The composite picture of a great casino executive

Dennis Conrad

September 3, 2024 7:54 AM

Dennis Conrad

In my nearly 50 years in the gaming industry, I’ve worked with and for a number of great casino executives. I’ve also written about this topic many times over the decades, with my column “Qualities of Great General Managers” (from the book Conrad on Casino Marketing) being my favorite and, I believe, the most instructive.

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I realize that opinions on what makes a great casino executive can vary widely. Many would say “having a great understanding of finance” is an important quality, as are “project-development” skills, an appreciation of effective marketing, experience in gaming operations. Stuff like that.

I don’t disagree with any of that, but when I think about what makes up a great casino executive, what comes to mind are the exec’s personal qualities and actions that make casino employees motivated to contribute the discretionary effort and attention that they often withhold from an organization. Also, of course, the executive’s personal beliefs, actions, policies, and interactions make casino customers appreciate, yes even love, that executive’s casino.

A great casino executive can make that much of a difference.

I thought about writing this column by making one of my infamous lists: Dennis’s TOP 10 Casino Executives of ALL Time. But I’ve probably met only a small percentage of the contenders. How about creating a Hall of Fame of Great Casino Executives? Naw, the AGA already has an illustrious Hall of Fame, albeit with different criteria than mine. Or maybe I should ask my readers to submit their own nominations for top casino leaders. But that seemed time-consuming, subject to lobbying from casino PR companies, and difficult to compare, say, a general manager with a slot supervisor.

So what I’ve decided to do is to cull through the great casino executives I’ve known in my career (a few hundred of those) and create a composite of the qualities and actions that make them great, then highlight the particular casino executive who best exemplifies that quality or action.

Without further ado, I bring you Dennis’s Composite Profile of a Great Casino Executive.

They really are active in their community/Brian Charlette, Vice President of Information Technology, Foxwoods – I’m proud to say that a solid majority of casino executives are meaningfully active contributors to all sorts of charities and important organizations in their communities. I’ve seen it. I respect it. I honor it. It makes a difference. But only Brian Charlette at Foxwoods restores decaying gravestones at his local cemeteries. Maybe none of the deceased’s family are still alive or they just don’t care. But for most surviving friends and family members, this simple but difficult gesture from an unknown casino executive who refurbishes headstones and gravesites is a one-of-a-kind community gesture.

They don’t “supervise” their employees, they lead and motivate them/Joe Billhimer, Chief Operating and Development Officer, Cordish Gaming – Long before Joe Billhimer was a corporate muckety-muck, he was a veteran general manager at several casinos. What I noticed particularly was that everywhere he worked, both his frontline employees and management team all loved him. I’m not sure of the exact formula that Joe used, but I’d guess it involved being friendly and approachable, respecting the work that each team member did, asking for input and difference-making suggestions, allowing his managers to lead (and not just follow orders), and empowering all team members to do the right thing for guests. This “servant leadership” from a senior casino executive is truly motivating and ripples through the entire organization.

They spend most of their time on the casino floor, interacting with casino customers and employees/Tim Brooks, Former Owner and Current General Manager, Emerald Island Casino and the Rainbow Club (downtown Henderson, NV) – Tim Brooks recently sold his two very successful casinos, but continues to manage them. Tim created this value by ALWAYS being there with his customers and employees on the casino floor (he lives 6 minutes away!). This is how he finds out what they want. Then he gives it to them. What a concept! That was how Tim’s casinos came to have all loose penny slot games, cheap but great food, a “Cheers” environment, and numerous and popular casino promotions. And oh yeah, ALL the business in downtown Henderson.

They continually look to create more value for their best casino customers/The Entire Executive Team at Barona Resort and Casino – As this column is highlighting INDIVIDUALS who exemplify the traits of great casino executives, I tried to pick one individual from Barona, or the tribe, or the consulting partner, VCAT, behind their magnificent and magnanimous efforts to create value continuously for their VIPs. I couldn’t do it. ALL of Barona’s management team makes this happen. That is how they can have: no ATM or resort fees; frequent and VERY generous promotions for Barona’s Diamond and Platinum players; daily comped meals for VIPs in a special dining area, instant uptiering of new, quality, casino players; huge point multipliers on select days; and on and on and on. Maybe all of these great efforts from all of these great Barona executives is why Barona dominates the premium business in the San Diego casino market, even though it has by far the worst location.

They keep their cool under pressure/Kari Stout-Smith, General Manager and COO, Cache Creek Casino – Lots of crises can pop up at a casino. There can be thefts by employees or customers. There can be business recessions. Severe labor shortages. Pandemics. New competitors acting irrational. And nowadays, cyberattacks. Kari Stout-Smith has seen all of that and more. But you never see her sweat. And she’s a big reason why Cache Creek not only survived a crippling cyberattack, but has thrived since and even helped other casinos avoid this same unfortunate occurrence of being held ransom for your own technology to be safe and secure.

I could go on about other great qualities of great casino executives, like being compassionate and fun (yes, even casino accountants can be fun), envisioning the future, understanding market trends, and much much more.

But for now, if you can care about your community like Brian, lead and motivate like Joe, hang with your employees and customers like Tim, love your VIPs like Barona, and keep your cool like Kari, I’m sure you’ll be on your way to a great casino executiveship. Hey, give it a try and see for yourself.