Casino Enterprise Management

In an industry where female executive directors, general managers and vice presidents are rare, it’s important to recognize the ones who stand out. Nominated by their bosses, co-workers and peers, these are the extremely deserving 2010 Great Women of Gaming. This article features 11 women who dedicate themselves, have great passion for what they do and inspire others along the way.

Now in its sixth year, the awards are broken down into two categories: Proven Leaders and Rising Stars. To qualify as a Proven Leader, candidates must have worked in the gaming industry for a minimum of 10 years and have been in their current position for at least one year. They must also work for a gaming industry company and hold a position of director of higher. To qualify as a Rising Star, candidates must have worked in the gaming industry for a minimum of three years and have been in their current position for at least one year. They must also work for a gaming industry company and hold a position of manager or higher. Candidates in each category needed to demonstrate exceptional achievement in at least three of the following areas: ability to go above and beyond job responsibilities; commitment to company and co-workers; contributions to the industry as a whole; commitment to mentoring; and strong overall life balance.

With so many nominations and potential winners, CEM set out to find the best of the best to form our judging panel. The judging committee was made up of former Great Women of Gaming award winners and other industry leaders. They included: Tracey Chernay, executive VP of sales and marketing, TransAct Technologies; Linda Devine, senior VP of marketing, Barona Resort & Casino; Christie Eickelman, senior director of worldwide marketing, Gaming Laboratories International; Tina Kilmer, VP of product compliance, Bally Technologies; Debra Nutton, senior VP of casino operations, MGM Grand Hotel and Casino; Mary Lynn Palenik, director, development, research and analysis, PricewaterhouseCoopers; Valerie Red-Horse, president, Red-Horse Financial Group; Linda J. Roe, VP of business development and client relations, Thalden • Boyd • Emery Architects; Lynn “Nay” Valbuena, vice chairwoman, San Manuel Band of Mission Indians; and Claudia Winkler, senior VP of professional services, NEWave.

The 2010 Great Women of Gaming Proven Leader Award Winners are: Patricia Becker, executive director, International Gaming Institute, UNLV, and compliance committee chairwoman, Bally Technologies; Janie Dillard, executive director of gaming, Choctaw Casinos; Cynthia Hays, senior director, networked gaming technical operations, WMS Gaming; Sharon House, attorney at law; and Darlyne Sullivan, general manager and executive vice president, Atlantis Casino Resort Spa.

The 2010 Great Women of Gaming Rising Star Award Winners are: Jennifer Bighorse, marketing director, Osage Million Dollar Elm Casino; Colleen Birch, director of revenue management and distribution, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas; Audrey Damonte, director, government relations and legal affairs, IGT; Christine Gabaldon, player development manager, Buffalo Thunder Resort and Casino and Cities of Gold Casino; Candace Lucas, executive director of marketing, WMS Gaming; and Georgia Noble, former chairwoman, Sac and Fox Business Enterprises Board.

You can also listen to special edition podcasts of some of our great women sharing their thoughts on the industry and advice for other women: In Their Own Words: Industry Insights and Lessons Learned.

Or simply read on to find out why each of these women has been honored with this prestigious award with these extended profiles.

Proven Leaders

Patricia Becker

Executive Director, International Gaming Institute
Compliance Committee Chairwoman, Bally Technologies

Have you ever watched the movie Casino?” Patricia Becker asked me in response to my question regarding highlights of her more than 30-year gaming industry career. I replied yes, and Becker told me that she argued the case that put Tony Spilatro in the black book. “I argued it in front of the Nevada Supreme Court,” she said.

That is just one of the great stories Becker shared with me during our talk about her career and personal life. Currently, Becker is the executive director of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas International Gaming Institute. She is also a Boyd Distinguished Professor, serves as chairwoman for Bally Technologies’ Compliance Committee and Tropicana Entertainment Inc., and owns the independent consulting firm Patricia Becker & Associates.

Becker’s gaming career began in 1979 as deputy attorney general assigned to the Nevada Gaming Control Board and Commission. This is a position Becker requested because a woman had never done it before. “Sometimes I look back and think I had more guts at that age than I do at this age,” Becker says. A few years later, Becker was promoted to chief deputy attorney general for the gaming agencies and argued the Tony Spilatro case, which was the first Nevada Supreme Court case in which television cameras were permitted in the courtroom during oral argument. 

In 1985, then-Gov. Richard Bryan appointed Becker as a member of the Nevada Gaming Control Board. She was the first woman to hold the position and still the only woman to this date to do so. Looking back, Becker says, “I am actually surprised I muscled through it all, to be honest with you. But at the time, I just kept my head down and worked and worked and worked.”

After serving on the board, Becker went on to hold a number of prestigious positions in gaming and government. She spent nine years (1984-1993) at Harrah’s Entertainment, leaving as senior vice president, general counsel and secretary. She served as chief of staff to Nevada Gov. Bob Miller from 1993 to 1995 and senior vice president of corporate affairs and legal for Aladdin Gaming from 1998 to 2004.

Becker’s corporate board appointments and experience are also extensive. She has served on the board of directors for Cash Systems Inc., Fitzgeralds Gaming Corp. and Powerhouse Technologies. In addition, she served as president of the International Association of Gaming Advisors and is the first woman inducted as a counselor of the organization.

Becker credits much of her success to a great piece of advice she received as an intern in law school. She says: “I had someone early on tell me the five P’s: Prior preparation prevents poor performance. So I always over prepared and probably continue to do that.”

Others may look at everything Becker has done and think it came easily to her. But she did face struggles, including the lack of female mentors. In time, she developed male mentors. Becker remembers one trip that helped her create the relationships she had been wanting at work. It was a one-week fishing trip in Alaska that Harrah’s did with its executives and business associates. A woman had never been on the trip until her boss suggested her, saying she had earned it.

A self-proclaimed “wear-stilettos-type of girl,” Becker prepared for the trip by going shopping with a co-worker for all the gear she could possibly need and learning every off-color joke she thought was funny. She told her jokes when she would meet a new person. “And it only took a couple of days until everybody was comfortable with me,” she recalls.

Becker believes it is crucial that companies allow women to experience bonding moments like this with their male coworkers to develop the type of rapport that lasts forever.

Becker says many of her challenges in life came on the personal side, related to the struggles of finding time to devote to being a successful executive, wife and mom. Fortunately, Becker has numerous stories to share that exemplify the heart-warming experiences she’s had in the gaming industry that helped her find the balance she needed.

