October 15, 2025 • 26 mins
Paul Corvino sits down with Yaamava' Resort & Casino's CGO, Peter Arceo at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
This is CEOs you should know with Division President of iHeartMedia,
Paul Corvino. Today we're in Las Vegas, Nevada with Peter R. Sju,
the CGO, Chief Gaming Officer of sam Manuel Nation.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Welcome, thank you, thanks for having me, Paul, So.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
Peter, before we get going in an interview and learn
about your journey and what got you to this tremendous
position that you're in. What I like to do is
a quick Q and a rapid fire. You got to
answer real quickly, okay. And what we'll do is we'll
go through it. It'll get your mouth moving, your brain working,
ready to go, Ready to go? Okay, Skier beach vacation,
(00:41):
beach beatles are stones, Stones, Tom Brady or Michael Jordan, Jordan,
Sean Connery or Daniel Craig.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
Ooh, Sean Connery, Star Wars or Godfather. That's another tough one.
I'll go Star Wars.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
Celebrity people say you remind them.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Of Oh, that's a tough one. Right, We're going to
come back to.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
One, okay, So we're gonna come up with one. Okay,
So tell us some about your story. You're running all
these tremendous hotels you got the Jamavah, which is a
gorgeous hotel in San Bernardino, California. We're here at the Palms,
which is spectacular. Where did it gets started? Where'd you
grow up?
Speaker 3 (01:23):
Paul? You know, first of all, it's an honor to
be here to talk about my story today and where
I I was born in Guam, you know, little island
in the middle of the Pacific. Was raised there twelve
I was six, and then my parents, who both worked
in civil service for the Navy and the Air Force,
got jobs in California. So they transferred out through the
(01:44):
Navy to Californian and so I moved to southern California when.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
I was six.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
Was raised there whereabouts Oxnards, so I was beautiful air
lived there from the age of six until nineteen and
then nineteen years old, decided to move to Las Vegas,
come out to UNLV to get a hospitality degree and
started in the casino business.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
And thirty years later there we go.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
The University of Las Vegas is famous for their hotel,
their hotel and hospitality department. Is that what'd you study?
Speaker 3 (02:16):
That's right, But it goes back to sort of where
I was first inspired by This was one of my cousins.
She was older, older woman, and she when I was
a teenager, I stayed with them in Hawaii. She was
the general manager of the Connopoly Beach Hotel at the
time on Maui, and for a couple of weeks I
got to stay with them and really got my first
(02:37):
taste of what hospitality was all about, and just learn
from her and everyone else.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
I did not know.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
I was thirteen years old at the time, so unfortunately
I wasn't able to work there, but just got a
little taste of what it was like. And so years
later when it was trying to.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
Figure so far, how did you to go to hospitality?
Speaker 2 (02:56):
Absolutely right?
Speaker 3 (02:57):
It just absolutely inspired me to do that, and I
thought I would travel the world, you know. I wanted
to travel the world and see, you know, all the
different continents and working in the hotel industry. I thought
that would be a great way to do it.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
So you graduate for you at LV with a degree
in hotel and hospitality managements. Right, what's your first job?
Speaker 3 (03:18):
Well, actually, while I was going to school, I started
out as a dealer, so I dealt blackjack. When I
turned twenty one, I went out and got a job
as a blackjack dealer, so dell blackjack, I dealt craps,
I dealt all the games broken in Henderson, Nevada.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
The teacher at school learning how to be I had
to go to a dealer school actually school.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
Yeah, there's a.
Speaker 3 (03:40):
Special school for that, and I went to And when
did that, thought that it would just be a job
that I would have during college, and decided to stay
and never left the industry.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
What hotel? Just first work at first?
Speaker 3 (03:52):
One was the El Dorado Casino in Henderson, Nevada. It
was owned by the Boyd Corporation at the time. It's
they since sold it, but little did I know that
was the training ground for their future general managers. So
I was really blessed to be able to break.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
Twenty two years old and you're working at a casino
and you're a dealer at blackjack, table and roulette and
some of the other areas. That's that's pretty exciting. How
long did you do that for? So?
Speaker 3 (04:21):
I dealt cards for a couple of years and then.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
We were the hours on a job like that.
Speaker 3 (04:25):
At that particular time, I was working swing chef, so
it was six pm to two am. It was attractive
to me because I could go to school during the
day and then during my breaks, we got a break
every forty minutes.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
We did this while you were in college, That's right.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
I did it while I was in college. Every forty
minutes we got a break. So for twenty minutes, that's
where I would do my homework, catch up on reading.
So I was able to get paid while going.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
To the schedule get the job.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
Actually, I went door to door. I probably went to
maybe thirty or forty casinos in town. I just went
door to door asking for an audition. That was the
way it worked back then. You didn't you didn't apply online,
you didn't do anything that I remember.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
You had to go, you.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
Know, show up in your black and whites, as they say,
and you go and find the shift boss and ask
them for an audition. And sometimes they would give it
to you, sometimes they wouldn't. Hopefully you get a job
out of it.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
And so how many did you go to before you
got one?
Speaker 3 (05:15):
I would say probably close to thirty. And the El
Dorado was the last stop on my on my journey,
I went downtown the Strip, work my way down the
Boulder Highway and the El Dorado is that down your life.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
A guy in a casino running out of money and
you had one and you had one last chip to
put on black.
Speaker 3 (05:34):
That's right, yeah, and you know, and they took a
chance on me, and I was really blessed to be
able to find that place because at that casino they
put me in the management training program and I was
able to learn slots, race and sports, bingo, keino, all
all the operations.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
How long did you work there.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
At that particular property? Three years?
Speaker 1 (05:54):
Three years? Let me ask you. One of the things
that we hear from so many people that we interview
is in that period they found or a mentor found them.
Did you have any mentors at that time?
