Initially, when they opened table games, no one had ever dealt cards. We advertised in the Las Vegas papers and it built upon itself. Every dealer in Las Vegas knows what's going on in Southern California. If they want to get a pretty good job and change their lifestyle, they come here. Our dealers make an awful lot of money. |
It's remarkable to see what's happened in San Diego. |
The business has been phenomenal for the tribe. They run their business in a very democratic way and the casino proceeds have allowed them to do many things for the reservation and the community. They're very careful how they make outside investments, which is a good thing. |
The L.A. market is important to the growth of the casino market in San Diego. |
The thing that surprises me the most is the stability of the work force. Of the original 1,000 employees that we had (in 2001), over 250 of those people are still with us. |
When we opened we thought all the guests would come from San Diego. We were wrong. We didn't focus on the fact Los Angeles and Orange County didn't have casinos. That's a huge amount of people, and we've been able to penetrate that market. |
Without question, this county, probably because of the sheer size of some of the facilities, has to be the casino leader in California. |