Becker made a conscious decision to delay having children until after the age of 30. She was blessed with a baby boy at the age of 36 and took maternity leave to be at home with him. Becker says she’ll never forget a phone call she got while on leave from her boss asking her to come in to talk about reorganization at Harrah’s. This of course put her on edge, which made it even more surprising when her boss proceeded to promote her to senior vice president and general counsel for the entire company.

Becker’s son is now in college, the same age as the students Becker works with at UNLV. She teaches a class to college seniors who are preparing to go work in the industry on casino regulation.

Becker also takes time to mentor women who reach out to her for guidance. She even put together a cocktail event for female executives at G2E that serves as a fundraiser for the IGI. As far as advice for women wanting to work their way up in the gaming industry, Becker says education, a sense of humor and knowing how to speak up for yourself are key.

When it comes to the gaming industry as a whole, Becker sees three major challenges: Internet gaming’s possible impact on brick-and-mortar investments, the movement of investment capital to Asia, and the regulatory environment. She says regulations may be making it even harder for manufacturers to compete with other forms of entertainment.

Becker is looking forward to continually learning new things and challenging herself intellectually. As for future goals, she says: “I don’t feel the need to make it anymore. So it’s more what I want to do and how I want to grow both personally and professionally and how to balance that.” SKC

Janie Dillard

Executive Director of Gaming
Choctaw Casinos

Janie Dillard, executive director of gaming at Choctaw Casinos, has been a hard worker since the age of 13. Dillard says her drive and work ethic come from her parents, who she began imitating at her first job as a waitress in a small Oklahoma café. Dillard says her parents never told her they couldn’t afford something she wanted. She was told, “You can work hard, so work hard and you can get it.” And she did.

This drive pushed Dillard through the ranks of the Choctaw Nation to get to where she is today. Dillard started as a bingo floor supervisor at the Choctaw’s first gaming facility outside of Durant, Okla. “I thought, that’s a challenge that I would love to be a part of,” Dillard recalls. She had been working at an office job for the tribe and was married with two young sons at the time.

Dillard’s husband at the time disagreed with her desire to take the new job. “Which I guess is what helped me realize he and I had different career paths,” Dillard says. “He didn’t see a woman wanting to have a career in an environment like that. He thought that was more a man’s world. And I said I don’t care if it’s a man’s world or not, I just think it’s a great opportunity for me to showcase what I can do for our tribe.”

Dillard loved the job and would stay at work late into the night to watch the money being counted and know right away what that night’s deposit amount was. She managed to start a successful career while going through a divorce, despite knowing that the career she loved was a major contributor to the ending of her marriage. “But this is what I wanted to do. This is the career I wanted. This is the way I wanted my path to go,” Dillard says. “I realized that just after I started with bingo, and I never looked back. I never let it hold me down.”

Dillard’s career grew as the Choctaw Nation’s gaming business grew from a bingo hall to a 1,400-slot floor casino to a nearly 4,000-slot floor casino at one of its 18 gaming locations. Dillard’s roots keep her grounded, which she believes is very important as she now serves as executive director of gaming for Choctaw Casinos. “I have been very blessed by this position that I am in,” Dillard says. “I could easily go back to any of those positions that people have right now, housekeeping or whatever. I’ve worked through all those different areas of this operation and I know what people deal with on a day in and day out basis of getting up every day, coming to work, maybe not really feeling like I want to go to work today, but I’ve got bills to pay. I’ve been there, I’ve done that. I have gone and pawned jewelry to be able to go cover an NSF check that I had.”

Astonished by her own success at times, Dillard is most proud of the work she and the 3,000-person team at Choctaw Casinos have done that has resulted in creating many beneficial programs and services for their community. Dillard explains: “With the help of gaming revenue, our tribe has built clinics, hospitals and community centers for our seniors. The money that we generate from our gaming operation funds nearly 90 percent of our tribal budget and continues to enhance the quality of life for our tribal people and communities.”

Dillard’s passion for her job carries her through the challenges she meets. Some of those challenges are ones a man in her position may not face. She gives an example of walking into construction meetings to discuss projects at Choctaw properties. Most of the time, the room is full of men. “And they look up at you like, ‘What are you doing here? Are you in the wrong meeting?’”

Dillard says before she walks into these situations, she prepares herself by becoming knowledgeable on the topic and psyching herself up. “So that you’ve got the confidence and you can sit down at that table and earn their respect,” Dillard says.

As a strong leader, Dillard says she believes one of her responsibilities is to be a role model to her team members. She says, “I think a lot of my role is being a mentor for people to grow, work hard, be loyal and remain dedicated.” This is why Dillard shares her personal challenges and successes with others—to help them see that hurdles can be overcome.

One of Dillard’s mentors is actually a past Great Women of Gaming winner. Carole Carter is now the owner of e-gads! and was previously CEO and president at Harrah’s St. Louis. Dillard says: “Oh my God, I’m in the same category as Carole! She’s somebody that I want to be like when I grow up!” At that point I had to break it to Dillard that this might mean she has grown up. 

To women who aspire to be like Dillard one day, she recommends to not be afraid and step out of their comfort zone. “Work hard, be committed and believe you can do anything and everything. Earn the respect of others, but do not demand it,” she says.

When Dillard isn’t working hard, you can find her spending time with her family. She is married now and has two adult sons. One lives in Oklahoma and has a daughter and the other lives in Nebraska and has a new baby boy. He is currently serving in Iraq with the Air Force.

Even a go-getter like Dillard needs a little down time, and her favorite place to spend it is on the farm with her husband, who she considers her best friend. She explains: “I can just enjoy the country life and enjoy my animals. That’s peace to me; that’s what it’s all about.” SKC

Cynthia Hays

Senior Director, Networked Gaming Technical Operations
WMS Gaming Inc.

Coming from a town with one stoplight, Cynthia Hays would never have imagined herself in the gaming industry. Her journey from a small town near Cleveland to becoming a senior director at WMS Gaming has been nothing short of impressive and adventurous.

She received a paralegal certification from UC Davis and became a certified paralegal through the National Association of Legal Assistants in 1996 after attending Ohio State University for two and a half years. She started out in the hotel-restaurant business, and soon after that began working for the Cleveland Cavaliers. She first worked as a secretary, eventually moving her way up to sponsorship services. A few of her other adventures include working as the vice president of operations for the Las Vegas Bandits basketball team, a job at the California State Fair, with Western Fairs Association,  working for an all female law firm in Sacramento for nearly 10 years, as well as forming her own business with a partner in Sacramento.