Speaker 3 (06:04):
I actually had a couple of mentors. One of them
in particular, was always challenging us in the pit to
do better and to be basically perfect, right because as
a dealer, you don't want to make any mistakes. And
that individual moved on to another casino and he never forgot.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
This is years later.
Speaker 3 (06:22):
I discovered this, by the way, when there was this
opportunity to work at the corporate office. He recommended me
to the group at the corporate office that I joined
the project. So that's how they found me, right, So
they found me out in this little casino in Henderson
through that person that I used to work with, who
I considered mentors. His name was Terry McLaughlin and T
(06:43):
Mac as we would call him, remembered that I was
in college and when they were looking for someone.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
To a shout out to T mac, yeah, I would.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
Yeah, And he never wanted their recognition. So it took
me years before I figured out how the heck did
they find me? You know, that was my move out
of the proper into the corporate I didn't even know now.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
And so you moved to the corporate offices, how old
are you now?
Speaker 3 (07:06):
Twenty three approaching twenty four?
Speaker 1 (07:09):
And you went through a management training program.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
Prior to that.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
I did.
Speaker 3 (07:13):
But at the corporate office, I was blessed to find
my next mentor, which was mister Bob Bogner, who was
the chief operating officer at the time for Boyd Gaming Corporation,
and he was the one leading the project that I
was brought on to join. And so at that time,
at that age, I was able to get influenced by
someone like Bob who's done great things in the industry
and really help set my foundation as a leader for
(07:37):
years to come.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
It's interesting you had a great you went to the
proper school to learn this, You had perseverance, you got
the job, then you went to this great training program.
They don't have management training programs anymore in any company.
I'm lucky at to be of an age when we
had management training program Now you just told you're a
manager and you're out there. Do you have management training
programs here? Oh?
Speaker 2 (08:00):
We absolutely do.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
We have a number of them actually, because we do
recognize and it's a passion of mine, by the way,
to help develop the next the next generation of hospitality
and casino leaders. And I recognize that not everyone learns
the same way.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
You know.
Speaker 3 (08:14):
Some people learn by reading, some learn by experience, Some
do perfectly fine with online classes, others prefer in person.
And what we try to do in our organization is
provide all of the above right so that the individual
who has a different way of learning will find that
inspiration and passion to pursue their career in the method
that resonates most with them. So we spend a lot
(08:36):
of time talking about people development and even more time
executing on that.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
So now you're twenty five, twenty six, you're now working
for corporate. What's your first job in corporate?
Speaker 3 (08:46):
First, well, it was a project associate, right, so might
I think back then we had to do all the work,
you know, we had to put together process maps, do
all of the you know, before and afters and the
after action meetings and presentation and we're I mean, it
was it was a lot of hard work and it
was all based on it was a tech project back then.
(09:06):
It was the late nineties and at that time, data
warehousing and you know, it was just coming into its own.
So marketing analytics was relatively new for the industry at
the time, and that was my area of focus, was
marketing analytics. So it was through that focus and project
management part of my career that I really learned about
(09:27):
marketing from the analytics analytical world all the way up.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
Really interested out how long did you do that for? Now?
Speaker 2 (09:35):
Okay, so four years in that role.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
And then what was your next position and how did
that come about?
Speaker 3 (09:41):
So my next role was I actually left Boyd and
I had an opportunity to join the Las Vegas Hilton
in two thousand and four and I went over there
in it, so I was I had an IT role
in my background for a while, did a couple of
years doing that, and.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
That stage it was in demand that weren't as many
people that were in it, the generation that didn't really
understand this, so they're really reliant upon people like yourself.
Speaker 3 (10:06):
Yeah, And in my particular role at the time was
a business analyst, so it was my job to bridge
the technology part of it with the business and that
was what I was brought on to do. But then
through that experience, I was able to transition into a
senior marketing role. So I took all of that knowledge
that I gained in data warehousing and marketing analytics combined
with the IT and my operational background, and I was
(10:28):
able to transition over to database marketing and casino marketing.
So you know, start out casino ops, got to tech
and then marketing.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
So now you've been a dealer, you've been on the floor,
you understand the technology behind everything and data, and now
you're getting a marketing background. That's right. You're getting all
elements working from every side of your brain.
Speaker 3 (10:52):
That's right. And it was particularly challenging because you got
to put all of that experience together to hopefully drive
chain and drive visits into the casino, right, and there
was no one to blame but myself. You know, I
was the one who created the campell.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
How was your performance measured?
Speaker 3 (11:09):
Performance is measured in return on investments. So if you
spend one thousand dollars, how much to yield? And my
goal is always to have three x or higher, right,
in order to provide a decent return for the organization.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
So so now what are your steps? Did you move
up within the marketing department or did you go into
other areas or to a different company at this point?
Speaker 3 (11:30):
Actually I moved up in marketing at the Hilton, and
then in twenty eleven I left the corporate casino world
and worked for the first tribal gaming operation in Arizona, SE.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
How did you meet the what is the name of
the organization?
Speaker 3 (11:45):
So at that one in particular, it was talking Stick
Resort and Casino Arizona, and that was owned by or
it is owned by the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian community.
Speaker 2 (11:56):
And that was my first How did you meet them?
Speaker 1 (11:58):
How did that come about?
Speaker 3 (12:00):
Actually through a friend who had heard that they were
looking for the lead marketing executive there the CEO over
there reached out and said, you know, I heard that
you're someone we should talk to.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
We got to talking. It was a good fit.
Speaker 3 (12:16):
It was interesting to me because I had never worked
in tribal gaming before, so it was my first time
working in that part of the business. Scottsdale, Arizona is
a pleasant place to live, at least all the research I.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
Did at that. Did you have a family at the time,
Were you married?
Speaker 3 (12:29):
I did, Yeah, I was married.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
Our son was.
Speaker 3 (12:32):
He was a freshman in high school at the time,
so he was thirteen. It was a family decision. So
I sat down with the family and said, you know,
are you okay moving out of Las Vegas. The family
had to agree. If they didn't agree, we weren't going right.
