Association offers training, networking for gaming managers

Before Janel Cole became a shift manager at O'Sheas Casino, she spent 19 years at the Las Vegas Hilton.

But she didn't know any of her contemporaries at other gaming companies in town. Unlike many other industries, there was no such thing as a professional association of gaming managers.

"If you didn't work at the Hilton, I didn't know you," Cole said.

Ditto for David Schugar, a 23-year gaming industry veteran who is currently general manager of the Nevada Landing hotel-casino in Jean.

"In the past, it was very typical for gamers to be tight-lipped," Schugar said.

That's changing now for Cole, Schugar and hundreds of other mid-level managers in the gaming industry, thanks to the fast-growing Casino Management Association.

Founded four years ago by Caesar's Palace floor supervisor William Kendrick to help mid-level casino managers expand their industry knowledge and expertise, the CMA appears to be fulfilling its goals and some.

In the six months she has been a CMA member, Cole has gotten to know gaming managers from other companies that she never had an opportunity to meet before.

"It's actually an excellent resource," Cole said of the CMA. "It allows professional acquaintances, lets you know what's going on around town."

But networking isn't the only reason Cole belongs to the CMA. She has also attended a series of CMA-sponsored classes at the Community College of Southern Nevada, as well as the association's monthly meetings and lectures.

"It really just gives a lot of inside information to an industry that really hasn't had this before," Cole said.

All of his counterparts face similar issues, Schugar said. "It's refreshing to be able to get together and talk about them."

The CMA was the brain-child of Kendrick, who came up with the idea of a gaming management association in 1992 while working on his Master's thesis at UNLV.

Kendrick officially founded the CMA in 1994 with help from a variety of industry insiders, including Marc Weiswasser, an MGM Grand floor supervisor. In 1996, Kendrick took a position at an Indian casino in Michigan, leaving the association to Weiswasser.

"That left the bulk of the responsibility on me," said Weiswasser, the CMA's current president.

For a while, Weiswasser was the CMA, acting as president, secretary and treasurer. He has since brought on-board Nancy Manning, a floor supervisor at the Excalibur hotel-casino, as treasurer; Jeffrey Compton, vice president of Dancer Compton Consultants, as secretary; and Curt Thompson, senior vice president at Leroy's Hotel Corp., as vice president.

None are paid by the CMA -- all volunteer their time.

CMA members -- individuals pay $100, companies $400 -- get into CMA events free and other events at a reduced price. For example, CMA members were given a 35 percent discount, the equivalent of about $100, to the recent Casino Ops conference held at Caesars Palace.

The 500-member CMA includes individual managers, companies, law firms, students and consultants. The CMA has 72 members outside Nevada, in 16 states and five countries. But there are no other CMA chapters, Weiswasser said.

Those eligible to join are casino and gaming industry workers. Combined with non-gaming service workers, employment for Clark County in that industry totals 160,641, according to the state Employment Security Department's Research and Analysis Division.

Revenues from member dues, a Las Vegas Community College education program and the sale of gaming management tapes and books reached about $76,000 last year, Weiswasser said.

The whole point of the CMA, Weiswasser says, is to bring together mid-level gaming industry managers to discuss topics and issues of mutual interest. The CMA holds monthly meetings, with speakers including Frank Fahrenkopf, president of the American Gaming Association; Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev.; J. Terrence Lanni, chairman and chief executive of MGM Grand Inc.; and Jason Ader, a gaming analyst with Bear Stearns and Co.

The CMA-sponsored Community College classes cover topics such as slot marketing, table game probability, volatility and statistical analysis, the math and philosophy behind race and sports books, gaming win versus gaming hold, and problem gambling.

When attendees complete eight of the 12 offered Casino Management classes, they're awarded a certificate of completion. For now, that's just a nice piece of paper for managers to hang on their walls.

But one of Weiswasser's goals is to create a nationally recognized certification program, much like that of the hotel industry's Certificate of Hotel Administration. The CMA certification would have three levels: supervisory, management and gaming professional. Each level would require successively more work experience and casino management courses.

"We're hoping that the casino industry will embrace this certification," Weiswasser said.

Schugar thinks the gaming management certification program would help the industry with one of its most significant problems: finding enough qualified employees.

"There's a great deal of opportunity right now in the gaming industry," Schugar said. "Knowledgeable talent is at a premium."

Gaming companies were initially wary of the CMA, Weiswasser said, fearing that it might be a union in disguise. But now that they know what it is all about, the companies are generally pretty supportive of the association, offering free food service and use of their facilities for CMA events. Speakers also volunteer their time.

The support appears to be working. The CMA's 500th member represented 46 percent year-to-date growth. And it's only July.

But that fast growth, including the increasing responsibilities inherent in running such an organization, is prompting the CMA to take a hard look at its future. The CMA has hired a consultant to determine whether the organization is focusing on the correct things, and whether it needs a full-time staff.

"If we keep this up, we'll be huge soon," Weiswasser said. "This is a great concept. It's really gaining momentum."

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