Hays’ entry into gaming came when she landed at Harrah’s Entertainment working as a paralegal in the law department. It was there that she was hired by Mark Pace (now WMS’ vice president of networked gaming engineering and operations) to work on technical regulatory compliance. Hays says she enjoyed her time at Harrah’s, but was looking to leave the area and head back home to the Midwest. She got in touch with Pace to see if he had any opportunities at WMS, and he did.

“I had some great opportunities at Harrah’s, including the chance to be the customer service director at the Flamingo, and then eventually moving back into technical regulatory compliance for the corporate gaming department,” Hays says. 

Pace is one of many of Hays’ colleagues who has nothing but praise for her. He has hired her twice, and says she was more than qualified for each of the jobs. Pace says: “Back then, some 10 years ago, I hired Cynthia because she had the drive, desire and innate aptitude to understand complex technology and communicate it in layman’s terms. Her ability to relate to regulators might stem from her background as a paralegal, but I think it is in fact an innate skill that she has honed.”

At Harrah’s, Hays contributed to projects such as ticketing, the Total Rewards 2 launch, Reel Rewards, the Caesars integration and the corporate Table Touch initiative, along with several other notable accomplishments. Hays says that it’s important to note that in all of these projects, she was only one person on teams of very talented individuals, and that none of these projects get done by one person alone.

Hays says that although she’s accomplished many impressive things over the years, it has a lot to do with her mentors and the qualities they’ve instilled in her. Kim Myrman was the vice president of sales and marketing for the Cleveland Cavaliers when Hays met her. “It was my first experience knowing a woman who was so strong and so successful in such a male-dominated field,” Hays says. “She mentored me both personally and professionally and always encouraged and supported me. She taught me that I could do whatever I set my mind to do, and I learned from her that being female should never limit what I could or wanted to do professionally. She continues to be a great friend and sounding board.”

The other mentor Hays names is Bill Buffalo, who was the vice president and deputy general counsel for Harrah’s when Hays was hired as his paralegal. “He was also incredibly supportive and encouraging, and I have never met a person with as much integrity,” she says. “I learned from him that no matter what, you have to do the right thing. I remind myself and others almost daily that you only have your integrity and you only have one chance to lose that with people.”

Relationships with customers, colleagues and everyone in between are something that Hays focuses on every day. She stresses good customer service to each of her employees and tells them, “I want them to be known as the people that will go out of their way even if it’s not their job.”

Hays is motivated by her family—husband, Allen, and sons Cooper (13) and Spencer (9)—on a daily basis, and says she loves spending time with them doing things like attending their sporting events, cooking, and exploring area landmarks and parks. She is also very inspired by her mother, stepfather and brothers, as well as her late father. “My father, who died in 1999, is still a key force in my life,” she says. “He was my best friend. His advice to me was that he didn’t care what I decided to do with my life, but that I needed to find a job that I enjoyed going to every day.”

And she says she has done just that. It’s also very visible that her colleagues enjoy her contributions and company. “Cynthia is an inspiration to so many women in our company and has been a wonderful mentor to me,” says Jami Thornton, senior product marketing professional at WMS. “No matter how busy her schedule gets, she always makes time for me to discuss career advancement opportunities, provide feedback on my sales enablement tools and initiatives, or help me solve challenges I have encountered in the almost two years that I have worked for WMS.”

Hays has been breaking ground for women her whole life—as the first female to letter in varsity golf at her high school, as well as becoming the first female bell “man” hired at Stouffer’s Dublin Hotel. And we’re sure that Hays will continue to embody the definition of an inspiration, as well as a great woman of gaming. JM

Sharon House

Attorney At Law

There is no doubt about it, Sharon House is one of the strong driving forces behind the Indian gaming industry, and many admire her work and dedication to it.

There are numerous examples of work she’s done to advance the industry. She served as an attorney for the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin—her own tribe—for approximately 20 years, specializing in Indian law, gaming, regulation, corporations, financing and more. House was also on the negotiating team for the Oneida Tribe of Indians, negotiating two state gaming compacts and on the compact negotiating team for the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of Idaho. She has worked with the Attorney Work Group and Task Force of the California Tribal/State Class III Gaming Compact Association, which is composed of tribal regulators, and the California Gambling Control Commission and the National Indian Gaming Association (NIGA) and National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) Task Force to negotiate and limit IGRA amendments. She has served as legal counsel with the National Tribal Gaming Commissioners/ Regulators (NTGC/R), co-chaired the Minimum Internal Control Standards tribal work group for NIGA and NCAI, and also sat on the first board of “Women’s Participation in the Bar,” State Bar of Wisconsin. House currently provides legal services for a number of tribal gaming commissions.

She says some of the accomplishments she’s most proud of are being a part of the compact negotiation teams that resulted in signed tribal/state Class III compacts and being a part of the gaming regulatory agencies that were instrumental in the initial formulation of the NTGC/R. She is very proud of being a part of the team that drafted the first judicial forum for the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin, the Appeals Commission.   

House was admitted to practice law in 1984 in the state of Wisconsin and the Seventh Circuit Court of appeals in 1985. She is a graduate of Black Hills State University and the University of Wisconsin Law School.

“After receiving my undergraduate degree, I began raising a family on the Oneida reservation, where I began working with the old CAP program in Oneida,” House explains. “There was no gaming at that time. I had always wanted to come back and work for my tribe during college, and also wanted to be an attorney, but family obligations limited my going to law school.”

House has six children (Kody, Corby, Yuma, Crystal, Rhiannon and Tsyoslake) and 13 grandchildren, and says she herself grew up with a stable family life. “I attended boarding school when I turned 12 years old and was lucky enough to have attended the only Indian girls boarding school in the U.S. I attended school with girls from many different tribes, and I believe this experience enhanced my respect for different cultures.”

Serving for one’s country was a value impressed in House’s family early on. “My father was a prisoner of war and survived the Bataan Death March of WWII,” she explains, “and he instilled in me survival and persistence and the importance of the military and the respect that our military should receive.” Three of House’s own sons are veterans.

While crediting her children as one of her proudest personal accomplishments, she also says graduating law school meant a lot to her. “That was extremely difficult for me because I was never that fond of school,” she reflected. “In addition, I had my fifth child during my first year of law school during the semester break.” Though this was a challenge for her, she received much help from her family and extended family, especially her mother who she says taught her how to be a parent.