And they were all supportive and willing to go. So
we made the trip out there off the Scottsdale, off
the Scottsdale and my son got to pick the high
(12:53):
school I go. You picked the high school you want
to go to, and he found the one He goes,
I want to go to, Notre Dame. So we said, okay, fine,
We've got them enrolled there and we made them move
out to Arizona.
Speaker 1 (13:05):
And so tell us about the experience. Now you're working.
Now you're a head of marketing.
Speaker 3 (13:09):
Now I'm in charge of all of marketing. Working for
the tribe, and I tell you, it was a very
eye opening experience for me. You know, working for tribes
is different than working for a corporate casino.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
Was there a reservation there too?
Speaker 3 (13:23):
There is, Yeah, so they have a reservation that the
two casinos were operated on. And you know what I
learned was that working for people, that the work we
do supporting a community, a culture to preserve their well
being and their health and future generations. And it was
just a different way of thinking.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
Same business.
Speaker 3 (13:45):
We had the same slot machines, the same blackjack tables,
but it just the reason for doing it changed.
Speaker 1 (13:51):
And so let me ask you culture wise, here you're
in Las Vegas and you're hiring people that are from
all around. Plus you've got people that live here or
moved here to work in the gaming business. Now you're
in Arizona and you're running two hotels. Were they primarily
from the reservation?
Speaker 3 (14:09):
Well, so at that time, I want to say it
was about fifteen to twenty percent were community members, which
were from the tribal community. The goal was to get
it higher, of course, but you know that number was
really based upon the interest level of them wanting to
come and work at the properties. So we made it
we had training programs available to them so they could
(14:30):
learn the industry. As you pointed out, it's not like
there's a casino in every corner, so we had to
provide training programs for the community members to be able
to learn a little bit more about the operation and
how they could fit in and work and be successful.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
Okay, so now your running management is the CEO the
person that you report to from the Native American organization?
Speaker 3 (14:54):
He was not, No, he was Actually his background was
from Atlantic City and work for tribes for a significant
period of his career. I didn't work with him until
that opportunity.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
And are how involved is the tribe?
Speaker 2 (15:08):
They were very involved.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
They have a business board that we reported to, so
we had to report our results just like you would
a corporate board. They would set the direction and vision
and it would be our responsibility to execute on that.
So it's very similar in that regard. It's just the
way you do business and sort of the long term
thinking is much different than.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
So is it similar to any organization where you're the
CEO of a company and you're making your decisions, and
there are certain amount of decisions that you can make,
and then there are certain decisions that go above the
rim and that goes to the board. And they operate
the same as any other board.
Speaker 3 (15:46):
Yeah, very similar, Yeah, very similar. They drive the vision,
that's you know, they drive the scope of what we're
supposed to do, and then we come back with a
business plan and get that approved by the board and
off and running.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
You mentioned before that it was a little different. How
was the culture different being it was any a native
American board as opposed to your typical corporate board.
Speaker 3 (16:06):
Yeah, so I would say it's more in terms of
how long of a term of the vision the board sets.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
You know, a lot of it.
Speaker 3 (16:14):
A lot of the discussions are generational in nature, so
of course you've got to make the number for the
month or the quarter or the year.
Speaker 2 (16:20):
But really the bigger.
Speaker 3 (16:21):
Question is how are we setting up the tribe to
be successful for generations to come.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
Someone that works in the business world is myself, is
we have so much pressure to hit the quarter and
in every business in every industry right now, and every
one of us if we sit back, see what we
wish we could do long term planning like that, and
so how did you balance that out book the short
term and long term?
Speaker 3 (16:47):
That is a challenge, you know, but I think understanding
the market and understanding the goals of the tribe and
the vision they ultimately have for their organization is really critical.
And then having you know, open and transparent discussions with
the board to understand, you know, are we on track
with what their expectations are. And there may be some
(17:08):
short term blips. You know, if we miss a quarter,
it's not the end of the day at the end
of the year, you know, it's like, how do we
bounce back and get back on track? You know, not
to say that we missed all that often, but there
were times where maybe we didn't perform as well as
we wanted to. But with a longer vision and longer
term horizon, it allows you to think a little bit differently.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
Also, the pressure of Wall Street, Yeah, and we don't
need to.
Speaker 3 (17:33):
Take unnecessary risks, right, So there's no pressure to take
unnecessary risks that could jeopardize that long term vision and scope.
So I found out to be very rewarding and that
experience in Arizona was just fantastic.
Speaker 1 (17:46):
How did you get from there to the sam Men Well?
Speaker 3 (17:49):
Yeah, So at that particular point in time, Salmon Well
was going through a management change and so they brought
on some new leaders and one of those leaders reached
out and asked if I'd be interested in the marketing role,
the chief marketing officer role at San Manuel.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
So this was twenty fifteen.
Speaker 3 (18:07):
So it was ten years ago, and I found it
very intriguing. I did all the research on the tribe,
saw the good they did for the community was nothing
but positive things that I read, and I thought, I
would really like to be a part of this organization
and contribute to what they're doing. Again, you know, my
eyes were open a little bit more since I had
(18:28):
some time working for a tribe. So being able to
see and understand what they stood for and what they
did for the community in the San Bernardino area was
just tremendous, and I wanted to be a part of
that and to help them, you know, achieve whatever goals and.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
Vision tell you. Running at this point is Yamaha.
Speaker 2 (18:45):
Yeah, So we went through a name change.
Speaker 3 (18:48):
In twenty twenty one, we launched Yamava Resort and Casino
at San Manuel, and so that that occurred in December
of that year. So the name change coincided with the
expansion where we expanded into you know, before there was
no hotel and no resort, we didn't have a theater.
All those elements were added after that project to expand
(19:10):
the property and rename rename it to Yamava.
