Casino Executive

"The Myth of Table Games Primacy" - January 2001
The pompous posturing of table games people, from dealers to department heads, sabotages efforts to cultivate cultural unity and common purpose within a company.

"Casino Babel" - November 2000
Communication is the lifeline that ties a corporate culture together. When there's a break in the lifeline, someone is cast adrift and isolated from the culture.

"Love It or Leave It" - September 2000
The biggest obstacle to changing a corporate culture that needs fixing isn't the employees.   It's management.

"Back to Basics" - July 2000
As the gaming world evolves and new players reshape the industry, it's easy to lose sight of basic concepts like service to the customer...and grooming your culture so it comes naturally.

"The "U" Word" - May 2000
 Few things give casino executives heartburn quicker than mention of the "U" word.  Unions stir powerful passions, for and against them.  A strong, positive corporate culture helps keep such emotions from becoming destructive.

"Vision Quest" - March 2000
 The vision statement of a company is a declaration of intent, a proposition for where the company wants to go, what it wants to be.  The vision should be simple, easy to understand, and on top of every employee's mind, guiding every action and thought.

"The Employee Marketer" - January 2000
For casino marketing executives, the most terrifying creature on earth is an indifferent employee...the cleverest and most powerful ad campaign, the best-planned promotion, the most publicized special event can be chopped off at the knees by the employee who fails to deliver what the marketing promises.

"Keeper of the Flame"- November 1999
There is no miracle wonder drug for culture.  A single motivational event won't cure a
corporate culture permanently.

"Cultural Twig- bending" - August 1999
A typical casino operation has literally hundreds of “touch” points in the process of acquiring new employees.  Each is a chance to begin planting the seed of your vision, communicating your goals and aspirations, infusing the prospective employee with the behavior you desire for your culture.

"Can't Buy You Love" - June 1999
It takes more than money and benefits to hold on to good employees.  Those are important motivators, but not necessarily the sole or even primary reason employees stay or leave.  A strong corporate culture is by far the most powerful magnet that holds employees firmly in place. 

"Two-Way Communication" - April 1999
Communication.  Constant two-way communication.  That’s the cornerstone of Jerry Egelus’ strategic plan to build a unified corporate culture at Harrah’s Cherokee.  He applies numerous tactics and resources to keep management and employees connected and in touch.

"Universal Truths" - February 1999
While casino cultures differ widely, they’re more alike than you may think.  Employees throughout the industry share common concerns.  If you address these concerns effectively, you successfully elevate your culture above the crowd.

"Rallying Point" - December 1998
Multi-unit gaming companies whose properties don’t share a common brand identity face distinct cultural challenges.  With no single “handle” to link their identities, the individual properties tend to go their own way culturally.

"Training: Chicken or Egg?" - October 1998
Does a corporate culture shape training, or does training shape the culture?  The role of training in the building of a corporate culture is often a mystery to casino executives, who sometimes see no connection at all between the two.

"Measuring Up" - August 1998
Few casinos have any systematic process in place for regularly monitoring what their customers are happy or unhappy about.  For the most part, casino managements rely on hearsay, general impressions, and instinct.  In the fickle gaming marketplace, trusting to gut feelings about what's on the customer's mind is a good way to be fooled or misled.

"Employee Communication: I Heard It Through the Grapevine" - June 1998
Employee communication in gaming companies is, more often than not, rated as poor by employees.  It typically consists of a newsletter, an occasional employee meeting, and pounds and pounds of memos with numbing operational details that few employees read and fewer still comprehend.

"Starting from Scratch" - April 1998
The tribal compacts with casino management operators typically, and understandably, include preferential biases for Indian employees, with the purpose of uplifting tribe members' self-esteem and ability to be productive.  The downside of these conditions, however, is that they inherently create resentment among non-tribal employees.

"Grand Breaks the Cycle" - February 1998
The role of the casino in gaming's emerging markets is more subtle and complex than just being an economic boon, important though that is.  The cultures of the casinos exert significant beyond-the-walls impact, reaching into the community itself and affecting the way it acts and thinks.

"Make Time for Sergeants" - December 1997
When it comes to building and shaping a desired corporate culture, getting the buy-in and enthusiastic participation of the middle managers is an absolute essential. Without it, the cultural initiative will run into a stone wall.

"In the Dark" - October 1997
There is a very real likelihood that management's view of a casino's culture is markedly different than the way employees and customers see it.  Upper level executives tend to see their companies in a more positive light than do the line level employees.

"Culture Clash" - August 1997
Gaming is being touted in some quarters as "the new buffalo" for Native Americans, a source of economic renewal and independence. However, a conflict between noble purpose and pragmatic reality poses a built- in dilemma for many Native American casino cultures.

"Service with an Attitude" - June 1997
In most casinos, table games dealers and floor supervisors rule. They are the elite, the chosen. They are the stars of the show -- ask them; they'll tell you so. Management usually agrees with them. Yet they represent the single most obvious manifestation of cultural dysfunction in the gaming world.

"thankyouhaveaniceday" - April 1997
A corporate culture cannot be fixed with a training program. Not by itself. A common management misperception is that employee attitudes can be changed with some motivational training sessions and tactical activities aimed at improving the ability of employees to deliver good customer service.

"The Bottom Line Impact of Internal Marketing" - February 1997
Building a corporate culture through internal marketing is not about making employees feel good.  It's about getting the best, most profitable and efficient performance from the company's primary asset -- its people. It's about making money.

"The Profits of Culture" - December 1996
Building a corporate culture involves a great deal more than ivory-tower declarations. It takesthought, planning, and action. The payoff is on the bottom line.

"Culture Shock" - October 1996
Every company has a corporate culture. It lives of its own will, unless strong direction is applied to command its course.

"Building a Service Culture" - July 1996
Gaming is in transition, evolving from a supply-driven industry to a customer service focus. Visionary, forward-thinking casino management is placing a high premium on keeping customers happy.

"10 Building Blocks for a Customer-Focused Culture" - July 1996
The essential structural materials needed to create and maintain a corporate culture that collectively thinks and acts with customer satisfaction as more than an empty slogan.

New Orleans Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau
"On Parade"
"New Orleans Casinos Beating the Odds" - July 1997
New Orleans casinos are holding their own against Gulf Coast rivals, despite a persistent buzz about what some call a "game drain" from Louisiana to Mississippi.

Jim Blanchard's Gold Newsletter
"Life After Bre-X: Taking Advantage of Maximum Pessimism" - June 1997
The 1997 Gold Newsletter Investment Seminar gave savvy investors an upclose, interactive chance to pick the brains of the industry's top analysts about what to do next in the Bre-X aftermath.