Another challenge House talks about is being a woman raised in a matrilineal society and providing legal services to tribes that are primarily patrilineal. “But this challenge also extended to the non-Indian gaming environment,” she says, “because there were not many woman attorneys when I graduated from law school. I have attempted to overcome this challenge by trying to be reserved. This has been very difficult because I have been known to be opinionated.”

What attracted House to the gaming industry was being the actual recipient of the benefits that gaming provided to her tribe and family on a daily basis, as well as the opportunity for education, housing, health care, social services, and knowing that gaming could bring a greater degree of economic independence for all tribes.

One of the things she likes most is that the gaming industry provides the opportunity for other industries to thrive in conjunction with gaming, such as hotel/hospitality and the entertainment industry, as well as being a training ground for these additional occupations.

Though she’s a great woman all on her own, House still gives credit to her mentors. “I have worked with and known tribal elders who have helped me keep balance in my life by reminding me to reflect upon the importance of my heritage, culture and my humor while trying to survive in a fast-paced society,” House said of the first chairwoman of the Oneida Tribe, Irene Moore.

Further proof House is a tireless advocate of Indian gaming: We received a nomination letter from the chairman of NIGA himself, Ernie Stevens Jr. He writes: “Despite her many achievements, House has remained a humble person, always putting a strong emphasis on family and community. That is why she is so well loved by her people at home and by Indian people throughout the U.S. For these reasons, she richly deserves to be recognized as a Great Woman of Gaming.”

But we don’t have to take his word for it (though we do)—throughout the various other letters and recommendations we got on her behalf, it is evident she is strongly admired, respected and extremely deserving of this honor. AH

Darlyne Sullivan

General Manager/Executive Vice President
Atlantis Casino Resort Spa

Darlyne Sullivan says she should have seen her gaming career coming in the early ‘90s when her company required her to attend gaming courses at the University of Nevada, Reno. At the time, there were only a few dozen slot machines in the casino. “It was then I put two and two together and realized I would play an integral role in gaming in the future!” she says.

Sullivan started her career at the Arlington Plaza Hyatt in 1971, where her love for hospitality began. In 1977, she began working as reservations/sales manager at the Golden Road Motor Inn, where her love for the gaming industry grew from a strong desire to create an all-around top-notch experience for guests.

Sullivan is driven by the need to succeed and get things done correctly. “It’s just who I am,” Sullivan says. “If I pick it up, I own it. It’s in my DNA.”

During her time at Atlantis, Sullivan has held many roles, put many teams together and experienced many moments of success. The positions she’s held at the company range from front desk manager to assistant hotel operations manager and vice president of marketing to her current role as general manager and executive vice president.

A recent highlight of Sullivan’s career is the work she took on during the last expansion of Atlantis. She accepted an additional role, consisting of coordinating between the general contractor and designers. “I was completely out of my element and my comfort level,” Sullivan recalls. This meant early morning meetings and phone calls in addition to her regular daily work. But Sullivan says she found the work very interesting and just poured herself into it. The expansion resulted in a world-class spa and steakhouse and a poker room that is now on the World Poker Tour.

John Farahi, CEO of Atlantis Casino Resort Spa, says he receives compliments from guests every day regarding how beautiful, comfortable and contemporary Atlantis is. He credits Sullivan’s critical eye and time spent on the expansion plans. “During the construction, she worked directly with the contractors and often studied the plans late into the night, learning the symbols and asking the requisite questions. In many instances, she uncovered potential problems,” Farahi says. “With Darlyne as team leader, we experienced one of our smoothest expansions with completion on time and under budget.” Farahi goes on to say that he and the 1,800 team members at Atlantis believe the property would not be the thriving resort it is today if it were not for Sullivan’s commitment and leadership.

Even in challenging economic times, Sullivan has managed to operate in such a way that there have been no layoffs or reduction in salary at Atlantis. Sullivan says the national economy is on her mind all the time. “We have to be smart about what we’re doing today but not lose sight of where we’re going tomorrow,” she says.

Sullivan is married and has two adult children and three grandchildren. She says balancing the mom, wife and executive roles was definitely a challenge when her children were young.

Somehow among her busy work and family life, Sullivan has also managed to travel the world. “I enjoy travel,” Sullivan shares. “I’ve been very fortunate to travel throughout various parts of the world, 15 countries. I’ve learned a lot and have grown personally and professionally from that travel.” She often will take an experience she has on a cruise ship or resort and bring it back to the Atlantis to see how it can be put into action there.

Sullivan is also a member of various associations, including the American Marketing Association and International Spa Association, and supports many community organizations such as Make-A-Wish, United Blood Services and Nevada Ballet Academy of Fine Arts.

Sullivan is not one to take all the credit for her successes. Along with sharing success with her team members, she also credits the mentors in her life, including Farahi. Sullivan also highlights one woman in her past who taught her the importance of looking at every last detail, a lesson she used recently when looking at blueprints. Sullivan got to know Harriet Kocher, corporate director of sales and marketing, when her company was with the Choice Hotels chain and Kocher traveled nationally consulting with marketing and sales departments. “She was an unbelievable, amazing woman,” Sullivan says. “Her phrase was ‘the devil is in the details.’ I still use that and it’s so very true with everything we do.”

Now other women look at Sullivan as a mentor. Atlantis Sales Manager Joan Maguire joined Sullivan’s team in March 2000. She says Sullivan’s pride and support in each of her team members is unmatched in today’s business world. “Through Darlyne’s sharing with me her own personal insights and experiences, I developed assurance and confidence and went about the task of creating a business travel program that has been emulated by many of our competitors today,” Maguire explains. Sullivan says she thrives on mentoring and does it every day.

Education and preparation are high on Sullivan’s recommendation list for women working toward a career in gaming. “You have to have a passion for hospitality,” she says. “It is 24 hours a day, seven days a week and you have to be willing to make that commitment.”

Sullivan has clearly gone above and beyond in her commitment to the industry and continues to do so. SKC

Rising Stars 

Jennifer Bighorse

Marketing Director
Osage Million Dollar Elm Casino

To say that Jennifer Bighorse has made a difference at her company would be an enormous understatement. As the marketing director at Osage Million Dollar Elm Casino, Bighorse’s impact on the casino certainly has not gone unnoticed.

