. President Ron Centner didn't expect much when he wrote a computer craps game in 1988. But he put an ad in PC World and a catalog company ordered 1,000.

"I had to find out how to make copies," he recalls, and throw together a crude manual. "They called back and said, 'Where's the box?' 'Oh, you want a box. We didn't know you wanted a box.'"

He isn't much of a gambler. But his bet on casino games paid off. Two years later, Egghead Software put his games in stores. He won't reveal revenues for Pinehurst-based Centron's 12 products, but its best seller, Casino Master, moves 20,000 copies a year at $49.95. The CD-ROM includes gambling strategies and 11 favorites such as blackjack, roulette, slots and video poker.

Two years ago, Centron started making low-end casino games ($14.95 or less), which it sells itself and licenses to discount-software companies. "If you add it all up, we probably sell more casino games than anyone else." There's also stuff for nongamblers. It released Murder She Wrote Mystery Jigsaw Puzzles in October.

The Chicago native earned a bachelor's from Illinois Institute of Technology and a master's from MIT in electrical...