Speaker 1 (19:14):
And I can tell you I've stayed there. We worked
together with you, and we did a concert that I
went to about a year ago with Sublime. We just
had another one recently with you. And I tell you
that the hotel is second to none, the service, the
quality I mean. And I've stayed in five star hotels
in all over the country. Yamava is really special. Tell
(19:36):
us a little bit about the value proposition. How are
you able to get that hotel to have such a
high standard.
Speaker 3 (19:44):
Well, thank you for that, Paul, And I think it
really starts with the vision of the tribe, right. They
wanted a best in class operation. Now, they didn't go
out and say make it a five star, you know,
they said, Peter, we wanted to be a best in
class operation. Let's do what's best in what you think
would work best for the market. And so when we
evaluated the situation, We looked around. We said, you know,
(20:05):
there really isn't a five star casino operation in southern California.
You'd have to come to Las Vegas to get that
on the strip. So we decided, you know.
Speaker 1 (20:15):
Quite frankly, there's not much on the strip that I
think compare service wise to Yamava.
Speaker 3 (20:20):
Well, thank you for that. We worked very hard. So
with the tribe support and vision, we went forward and
we had to inspire you know, most of the team
members that have worked at Yamava to earn the high
accolades that we've earned. We just received our second year
in a row triple a five diamond. Most of the people,
the team members that achieved that had never worked in
a five diamond property before, so they had to really
(20:43):
do it from the heart, and really service comes from within,
and if you don't have that hospitality culture embedded inside
your spirit, it's really difficult. But we spent a lot
of time finding people who are passionate about it, who
want to do it, not to achieve the goals, but
to do it because it's right, because it's right for
the guests. The guests will reward us with visits and
(21:05):
you know, profit comes along with that, right, So we
spent a lot of time finding the right people to
join our organization who are passionate about that mission.
Speaker 1 (21:13):
Now I notice your title is chief chief Gaming Officer. Yeah,
well tell me what does it? How did you get
that position and what is it? What does the chief
Gaming Officer do?
Speaker 3 (21:22):
So prior to that, I was the general manager at
the Yamava Resort and Casino, and then you.
Speaker 1 (21:28):
Went from chief marketing officer to general manager running the casino.
That's correct.
Speaker 3 (21:33):
And then two years ago my boss, the CEO of
the Tribe and the Tribe came to me and said,
you know, we have a desire to strengthen the synergies
between Las Vegas and California. They created this role and
they said we'd like for you to work on creating
these synergies. So today, in my current role, I oversee
both the Palms and the Yamava Resort and Casino and
(21:55):
in California.
Speaker 1 (21:55):
Sitting into Palms right now, the attention to detail and
service is just it's I didn't I didn't know it.
I haven't been to the Palms before and I'm in
Vegas quite a bit, but it really is it's really
pretty incredible to see the attention to the detail and
the service and what you've done here.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (22:15):
I mean, we feel like it's a really good match
for our sister property in California. We think that the
folks in California that visit Las Vegas will enjoy the Palms,
which is one of the reasons why we, you know,
moved forward to purchase the property and integrate the players
clubs so those people who earn loyalty points in California
can redeem them here in Las Vegas and from Las
(22:38):
Vegas to California. And we feel that the two properties
complementing each other. The team member base is very similar
and with respect to the fact that both the Palms
team members and the Yamava team members have it inside
their heart to deliver this first class hospitality and both
you know, in both states. And that's really what it's
(22:58):
about as consistency.
Speaker 1 (22:59):
Yea, you're going to these two first rate hotels. One
is in Nevada, one is in California. How do you
yourself manage both of them and have them maintain the
level of service, level to detail they you know, just
(23:19):
maintain that that high quality essence that they have.
Speaker 3 (23:24):
I really have to credit our team, you know, our
team just really they're an amazing group of people. Our
management teams that both properties understand the mission, they understand
what needs to be done, and all the team members
that work together. We have over nine thousand team members
total between all of all of the properties, and those
(23:45):
those teams work as one right because for a common goal,
this goes back to the tribe's vision. You know, when
they lay it out, well, what do we want and
where do we want to go? And that's really a
big testament to that style of leadership where it's very
clear the direction we're going. Everyone gets behind it. They
put their best foot forward. But you ask how I'm
(24:07):
able to manage it? Well, I'm able to manage it
because our management teams at both properties are spectacular, first class.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
Hiring and promoting and getting the right people in those positions.
And I hear that so often from most of the
entrepreneurs and business leaders that I've talked on to on
the show.
Speaker 2 (24:22):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (24:24):
Yeah, Well, Peter, it's been an honor talking to you
once again. With Peter Rsao, the chief gaming Officer of
sam Manuel Nation and he runs both the beautiful Palms
Hotel in Las Vegas and Yama Vah in Sam Bernardino, California.
And really one more question I'd like to ask, what
(24:44):
would you tell your twenty one year old self if
you gave yourself advice on and how do we eventually
get to this position?
Speaker 3 (24:55):
Yeah, I would tell my twenty one year old self
to be patient and relax and just enjoy the process,
because the process is just as.
Speaker 2 (25:05):
Rewarding as the end.
Speaker 3 (25:06):
And I found that when I look back on my career,
I look fondly on those experiences along the way, and
I would.
Speaker 2 (25:13):
I wouldn't speed it up for the world.
Speaker 3 (25:15):
Even though my twenty one year old self wanted to
go from zero to one thousand. You know, in a second, right,
the journey is just as great as the destination. So
telling myself that back then, you know, I would have
probably been able to absorb more of the experience along
the way.
Speaker 1 (25:32):
Well, thank you so much, Peter, It's great to have
you on the show and hope to spend some more
time with you. There's some more great events and other
initiatives together, and this is Paul Corvino, It's vision president
of iHeartMedia saying thank you for listening to another episode
of CEOs You Should Know.