Her first endeavor after graduating from the University of Oklahoma with a bachelor’s degree in journalism was a stint in Washington, D.C. She worked as the director of public affairs for the Chickasaw Nation Embassy under Chickasaw Nation Ambassador Charles Blackwell. She then decided it was time to head back home to Oklahoma. She took a job working for an IT recruiting company in Tulsa, and six months later, the opportunity to enter the gaming world arose. “I went to check out my tribe’s casino and ended up talking with the marketing director and the general manager,” Bighorse said. “She told me there was a marketing manager job available, so I applied and got the job.”

She’s been at Osage for only four years, but already has some impressive accomplishments under her belt. Alongside the guest service department, she played a part in designing the Osage EDGE (Exceptional Presentation, Discover the Guest, Go Beyond, Earn their Return) program to train employees in an effort to increase revenue and generate guest loyalty. Due to her commitment to the company, Osage has seen a significant increase in results from promotions. The Bronco Bucks summer 2010 promotion generated an impressive 88 percent increase in guest rewards card memberships, as well as a spike in other numbers across the board.

Bighorse’s other accomplishments include streamlining the casino’s direct mail promotions, simplifying and digitizing on-property promotions and globalizing marketing efforts across all seven casino locations, saving the company more than $1 million in operating costs in the last year.

She has been honored with several personal awards in the past few years and played a large role in Osage receiving the prestigious Barona/VCAT 2011 Award for Excellence in Indian Gaming Marketing.

She remains humble, though, and says that one of her proudest accomplishments has been hiring and retaining the staff she has today. “I really truly believe that everything that’s happened since I’ve been here has been a team effort. Being able to move in the direction that we’re moving has been an accomplishment.”

Bighorse’s interaction with team members and her unique work ethic is what some say make her so successful. “A real leader, Jennifer demonstrates time after time her ability to involve and motivate others,” said Joe Olujic, chief operating officer at Osage Million Dollar Elm Casino. “She is a great listener and has the unique ability to hyperfocus when necessary. She can be opinionated, standing up for her position, yet she is still able to go in a different direction when asked.”

That ability to stand up for herself may come from her childhood, as she grew up with three brothers. She says that the “three against one” aspect taught her, as a woman, to stand up for herself and to be comfortable speaking her mind.

Being one of the youngest employees in her department, Bighorse says sometimes the biggest challenge is convincing others that she can do the job just as well as anyone else. “I just take the projects I’m given and work as hard as I can. A lot of people assume I may not understand or know as much as I should—and of course I don’t know as much as they do, but I’m definitely learning and developing well.” She says that earning the respect of her colleagues has been a great achievement.

One aspect of Bighorse’s life that’s very important to her is her Native American heritage. Her father is Osage and Lakota, and her mother is Cherokee and Osage, making for a wide variety of traditions and ceremonies to take part in. Growing up, she attended traditional Native American dances, attended the Native American church, and was exposed to yarn and bead work. She also was around her father when he attended sweat lodges and language classes.

Bighorse’s son, Geoffrey, is almost 2 years old, and will be raised with these same traditional values, she says. “He’s named after my dad, and will actually get his Indian name next month. I was raised with a lot of tradition in my family, and he will be, too. It’s very important to me.”

Bighorse draws inspiration from her parents, and says they are both strong people. “I’m very fortunate to still have them both in my life,” she says. “They’re very determined and they’ve put that in me.”

It’s easy to see that determination in Bighorse—just look at her impressive list of accomplishments over the past few years. Her colleagues have nothing but praise for her, as Olujic sums up quite perfectly: “With her high energy level, positive approach and relentless pursuit for achievement, Jennifer is one of the elite destined to be a genuine leader in the gaming industry.” JM

Colleen Birch

Director of Revenue Management and Distribution
The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas

Colleen Birch is a true hospitality professional, dedicating herself and striving for the best for her company. Though much of her career has been with Caesars (both Palace and Entertainment), one of the most notable things on her resume is that fact the she was an integral part of the opening team at one of the Strip’s newest and hottest destinations, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.

In fact, one of her award nomination letters gave an interesting, and quite telling, anecdote to the type of person and employee she is. Michael Sacco, the former SVP of casino marketing at The Cosmopolitan, said: “On the day reservations opened, Colleen noticed that someone had posted a tweet on Twitter about booking a room for opening day, and it happened that it was the first person to book for that day, so she reached out to that guest and congratulated him on this and offered an upgrade. During his stay, Colleen made sure to meet with him, and she and others from the team joined him for dinner and he left a raving Cosmopolitan fan. Clearly this is far beyond her day-to-day job responsibilities, but Colleen takes great pride in her company and understands the value in having a grassroots spokesperson like this guest.”

And there are many more interesting facts in Birch’s life. As the youngest in her class, she started college at age 17. She spent four stints on summer breaks bartending in a small Alaskan village. Her 7-year-old son is a budding chef. She studied in Switzerland. And her dream was to be a part of something from the ground up.

The last of these took a while, but Birch eventually made that dream happen. But her story starts in Seattle where she grew up. She was the child of a single mother who worked for the airlines—and gave her children life lessons through travel—and a supportive father who lived out of state. After two years at the University of Idaho, she took some time off to figure out what she wanted to do. It was then that she nannied and spent her summers in Alaska bartending.

Birch then went to Vegas and enrolled in UNLV’s hospitality and hotel administration program, while also working full time at the front desk at Caesars Palace. At Caesars, she had several upper management positions before taking on the revenue management function for its four properties. A year later, Harrah’s Entertainment acquired Caesars, and she took on a larger role within the organization as they essentially created a department that was responsible for managing the revenue of the entire western region.

“In September 2008, I made a really hard decision to leave Harrah’s Entertainment, a job that I really enjoyed,” she recalled. “But I had been recruited away from the organization by the Fontainebleau Las Vegas project. I made that decision knowing I wanted to be a part of something from the ground up, and a property that I felt at the time was going to be amazing for Las Vegas.” So she left and had a great experience, though it only lasted nine months before Fontainebleau filed for bankruptcy.

“I basically lost my job as a result of that bankruptcy,” she said. “It was a pretty eye-opening experience. I was fortunate enough to find employment right away with the American Casino & Entertainment Properties. I ultimately only worked there 90 days before the opportunity at The Cosmopolitan presented itself, though I absolutely enjoyed the people and my short time with the company.”

