Maybe one day someone will write a book about the second-generation casino operators Las Vegas has produced. No doubt it would be filled with stories of the influence of one generation on the next.
I was reminded of that generational influence recently after learning Paragon Gaming CEO and co-founder Diana Bennett was one of four members of the American Gaming Association Hall of Fame’s Class of 2017. Her career has been filled with relentless effort and remarkable success, but of course she will always be known around the casino industry as William Bennett’s daughter.
He made the Circus Circus Enterprises brand synonymous with fun, good times, and corporate profitability and built up a pile pf personal wealth in the process, then distributed millions of dollars to his beloved UNLV and other education and charitable entities.
But it was when William Bennett was down and nearly counted out early in his career in the furniture business in Arizona that he showed his true character. Financial reversals forced him to seek bankruptcy protection, but instead of legally reneging on his debts he made good on a promise to pay every one. It’s something his daughter remembered upon Bennett’s death in December 2002.
That strength of character was passed from one generation to the next as well.
Bennett remains fully in action with Paragon. Although she cut her teeth in the Las Vegas gaming market and like so many second-generation operators learned the racket from the ground up, these days Bennett and Paragon partner Scott Menke developed and currently manage the First Nations’ River Cree Hotel and Resort on the River Cree Reserve outside Edmonton, Alberta. Paragon also operates the the Eagle River Travel Plaza in Whitecourt, Alberta.
Paragon’s was the opening last month of Parq Vancouver, in British Columbia, a $600 million hotel-casino adjacent to the city’s BC Place Stadium.
The ability to multi-task must run in the family. When you can say you’ve helped operate gaming properties that range from the Colorado Belle and Edgewater in Laughlin to the Luxor on the Strip, then have taken on the revival of the Sahara (now in its latest reinvention as the SLS), you’re capable of teaching post-graduate seminars in casino operation. And, of course, it never hurt to learn the business from one of the best.
An expert in gaming systems management, something she learned outside the halls of Arizona State, Bennett served as the president and CEO of Casino Data Systems, which not only added to her expanding professional portfolio but helped lead to licensing in multiple jurisdictions in the U.S. and Canada.
It’s clear the lady has earned her own luck.
But that’s not what sets her apart.
In fact, if Southern Nevada’s leaders in business, politics and philanthropy were surveyed, Diana Bennett’s name would be even more synonymous with charitable giving and community action than with slots and dice.
Bennett is the chairwoman of Three Square food bank, one of Southern Nevada’s remarkable philanthropic success stories. Each year Three Square collects and distributes millions of pounds of food to community pantries. It’s systems management with a soul and makes a difference in the lives of thousands of local families. In 2017, it gathered and handed off 36 million meals throughout Southern Nevada and much of the state.
As the president of the Bennett Family Foundation, she guides gift-giving to a variety of worthy youth and women’s organizations. At UNLV, she’s been a dedicated contributor to the Beverly Rogers, Carol C. Harter Black Mountain Institute for literature. Downtown, she’s one of The Smith Center’s patron saints. Whether it’s Noah’s Animal House or St. Jude’s Ranch for special kids from broken homes, Bennett has been a consistent and generous friend.
That’s only a fraction of the organizations and charities she assists in substantive ways.
That’s another thing about William Bennett’s Hall of Fame daughter. In a place where hyperbole is the coin of the realm, she’s done all that without seeking the spotlight.
John L. Smith is a longtime Nevada journalist and author. Contact him at jlnevadasmith@gmail.com. On Twitter: @jlnevadasmith