Speaker 3 (25:52):
Thank you, Paul. Listen to CEOs You Should Know on
the iHeartRadio app
This is CEOs you should know with Division President of iHeartMedia,
Paul Corvino. Today we're in Las Vegas, Nevada with Peter R. Sju,
the CGO, Chief Gaming Officer of sam Manuel Nation.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Welcome, thank you, thanks for having me, Paul, So.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
Peter, before we get going in an interview and learn
about your journey and what got you to this tremendous
position that you're in. What I like to do is
a quick Q and a rapid fire. You got to
answer real quickly, okay. And what we'll do is we'll
go through it. It'll get your mouth moving, your brain working,
ready to go, Ready to go? Okay, Skier beach vacation,
(00:41):
beach beatles are stones, Stones, Tom Brady or Michael Jordan, Jordan,
Sean Connery or Daniel Craig.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
Ooh, Sean Connery, Star Wars or Godfather. That's another tough one.
I'll go Star Wars.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
Celebrity people say you remind them.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Of Oh, that's a tough one. Right, We're going to
come back to.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
One, okay, So we're gonna come up with one. Okay,
So tell us some about your story. You're running all
these tremendous hotels you got the Jamavah, which is a
gorgeous hotel in San Bernardino, California. We're here at the Palms,
which is spectacular. Where did it gets started? Where'd you
grow up?
Speaker 3 (01:23):
Paul? You know, first of all, it's an honor to
be here to talk about my story today and where
I I was born in Guam, you know, little island
in the middle of the Pacific. Was raised there twelve
I was six, and then my parents, who both worked
in civil service for the Navy and the Air Force,
got jobs in California. So they transferred out through the
(01:44):
Navy to Californian and so I moved to southern California when.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
I was six.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
Was raised there whereabouts Oxnards, so I was beautiful air
lived there from the age of six until nineteen and
then nineteen years old, decided to move to Las Vegas,
come out to UNLV to get a hospitality degree and
started in the casino business.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
And thirty years later there we go.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
The University of Las Vegas is famous for their hotel,
their hotel and hospitality department. Is that what'd you study?
Speaker 3 (02:16):
That's right, But it goes back to sort of where
I was first inspired by This was one of my cousins.
She was older, older woman, and she when I was
a teenager, I stayed with them in Hawaii. She was
the general manager of the Connopoly Beach Hotel at the
time on Maui, and for a couple of weeks I
got to stay with them and really got my first
(02:37):
taste of what hospitality was all about, and just learn
from her and everyone else.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
I did not know.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
I was thirteen years old at the time, so unfortunately
I wasn't able to work there, but just got a
little taste of what it was like. And so years
later when it was trying to.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
Figure so far, how did you to go to hospitality?
Speaker 2 (02:56):
Absolutely right?
Speaker 3 (02:57):
It just absolutely inspired me to do that, and I
thought I would travel the world, you know. I wanted
to travel the world and see, you know, all the
different continents and working in the hotel industry. I thought
that would be a great way to do it.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
So you graduate for you at LV with a degree
in hotel and hospitality managements. Right, what's your first job?
Speaker 3 (03:18):
Well, actually, while I was going to school, I started
out as a dealer, so I dealt blackjack. When I
turned twenty one, I went out and got a job
as a blackjack dealer, so dell blackjack, I dealt craps,
I dealt all the games broken in Henderson, Nevada.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
The teacher at school learning how to be I had
to go to a dealer school actually school.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
Yeah, there's a.
Speaker 3 (03:40):
Special school for that, and I went to And when
did that, thought that it would just be a job
that I would have during college, and decided to stay
and never left the industry.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
What hotel? Just first work at first?
Speaker 3 (03:52):
One was the El Dorado Casino in Henderson, Nevada. It
was owned by the Boyd Corporation at the time. It's
they since sold it, but little did I know that
was the training ground for their future general managers. So
I was really blessed to be able to break.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
Twenty two years old and you're working at a casino
and you're a dealer at blackjack, table and roulette and
some of the other areas. That's that's pretty exciting. How
long did you do that for? So?
Speaker 3 (04:21):
I dealt cards for a couple of years and then.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
We were the hours on a job like that.
Speaker 3 (04:25):
At that particular time, I was working swing chef, so
it was six pm to two am. It was attractive
to me because I could go to school during the
day and then during my breaks, we got a break
every forty minutes.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
We did this while you were in college, That's right.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
I did it while I was in college. Every forty
minutes we got a break. So for twenty minutes, that's
where I would do my homework, catch up on reading.
So I was able to get paid while going.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
To the schedule get the job.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
Actually, I went door to door. I probably went to
maybe thirty or forty casinos in town. I just went
door to door asking for an audition. That was the
way it worked back then. You didn't you didn't apply online,
you didn't do anything that I remember.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
You had to go, you.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
Know, show up in your black and whites, as they say,
and you go and find the shift boss and ask
them for an audition. And sometimes they would give it
to you, sometimes they wouldn't. Hopefully you get a job
out of it.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
And so how many did you go to before you
got one?
Speaker 3 (05:15):
I would say probably close to thirty. And the El
Dorado was the last stop on my on my journey,
I went downtown the Strip, work my way down the
Boulder Highway and the El Dorado is that down your life.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
A guy in a casino running out of money and
you had one and you had one last chip to
put on black.
Speaker 3 (05:34):
That's right, yeah, and you know, and they took a
chance on me, and I was really blessed to be
able to find that place because at that casino they
put me in the management training program and I was
able to learn slots, race and sports, bingo, keino, all
all the operations.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
How long did you work there.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
At that particular property? Three years?
Speaker 1 (05:54):
Three years? Let me ask you. One of the things
that we hear from so many people that we interview
is in that period they found or a mentor found them.
Did you have any mentors at that time?
Speaker 3 (06:04):
I actually had a couple of mentors. One of them
in particular, was always challenging us in the pit to
do better and to be basically perfect, right because as
a dealer, you don't want to make any mistakes. And
that individual moved on to another casino and he never forgot.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
This is years later.