That opportunity came from a man named John Unwin (who is someone Birch credits as a mentor). He worked with her before at Caesars Palace, and called to tell her about The Cosmopolitan. “The idea that things happen for a reason, I’m committed to that corny little phrase,” Birch noted. “But The Cosmopolitan, in many ways, turned out to be what the Fontainebleau was not for me.”

Birch’s new adventure started there in November 2009, with a role having oversight for the revenue management and distribution channels at the property. Thinking about some of her proudest accomplishments, Birch says it’s hard not to credit being a part of the opening team at The Cosmopolitan. “We opened during a time where many people didn’t believe that we would, coming on the heels of Fontainebleau and Echelon that got called off,” she said. “The opening definitely was challenging, but extremely rewarding at the same time.”

Looking to the future, she says when her children are older, she’d consider looking for something more balanced. Ironically, that is what she is already admired for. “It is her ability to balance her professional career, her role as a mother to two young children and her commitment to her community that is most notable,” Sacco said. “When she is on property, she works long hours and is 110 percent committed to her team. But when she leaves the office, she can transform herself into supermom to Gavin and Lily. And that’s not all—she understands how important it is as a leader to her staff and to her children to set a positive example in her community.”

Though she’s got an active work and family life, Birch still finds the time to give back. She is a member of the UNLV Mentor Program and has speaking engagements with the senior-level hospitality students there each semester. She also is an advocate for Opportunity Village, an organization in Las Vegas that serves people with disabilities by providing vocational training for their clients to earn jobs in the community and live more fulfilling lives. At several properties, Birch has been instrumental in shifting the document destruction/recycling contracts to Opportunity Village—away from for-profit companies—allowing the organization to create additional positions for their clients with disabilities.

It is that passion that drives Birch to keep on giving, and no doubt a major reason our judges selected her as a Great Woman of Gaming. AH

Audrey Damonte

Director, Government Relations and Legal Affairs
IGT

At first glance, Audrey Damonte might appear to be your average great woman in gaming. But after digging into her background and learning about those who inspire her as well as her family life, it’s even clearer why she was nominated and awarded this honor.

As the director of government relations and legal affairs for IGT, Damonte lobbies before Nevada and other state legislatures as an in-house lobbyist on both gaming and non-gaming issues. Beyond her lobbying duties, her task list also includes a number of projects such as educating state legislators and others on gaming issues, assisting with the drafting and reviewing of proposed gaming legislation and rules, monitoring gaming legislation throughout the U.S., managing and directing the activities of contract lobbyists and consultants in many jurisdictions, and assisting as needed on a federal level.

If that extensive list isn’t enough, Damonte is also the treasurer of the IGT Political Action Committee, manages IGT’s political contributions, oversees all state and federal ethics lobbyist and contribution reporting, and is the liaison between IGT and state attorney generals and trade associations.

Damonte says she loves her job, and although she’s never really imagined herself in this position, gaming has been a big part of her life since she was young. “Growing up in northern Nevada, you don’t realize it, but gaming is just a part of you—a part of the culture.”

She started in the industry at a young age, working at John Ascuaga’s Nugget Casino at the age of 14. By the time she was 16 years old, she was working full time and attending high school. While working at the Nugget, Damonte says she met some of the most influential people of her life. One man, Gil Pedroli, was the director of hotel operations. Damonte says: “Gil taught me so much about how you treat people. He taught me things you don’t learn in a classroom.”

Damonte says that she has been blessed with so many mentors that have been and continue to be a large part of her success. The property’s hotel manager, Diane (Pribison) Gandy, was one of Damonte’s biggest mentors early in her life. “She was so influential in regard to helping me find balance as I was going through high school while still being successful in the hotel management business. She believed in me and my abilities, giving me tremendous responsibility at a young age, which allowed me to learn and grow in the business. This gave me the confidence to be successful,” Damonte says.

After high school and while retaining her job at the casino, Damonte headed to the University of Nevada, Reno, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration. She also holds a Juris Doctor Degree from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law.

Before landing at IGT, Damonte was a partner with the law firm of Allison, MacKenzie, Hartman, Soumbeniotis and Russell, and served as a law clerk to the Honorable Peter I. Breen, Second Judicial District Court, Washoe County, Nevada. She couldn’t speak more highly of her colleagues from the law firm, Breen, and the people she works with at IGT.

Damonte’s colleagues say that she’s made significant contributions to the gaming industry, and is always willing to expand her knowledge and learn more about areas she might not be familiar with both at the company and in the industry. IGT’s Director of Responsible Gaming Connie Jones offers this reference: “During this legislative session in Nevada, there was a proposal to sweep all the funding for problem gambling services into the general fund to help meet the state’s budget shortfall. Although problem gambling is not Audrey’s area of responsibility, she quickly familiarized herself with the issues and strategized with treatment providers and key legislators to protect the funding. The addiction specialists who worked with Audrey throughout the process credit her efforts as being the reason they were able to keep the funds intact.”

“Audrey’s contributions over the last 10 years to IGT, and the gaming industry as a whole, most certainly deserve recognition,” Steve DiMasi, IGT vice president of global government relations and public affairs, said. “She has been one of the ‘unsung’ key contributors who has worked extremely long hours, traveled great distances, with repeated trips across the country to various state capitols, to make immense contributions to the successful expansion of gaming throughout the United States.”

Many colleagues also admire Damonte’s tremendous dedication to her family. The proud mom says she has wonderful children and is delighted by their accomplishments. Damonte, her husband Louie, and their three sons Louie III, Anthony and Joseph live in on a cattle ranch in Reno. In her spare time, Damonte loves to shoot trap and other clay target sports with her family.

DiMasi also pointed out Damonte’s strong work/life balance, commenting: “With three young and very active sons, all with multiple extracurricular activities, Audrey somehow is able to manage her work responsibilities, business travel and family life. For example, Audrey will work unorthodox hours to ensure she can attend her sons’ sporting events. I’ve been on many business trips with Audrey and have seen firsthand her ability to multitask on the road and her willingness to take that extremely late or early flight to ensure she is there in person to participate in family events.”

Whether it’s heading up a school event, lobbying before a legislature or rounding up cattle, it’s easy to see that Damonte is sure to continue to succeed. JM

Christine Gabaldon

Player Development Manager
Buffalo Thunder Resort and Casino and Cities of Gold Casino

Curiosity brought Christine Gabaldon to gaming in 2003 after 14 years of working her way up to commercial loan assistant to the vice president in the banking industry. Gabaldon was ready for a change and the Pueblo of Pojoaque Gaming Commission looked like an interesting opportunity. “I think that’s why I liked it,” Gabaldon says. “It was also a challenge, something new, something exciting.”

