When was the Valley View casino resort built?

Our original property opened on April 18, 2001. Since that time we have continually made improvements with our first major remodel completed in December 2007, resulting in the expansion of our property from approximately 43,000 sq. ft. to over 115,000 sq. ft. In December 2008, we completed a 7000 sq. ft. expansion of our non-smoking casino resulting in a full service non-smoking gaming option for our guests. In November 2010 we completed our 160,000 sq. ft., 108 rooms/suites luxury boutique hotel. Today Valley View Casino & Hotel is 300,000 sq. ft. of fun and excitement!

When did you start and what brought you into this dynamic industry?

I began my journey in this fantastic industry in 2003. As a tribal member and former Law Enforcement professional for over 25 years I had the opportunity to bring some unique and varied skill sets to the industry and specifically to a gaming operation that was near and dear to my heart. In 2004, our tribal community established the San PasquaI Casino Development Group, Inc., a completely unique tribal corporation, completely setting apart the tribe's gaming operation to be managed in all aspects by the eight member Board of Directors which is a combination of tribal members and gaming and financing industry professionals.

What aspects do you enjoy most about your role at the casino?

Watching our team members develop, mature and grow into expanded roles with additional responsibilities that afford them the opportunity of taking on new challenges, step for step with our building and our business growing and expanding concurrently. From my perspective it is rewarding and comforting to know and see that decisions made and actions taken have really been the right ones that have paid off for our guests, our team members and their families, and our Tribal members and their families.

The Valley View website ValleyViewCasino.com, is well laid out and provides easy access to information on player promotions, food and beverages along with all the hotels facilities. Has the development of this website been an important contributing reason for the casino's success?

We have substantial visits to the website seeking property information including directions, hours of operation and other pertinent information they utilize to make their entertainment decision. The competitive nature of the business dictates that your website is attractive, easy to navigate, and loaded with great information that educates and informs your guest. It is a key element to the success of the overall marketing of the property with so many entertainment choices out there. Our website provides just the right amount of content to build excitement about our property and really makes the viewer want to come see all the fun in person.

With the relaxation in online gaming restrictions do you plan to operate an online gaming site so that, for example, patrons can build loyalty points to be used at the casino?

We are certainly staying abreast of the developments taking place in the area of on-line gaming. We believe this issue has significant hurdles to overcome. Should it become a reality we would certainly plan to benefit our community in the best possible way.

What percentage of the patrons to the casino are local versus tourist and business visitors?

The majority of visits come from the local areas - 150 miles to the north into Los Angeles and 60 miles to the west and south. The loyalty that we have built has created a frequency of these guests that is unheard of in the casino industry. This is a result of very specific rewards, promotions, world class dining, a state-of-the-art value driven casino floor and the finest guest service offered in North America with 1,000 team members welcoming every guest into our home. We do however capture many visiting tourists and vacationers and continue to look for ways to plug into that part of the market through relationships with the convention center, hospitality businesses, and publications that touch that segment.

Does the casino cater for conferences and exhibitions?

Currently our property has a beautiful, fully equipped Event Center that is dedicated to solely taking care of our guests by offering one-of-a-kind events, concerts, promotions and parties for groups up to 500. We continually look for ways to capitalize on the well-appointed Event Center and the beautiful views and amenities.

What are the unique aspects of Valley View Casino & Hotel that distinguish it from others in San Diego that have contributed to its award winning success?

Valley View Casino & Hotel has developed an incredible brand and reputation for world-class service, a renowned lobster buffet, and the most current, state-of-the-art gaming devices. We have set the standards for giving the most back to guests in comps, promotions, and high end rewards like Charger and Padres luxury suite tickets. We promise the world, and deliver the universe. Additionally, the level of individual team member commitment and dedication to ensuring each and every guest has a positive and memorable gaming, lodging and dining experience time after time I believe is the key that sets us apart from all competitors.

How do you maintain your portfolio of machines and what is your policy on buying new machines?

We use a performance report that shows us what games our guests prefer based on their popularity. The report will show what percentage of the floor all manufacturers have and how much business each one of those games does over a 1- 30 day period. We use that report and comments from our guests to decide what games are best suited for our casino. We also use this report when purchasing new machines each year. We replace approximately 10% of our floor each year which means we purchase approximately 200 of the most popular, innovative slot machines each year. These are the same type of games that are used on the Las Vegas Strip and around the country.

What is your approximate breakdown of slot machines by manufacturer?

We have 5 main manufacturers that we use primarily starting with IGT with approximate 42% our slot machines followed by Aristocrat with 25%, Konami with 12%, Williams with 9%, Bally with 7%. The remaining 5% is made up from a number of small manufacturers.

Valley View provides 26 Vegas style table games, which is impressive. Is that to cater a more table gaming orientated market or simply to broaden the scope of choice?

The table games selection is a reflection of Vegas-style gaming as a whole. The promise is to deliver a product to our guests that makes them feel like they are experiencing Vegas right in their backyard.

The games cover nearly all of the major games and have large dollar progressives for added excitement and entertainment.

Poker is still increasing in popularity. Does the Casino host special events to cater for this sector?

We currently have the table game Ultimate Texas Hold'Em which is an exciting poker game designed to bring poker into the main table games pit. We currently do not operate a live poker room, but look for future expansion products that would include the games in the table games mix.

Does the Casino have auto roulette machines or is there a significant preference for croupiers?

The automated roulette machines are convenient and have come a long way in the business, but live roulette with the guest service and interpersonal exchanges with a dealer still continue to dominate the guest preference. Live roulette brings a sense of excitement and thrills which are very hard or near impossible to duplicate on the automated version. The live roulette game is the dominate choice of our loyal guests.

What of your latest slot machines are proving most popular?

The manufacturers have really come up with some great themes this year and our guests are really enjoying them. "Paradise Fishing" from Aruze gaming, "Tarzan" from Aristocrat, "Yahtzee" from Williams gaming, "Ghost Busters" from IGT, "Beat the Field" from Konami and many other games are all very popular. They offer our players a fun experience and a great chance to win money. We are the only casino recognized with "Certified Loose Slots" in all of Southern California as judged by an independent publication. We offer the best value to our guests and that is why we are the busiest casino in Southern California with the highest loyalty rate in all of California.

Are all your slot machines linked and what systems software do you use?

The games all communicate through our IGT Advantage system.

Do you have TITO I Smart cards?

We have the most advanced Ticket In Ticket Out system in California on all 2,000 of our slot machines. At this time we are not looking into the smart card but we are always open to taking another look when that technology becomes more advanced.

What is amongst your favorite piece of business advice?

Hire right! It all starts with hiring the right person and doing so in the spirit of the "80/20 Hire the smile - train the skill" principle. Understanding that the technical side of an individual's responsibilities, the 20% is more easily trained and retained. The more difficult aspect to achieve is the personal side, the interaction between our team member and our guest, what we like to call the 80%. Hiring the personalities that display the qualities necessary to embrace and carry out the guest service philosophy is key.

Have you any major ambitions left to achieve?

Native American Gaming, relatively speaking is still in its infancy and as a result particularly in Southern California there remains a significant market that has yet to experience what we have to offer. That vast market represents major ambitions yet to achieve.