Speaker 3 (06:22):
I discovered this, by the way, when there was this
opportunity to work at the corporate office. He recommended me
to the group at the corporate office that I joined
the project. So that's how they found me, right, So
they found me out in this little casino in Henderson
through that person that I used to work with, who
I considered mentors. His name was Terry McLaughlin and T
(06:43):
Mac as we would call him, remembered that I was
in college and when they were looking for someone.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
To a shout out to T mac, yeah, I would.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
Yeah, And he never wanted their recognition. So it took
me years before I figured out how the heck did
they find me? You know, that was my move out
of the proper into the corporate I didn't even know now.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
And so you moved to the corporate offices, how old
are you now?
Speaker 3 (07:06):
Twenty three approaching twenty four?
Speaker 1 (07:09):
And you went through a management training program.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
Prior to that.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
I did.
Speaker 3 (07:13):
But at the corporate office, I was blessed to find
my next mentor, which was mister Bob Bogner, who was
the chief operating officer at the time for Boyd Gaming Corporation,
and he was the one leading the project that I
was brought on to join. And so at that time,
at that age, I was able to get influenced by
someone like Bob who's done great things in the industry
and really help set my foundation as a leader for
(07:37):
years to come.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
It's interesting you had a great you went to the
proper school to learn this, You had perseverance, you got
the job, then you went to this great training program.
They don't have management training programs anymore in any company.
I'm lucky at to be of an age when we
had management training program Now you just told you're a
manager and you're out there. Do you have management training
programs here? Oh?
Speaker 2 (08:00):
We absolutely do.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
We have a number of them actually, because we do
recognize and it's a passion of mine, by the way,
to help develop the next the next generation of hospitality
and casino leaders. And I recognize that not everyone learns
the same way.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
You know.
Speaker 3 (08:14):
Some people learn by reading, some learn by experience, Some
do perfectly fine with online classes, others prefer in person.
And what we try to do in our organization is
provide all of the above right so that the individual
who has a different way of learning will find that
inspiration and passion to pursue their career in the method
that resonates most with them. So we spend a lot
(08:36):
of time talking about people development and even more time
executing on that.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
So now you're twenty five, twenty six, you're now working
for corporate. What's your first job in corporate?
Speaker 3 (08:46):
First, well, it was a project associate, right, so might
I think back then we had to do all the work,
you know, we had to put together process maps, do
all of the you know, before and afters and the
after action meetings and presentation and we're I mean, it
was it was a lot of hard work and it
was all based on it was a tech project back then.
(09:06):
It was the late nineties and at that time, data
warehousing and you know, it was just coming into its own.
So marketing analytics was relatively new for the industry at
the time, and that was my area of focus, was
marketing analytics. So it was through that focus and project
management part of my career that I really learned about
(09:27):
marketing from the analytics analytical world all the way up.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
Really interested out how long did you do that for? Now?
Speaker 2 (09:35):
Okay, so four years in that role.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
And then what was your next position and how did
that come about?
Speaker 3 (09:41):
So my next role was I actually left Boyd and
I had an opportunity to join the Las Vegas Hilton
in two thousand and four and I went over there
in it, so I was I had an IT role
in my background for a while, did a couple of
years doing that, and.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
That stage it was in demand that weren't as many
people that were in it, the generation that didn't really
understand this, so they're really reliant upon people like yourself.
Speaker 3 (10:06):
Yeah, And in my particular role at the time was
a business analyst, so it was my job to bridge
the technology part of it with the business and that
was what I was brought on to do. But then
through that experience, I was able to transition into a
senior marketing role. So I took all of that knowledge
that I gained in data warehousing and marketing analytics combined
with the IT and my operational background, and I was
(10:28):
able to transition over to database marketing and casino marketing.
So you know, start out casino ops, got to tech
and then marketing.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
So now you've been a dealer, you've been on the floor,
you understand the technology behind everything and data, and now
you're getting a marketing background. That's right. You're getting all
elements working from every side of your brain.
Speaker 3 (10:52):
That's right. And it was particularly challenging because you got
to put all of that experience together to hopefully drive
chain and drive visits into the casino, right, and there
was no one to blame but myself. You know, I
was the one who created the campell.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
How was your performance measured?
Speaker 3 (11:09):
Performance is measured in return on investments. So if you
spend one thousand dollars, how much to yield? And my
goal is always to have three x or higher, right,
in order to provide a decent return for the organization.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
So so now what are your steps? Did you move
up within the marketing department or did you go into
other areas or to a different company at this point?
Speaker 3 (11:30):
Actually I moved up in marketing at the Hilton, and
then in twenty eleven I left the corporate casino world
and worked for the first tribal gaming operation in Arizona, SE.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
How did you meet the what is the name of
the organization?
Speaker 3 (11:45):
So at that one in particular, it was talking Stick
Resort and Casino Arizona, and that was owned by or
it is owned by the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian community.
Speaker 2 (11:56):
And that was my first How did you meet them?
Speaker 1 (11:58):
How did that come about?
Speaker 3 (12:00):
Actually through a friend who had heard that they were
looking for the lead marketing executive there the CEO over
there reached out and said, you know, I heard that
you're someone we should talk to.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
We got to talking. It was a good fit.
Speaker 3 (12:16):
It was interesting to me because I had never worked
in tribal gaming before, so it was my first time
working in that part of the business. Scottsdale, Arizona is
a pleasant place to live, at least all the research I.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
Did at that. Did you have a family at the time,
Were you married?
Speaker 3 (12:29):
I did, Yeah, I was married.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
Our son was.
Speaker 3 (12:32):
He was a freshman in high school at the time,
so he was thirteen. It was a family decision. So
I sat down with the family and said, you know,
are you okay moving out of Las Vegas. The family
had to agree. If they didn't agree, we weren't going right.