After learning the regulatory side of the business, Gabaldon wanted to work on the casino floor. “Seeing the casino every day, there was just something there that sparked my interest,” she says. “It just kind of drew me in.” Gabaldon took a job as casino host at the Cities of Gold in 2004.

From there she became assistant to the director of gaming and general manager, where she learned about every aspect of gaming. She’s thankful for the knowledge they shared with her. “They taught me bits and pieces here and there and how everything fits together. I had hands-on training in management, slots, table games, security, surveillance, poker, warehouse operations as well as PBX. It was a great experience.”

In 2007, Gabaldon helped open the Buffalo Thunder Resort and Casino, where she then became the executive casino host and casino host/call center manager. Today she is the player development manager, responsible for casino hosts at three properties, players clubs at two properties, as well as the casino call centers and PBX for three properties.

Gabaldon believes everything happens for a reason. Clearly, the switch to gaming allowed her to build a stand-out career that her colleagues and Pueblo of Pojoaque executives felt needed to be recognized.

Pueblo of Pojoaque Gov. George Rivera says no other single person has done more to develop lasting customer relationships than Gabaldon. “I believe that is based upon her upstanding character and knowledge of the business,” he says. “She is trusted and valued by her staff, peers and her customers.”

Director of Casino Operations Michael Allgeier says Gabaldon is by far the most effective, friendly and dedicated casino host he’s worked with. He describes the impact she makes: “Christine’s upbeat and energetic personality lights up a room, spreading to those around her as they marvel at her ability to accomplish tasks and make things happen. No matter how stressful the situation, Christine is the consummate professional.”

Gabaldon says the fast-paced, constantly-changing nature of the gaming industry is what keeps her here and loving her job. “There is always something new to learn or experience.  I enjoy watching my team learn and grow on a daily basis and see them take pride in their accomplishments.” Gabaldon believes her morals, goals and work ethic set an example that’s exemplified by her team, allowing them to excel and achieve goals.

Gabaldon does say it’s challenging balancing her family life and her career. She typically works six 12-hour days a week. But she says, “If you keep focused on what is important and keep your priorities in check it just seems to work.”

Gabaldon says her son is the accomplishment she is most proud of in life. He is an adult now and has a family of his own. Gabaldon enjoys spending time with them, especially when they’re able to go fishing. “We love to go out on the boat,” she says. “We can spend all day out there. And the best part is there’s no phone service! It recharges your batteries.”

A native of northern Colorado, Gabaldon loves the outdoors and spends much of her free time fishing, skiing, boating, river rafting, hiking and camping. She also loves children and is an aunt, great-aunt or great-great-aunt to more than 190 nephews and nieces. Even with such a large family, she says they get together often and are very close.

Gabaldon says her father and numerous supervisors and managers have helped her along the way by instilling in her a good work ethic and the tools, knowledge and experience that’s allowed her to follow in their footsteps. Gabaldon is very proud of the supervisors she has had who were willing to share their knowledge with her. “They would teach me everything that they knew,” Gabaldon says, “which is very refreshing sometimes in a work environment.”

Now, she strives to have that same impact on her team members. “I feel that the more information I can give my team, the better. If they surpass me, that means I’ve done my job well.”

Knowing there is still more to learn and accomplish drives Gabaldon to improve in her personal and professional lives. She hopes to continue to excel in the gaming business and make the properties she works with ultimate entertainment destinations. “I would like my legacy to outlast my career,” Gabaldon adds. 

The biggest challenge she is facing today, along with the entire industry she says, is the economy. To face the fight for discretionary income head on, Gabaldon will often talk with guests about the benefits of an entertainment experience at the casino: “When they come to our environment, they’re surrounded by employees, friends and neighbors that they know and they’re comfortable with.”

To other women aspiring to be featured as a Great Woman of Gaming some day, Gabaldon has some advice: “Stay grounded, give 100 percent all of the time and at every opportunity learn as much as you possibly can. Something that may seem trivial at the time may prove invaluable eventually. Do not let anyone tell you that you are not capable of accomplishing any task. Prove them wrong. If you stumble, get right back up and try again. You will succeed if you set your mind to it. Never give up.” Spoken by one who has done just that quite well. SKC

Candace Lucas

Executive Director of Marketing
WMS Gaming

Candace Lucas has a varied background, and though her time in gaming has been relatively short—5 years—her passion is big and accomplishments many.

Lucas joined WMS in 2006, coming from industrial distributor W.W. Grainger, where she served as group director of marketing and information analysis. She also worked for a utilities marketing consulting company, Enable LLC, as well as stints in oil and gas and electric utilities. “All of those experiences allowed me to enhance my marketing skills, my analytical skills and my desire to not only understand what our customers want and expect from us, but how best to communicate what we have to offer to those who would be our key stakeholders,” Lucas said. Which obviously was a valuable skill she brought with her coming to slot machine giant WMS.

When she started, Lucas didn’t know much about the gaming industry. But she did her homework to learn the history of the industry and of the company, figuring out how she could leverage her skills and experience for it. 

What intrigued Lucas was the initial discussion about product strategy, understanding what players’ expectations were and how to leverage them to make the types of games in a way that would be enjoyable. But she says what really sold her on this gig was speaking with Brian Gamache, WMS’ chairman and CEO, and Orrin Edidin, president. “Brian just oozed passion,” Lucas recalled. “It really was contagious for me. After spending time with them, learning about what they wanted to do for the company and how this was going to influence the gaming industry, I got pretty excited about it.”

One of Lucas’ proudest accomplishments is the Active Gambler Profile (which you can also find in this magazine). “The bylines were really important to me as I started to better understand the active player preferences and the changing player dynamics,” Lucas explained. “As this industry is maturing, I’m beginning to see the expectations of players evolving in a very rapid way, so the launch of that was a huge opportunity for us.” These bylines examine why people are playing, how they are playing, what their expectations are today and how technology impacts all of it, also answering the question of how to develop a compelling reason for tomorrow’s players to become players today.