And they were all supportive and willing to go. So
we made the trip out there off the Scottsdale, off
the Scottsdale and my son got to pick the high
(12:53):
school I go. You picked the high school you want
to go to, and he found the one He goes,
I want to go to, Notre Dame. So we said, okay, fine,
We've got them enrolled there and we made them move
out to Arizona.
Speaker 1 (13:05):
And so tell us about the experience. Now you're working.
Now you're a head of marketing.
Speaker 3 (13:09):
Now I'm in charge of all of marketing. Working for
the tribe, and I tell you, it was a very
eye opening experience for me. You know, working for tribes
is different than working for a corporate casino.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
Was there a reservation there too?
Speaker 3 (13:23):
There is, Yeah, so they have a reservation that the
two casinos were operated on. And you know what I
learned was that working for people, that the work we
do supporting a community, a culture to preserve their well
being and their health and future generations. And it was
just a different way of thinking.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
Same business.
Speaker 3 (13:45):
We had the same slot machines, the same blackjack tables,
but it just the reason for doing it changed.
Speaker 1 (13:51):
And so let me ask you culture wise, here you're
in Las Vegas and you're hiring people that are from
all around. Plus you've got people that live here or
moved here to work in the gaming business. Now you're
in Arizona and you're running two hotels. Were they primarily
from the reservation?
Speaker 3 (14:09):
Well, so at that time, I want to say it
was about fifteen to twenty percent were community members, which
were from the tribal community. The goal was to get
it higher, of course, but you know that number was
really based upon the interest level of them wanting to
come and work at the properties. So we made it
we had training programs available to them so they could
(14:30):
learn the industry. As you pointed out, it's not like
there's a casino in every corner, so we had to
provide training programs for the community members to be able
to learn a little bit more about the operation and
how they could fit in and work and be successful.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
Okay, so now your running management is the CEO the
person that you report to from the Native American organization?
Speaker 3 (14:54):
He was not, No, he was Actually his background was
from Atlantic City and work for tribes for a significant
period of his career. I didn't work with him until
that opportunity.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
And are how involved is the tribe?
Speaker 2 (15:08):
They were very involved.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
They have a business board that we reported to, so
we had to report our results just like you would
a corporate board. They would set the direction and vision
and it would be our responsibility to execute on that.
So it's very similar in that regard. It's just the
way you do business and sort of the long term
thinking is much different than.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
So is it similar to any organization where you're the
CEO of a company and you're making your decisions, and
there are certain amount of decisions that you can make,
and then there are certain decisions that go above the
rim and that goes to the board. And they operate
the same as any other board.
Speaker 3 (15:46):
Yeah, very similar, Yeah, very similar. They drive the vision,
that's you know, they drive the scope of what we're
supposed to do, and then we come back with a
business plan and get that approved by the board and
off and running.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
You mentioned before that it was a little different. How
was the culture different being it was any a native
American board as opposed to your typical corporate board.
Speaker 3 (16:06):
Yeah, so I would say it's more in terms of
how long of a term of the vision the board sets.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
You know, a lot of it.
Speaker 3 (16:14):
A lot of the discussions are generational in nature, so
of course you've got to make the number for the
month or the quarter or the year.
Speaker 2 (16:20):
But really the bigger.
Speaker 3 (16:21):
Question is how are we setting up the tribe to
be successful for generations to come.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
Someone that works in the business world is myself, is
we have so much pressure to hit the quarter and
in every business in every industry right now, and every
one of us if we sit back, see what we
wish we could do long term planning like that, and
so how did you balance that out book the short
term and long term?
Speaker 3 (16:47):
That is a challenge, you know, but I think understanding
the market and understanding the goals of the tribe and
the vision they ultimately have for their organization is really critical.
And then having you know, open and transparent discussions with
the board to understand, you know, are we on track
with what their expectations are. And there may be some
(17:08):
short term blips. You know, if we miss a quarter,
it's not the end of the day at the end
of the year, you know, it's like, how do we
bounce back and get back on track? You know, not
to say that we missed all that often, but there
were times where maybe we didn't perform as well as
we wanted to. But with a longer vision and longer
term horizon, it allows you to think a little bit differently.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
Also, the pressure of Wall Street, Yeah, and we don't
need to.
Speaker 3 (17:33):
Take unnecessary risks, right, So there's no pressure to take
unnecessary risks that could jeopardize that long term vision and scope.
So I found out to be very rewarding and that
experience in Arizona was just fantastic.
Speaker 1 (17:46):
How did you get from there to the sam Men Well?
Speaker 3 (17:49):
Yeah, So at that particular point in time, Salmon Well
was going through a management change and so they brought
on some new leaders and one of those leaders reached
out and asked if I'd be interested in the marketing role,
the chief marketing officer role at San Manuel.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
So this was twenty fifteen.
Speaker 3 (18:07):
So it was ten years ago, and I found it
very intriguing. I did all the research on the tribe,
saw the good they did for the community was nothing
but positive things that I read, and I thought, I
would really like to be a part of this organization
and contribute to what they're doing. Again, you know, my
eyes were open a little bit more since I had
(18:28):
some time working for a tribe. So being able to
see and understand what they stood for and what they
did for the community in the San Bernardino area was
just tremendous, and I wanted to be a part of
that and to help them, you know, achieve whatever goals and.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
Vision tell you. Running at this point is Yamaha.
Speaker 2 (18:45):
Yeah, So we went through a name change.
Speaker 3 (18:48):
In twenty twenty one, we launched Yamava Resort and Casino
at San Manuel, and so that that occurred in December
of that year. So the name change coincided with the
expansion where we expanded into you know, before there was
no hotel and no resort, we didn't have a theater.
All those elements were added after that project to expand
(19:10):
the property and rename rename it to Yamava.
Speaker 1 (19:14):
And I can tell you I've stayed there. We worked
together with you, and we did a concert that I
went to about a year ago with Sublime. We just
had another one recently with you. And I tell you
that the hotel is second to none, the service, the
quality I mean. And I've stayed in five star hotels
in all over the country. Yamava is really special. Tell
(19:36):
us a little bit about the value proposition. How are
you able to get that hotel to have such a
high standard.
Speaker 3 (19:44):
Well, thank you for that, Paul, And I think it
really starts with the vision of the tribe, right. They
wanted a best in class operation. Now, they didn't go
out and say make it a five star, you know,
they said, Peter, we wanted to be a best in
class operation. Let's do what's best in what you think
would work best for the market. And so when we
evaluated the situation, We looked around. We said, you know,
(20:05):
there really isn't a five star casino operation in southern California.
You'd have to come to Las Vegas to get that
on the strip. So we decided, you know.
Speaker 1 (20:15):
Quite frankly, there's not much on the strip that I
think compare service wise to Yamava.
Speaker 3 (20:20):
Well, thank you for that. We worked very hard. So
with the tribe support and vision, we went forward and
we had to inspire you know, most of the team
members that have worked at Yamava to earn the high
accolades that we've earned. We just received our second year
in a row triple a five diamond. Most of the people,
the team members that achieved that had never worked in
a five diamond property before, so they had to really
(20:43):
do it from the heart, and really service comes from within,
and if you don't have that hospitality culture embedded inside
your spirit, it's really difficult. But we spent a lot
of time finding people who are passionate about it, who
want to do it, not to achieve the goals, but
to do it because it's right, because it's right for
the guests. The guests will reward us with visits and
(21:05):
you know, profit comes along with that, right, So we
spent a lot of time finding the right people to
join our organization who are passionate about that mission.
Speaker 1 (21:13):
Now I notice your title is chief chief Gaming Officer. Yeah,
well tell me what does it? How did you get
that position and what is it? What does the chief
Gaming Officer do?
Speaker 3 (21:22):
So prior to that, I was the general manager at
the Yamava Resort and Casino, and then you.
Speaker 1 (21:28):
Went from chief marketing officer to general manager running the casino.
That's correct.
Speaker 3 (21:33):
And then two years ago my boss, the CEO of
the Tribe and the Tribe came to me and said,
you know, we have a desire to strengthen the synergies
between Las Vegas and California. They created this role and
they said we'd like for you to work on creating
these synergies. So today, in my current role, I oversee
both the Palms and the Yamava Resort and Casino and
(21:55):
in California.
Speaker 1 (21:55):
Sitting into Palms right now, the attention to detail and
service is just it's I didn't I didn't know it.
I haven't been to the Palms before and I'm in
Vegas quite a bit, but it really is it's really
pretty incredible to see the attention to the detail and
the service and what you've done here.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (22:15):
I mean, we feel like it's a really good match
for our sister property in California. We think that the
folks in California that visit Las Vegas will enjoy the Palms,
which is one of the reasons why we, you know,
moved forward to purchase the property and integrate the players
clubs so those people who earn loyalty points in California
can redeem them here in Las Vegas and from Las
(22:38):
Vegas to California. And we feel that the two properties
complementing each other. The team member base is very similar
and with respect to the fact that both the Palms
team members and the Yamava team members have it inside
their heart to deliver this first class hospitality and both
you know, in both states. And that's really what it's
(22:58):
about as consistency.
Speaker 1 (22:59):
Yea, you're going to these two first rate hotels. One
is in Nevada, one is in California. How do you
yourself manage both of them and have them maintain the
level of service, level to detail they you know, just
(23:19):
maintain that that high quality essence that they have.
Speaker 3 (23:24):
I really have to credit our team, you know, our
team just really they're an amazing group of people. Our
management teams that both properties understand the mission, they understand
what needs to be done, and all the team members
that work together. We have over nine thousand team members
total between all of all of the properties, and those
(23:45):
those teams work as one right because for a common goal,
this goes back to the tribe's vision. You know, when
they lay it out, well, what do we want and
where do we want to go? And that's really a
big testament to that style of leadership where it's very
clear the direction we're going. Everyone gets behind it. They
put their best foot forward. But you ask how I'm
(24:07):
able to manage it? Well, I'm able to manage it
because our management teams at both properties are spectacular, first class.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
Hiring and promoting and getting the right people in those positions.
And I hear that so often from most of the
entrepreneurs and business leaders that I've talked on to on
the show.
Speaker 2 (24:22):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (24:24):
Yeah, Well, Peter, it's been an honor talking to you
once again. With Peter Rsao, the chief gaming Officer of
sam Manuel Nation and he runs both the beautiful Palms
Hotel in Las Vegas and Yama Vah in Sam Bernardino, California.
And really one more question I'd like to ask, what
(24:44):
would you tell your twenty one year old self if
you gave yourself advice on and how do we eventually
get to this position?
Speaker 3 (24:55):
Yeah, I would tell my twenty one year old self
to be patient and relax and just enjoy the process,
because the process is just as.
Speaker 2 (25:05):
Rewarding as the end.
Speaker 3 (25:06):
And I found that when I look back on my career,
I look fondly on those experiences along the way, and
I would.
Speaker 2 (25:13):
I wouldn't speed it up for the world.
Speaker 3 (25:15):
Even though my twenty one year old self wanted to
go from zero to one thousand. You know, in a second, right,
the journey is just as great as the destination. So
telling myself that back then, you know, I would have
probably been able to absorb more of the experience along
the way.
Speaker 1 (25:32):
Well, thank you so much, Peter, It's great to have
you on the show and hope to spend some more
time with you. There's some more great events and other
initiatives together, and this is Paul Corvino, It's vision president
of iHeartMedia saying thank you for listening to another episode
of CEOs You Should Know.
Speaker 3 (25:52):
Thank you, Paul. Listen to CEOs You Should Know on
the iHeartRadio app
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