Lucas says other industries are ahead of the gaming industry in terms of leveraging an online presence and social media, but she ensured that WMS got on that bandwagon as soon as possible. And it’s not just Lucas who credits this as a great accomplishment. Laurie Lasseter, senior vice president of engineering and CTO at WMS, says this about Lucas: “It is not a coincidence that WMS’ stature within the gaming industry has grown as Candace assumed these new responsibilities. Under Candace’s direction, WMS has built a comprehensive, player-driven process of research and innovation that has placed the company at the forefront of new product development. WMS’ position as a thought leader within the industry is due in no small part, to the initiatives Candace has led.”

Though I found Lucas’ professional life extremely interesting, her personal life enchanted me just as much. Lucas now lives in Chicago, where she grew up as “just a kid always looking for an answer.” At age 18, she moved away, going on to live in various parts of the country—including Maryland, the District of Columbia, Tennessee, Michigan and Colorado—having many adventures. “My dad used to say, ‘You took the long way home,’” Lucas remembered. “I made a lot of stops before moving back to the Chicago area.”

She has several siblings and a dog, a west highland terrier named Joy, who she found while visiting family in Germany. “I literally brought my dog home from Germany to Chicago,” she laughed. “Why I had to go all the way over to Germany to find the dog I fell in love with, I don’t know.”

Lucas was also appointed the legal guardian of her niece in 2001, who at the time was not yet in high school and is now in college. “That is one personal accomplishment I’m proud of, because sometimes life throws you a curveball and tugs on you to show up in ways you couldn’t imagine. When I look back, I know that I’m the fortunate one. Without question, my life, over the last 10 years has been incredibly, positively changed because she was a part of it.”

Lucas loves being challenged, saying that’s what motivates her. And her outlook on life is remarkable: “I don’t think that there is anything more important to me than time. I don’t want to wake up one day and realize life has passed me by. I don’t have the patience to wait until things get better; I try to make them better now. And if I have an opportunity, I’m going for it.”

Outside of work and family life, Lucas finds the time to give back, with just one of her many activities being teaching a youth group at her church. In fact, Lucas says she loves kids so much that for a while, she even wanted to be Mickey Mouse at Disney World so she could interact with and impact kids’ lives.

The opportunity Lucas hopes happens soon for her is continued growth in her career. “I very much enjoy leading marketing strategy and execution,” she said. “That is my passion and I am fortunate to have a talented team who mirrors that passion.” If not in the gaming industry, she says she’d also love to work for a non-profit, helping people.

No doubt, this outlook and drive behind Lucas is what propelled her to excel in everything she does, making marks on other lives, making differences in the companies she works for, and now being recognized as a Rising Star. AH

Georgia Noble

Former Chairwoman
Sac and Fox Business Enterprise Board

It didn’t take Georgia Noble winning this award for many to recognize how much of a proven leader she has been over the years, working tirelessly to improve the lives of Native people. Noble’s experience goes back more than 30 years, but we are honoring her as a Rising Star since her time working in gaming began just about six years ago.

The majority of Noble’s career has been in human resources, financial management, property management, acquisition management, contract health services and supply management, with various positions at Oklahoma City Area Indian Health Service, Phoenix Indian Medical Center and Kickapoo Tribal Health Center. She has extensive experience planning, developing and implementing a variety of administrative programs.

In 1996, she retired after 30 years of federal service in these capacities. That’s when she found her way to the Sac and Fox Nation in Stroud, Okla. She started there as an HR director, where she also served on several committees, developed an award program and developed and conducted training classes for staff that taught things like supervisory skills and stress management.

Noble says she was only retired six months when she went back to work for her tribe. “If I have acquired some skills and abilities to help someone, whether it be through a job or serving on boards and commissions, I’m willing to do that because I have the time and my health is good,” she commented. “As long as I’m well enough to wake up each morning and feel like I’ve made a contribution to someone, then I’m going to continue to work.”

After some years at the Sac and Fox Nation, she did briefly go back to the Indian Health Service as a consultant—the agency she retired from. She then went to the Kickapoo Nation as associate health director, and shortly after, was appointed by the tribal membership to serve on the Sac and Fox Business Enterprise Board, the entity over its gaming operations. She was elected to serve as chairwoman for five years, and her term just expired in August 2010. Now, she is running for the principal chief of the Sac and Fox Nation, where she still serves on various tribal committees, board and commissions.

A few of the accomplishments that make Noble particularly notable is that she was the first woman in the Indian Health Service to serve as the area property management officer. She also had the challenge of opening two new casinos, from the ground up, in just one year—a feat for anybody, but Noble tackled it head on, as she does with all of her work.

Noble says she was attracted to gaming, but when she began, she only had the experience of putting money in machines and not knowing what happens after that. But when she began this new initiative, her interest grew at as fast of a pace as the work she was doing in opening the casinos.

In fact, that task is what Noble credits as one of her proudest accomplishments—“taking the challenge that was put before me … and being able to, in a very limited direction from the tribal membership itself, see it to the end and witness how proud our people were of something that was a vision and became a reality.”

But coming from a different background and tackling this was also one of her biggest professional challenges. Though she did it—and did it well—she did admit it was difficult “adjusting to the tribal government structures and being able to understand internal operations and their processes to take what they currently had in place and apply it to accomplish the goals that were set by the governing council.”

Probably one of the reasons Noble is so passionate about her work and helping people is that she had a good foundation taught by her parents. “I was raised with a strong spiritual foundation of prayer, whether it be prayer in a Christian fashion or in our traditional ceremonies,” she explained. “Prayer is my foundation, and that’s what my parents instilled in me. My spirituality is very much who I am.” Growing up in Oklahoma, Noble played many sports and enjoyed other cultural activities such as dancing and singing, which are still hobbies of hers today.

One of the driving forces that keeps Noble going is simply her own heritage. “Because I am Native, I’ve seen the end result, day in and day out of the success of Indian gaming,” she noted, “and to provide services when the resources weren’t there before to help our people, to improve the quality of their lives. Being grassroots, you see the end of your efforts.”

And others are seeing Noble’s efforts, too. D. Michael McBride, chairman of Crowe & Dunlevy’s Indian Law and Gaming Practice Group, said: “I have known Georgia for nearly a decade. She has been an incredible dynamo in developing and expanding the Nation’s gaming program. She is someone that I look to for wisdom and guidance on a number of issues.”

Glen Coleman, general manager for Sac and Fox Nation Casinos, said: “When most people would think that they have devoted enough of their lives to tribal service, this little ‘energizer bunny’ caught her breath and continues to further many Native American causes. She believes in doing things for the right reason—for the tribal people and not herself.” AH