Casino Connection Nevada

Food for Thought

Las Vegas veteran focuses on people skills

by Dave Bontempo

Bruce Howard knows what numbers really drive the multi-billion dollar casino industry—those between 0 and 100.

“I still think it’s a people business,” says the former Las Vegas executive and current general manager of Valley View Casino in San Diego, which recently celebrated a massive expansion. “A person’s effectiveness is judged 80 percent by people skills and 20 percent by technical skills, I believe. I love to focus on the 80 percent. Treat your team members right, because success is about loyalty and support. Give your customers cleanliness and friendliness and you’ll always have people coming back.”

Howard’s mastery of “the 80” paved his career-long upward mobility. The Miami native served as assistant director of food and beverage at Caesars Palace from 1985-1995. Stints in Mesquite; Lake Charles, Louisiana; back in Vegas at Bally’s and the Aladdin; and then at Ameristar in Missouri followed before he joined the San Pasqual tribe story four years ago. The project has reached a new level.

Valley View opened five new restaurants, 1,750 slot machines, 18 table games and expanded its gaming size more than 50 percent in its mid-April expansion. The six-year-old property, perched in scenic Valley Center, actually opened a new casino and spent $114 million. The move represents a victory, and a reward, for Howard.

 “We know that the average person travels here from 32 miles away and comes here 50 times a year,” Howard says. “For a person to come here once a week, we feel like we are treating him right. Every guest meets up to 12 team members during a stay. You come in contact with valet, casino security, dealers, beverage workers, food service personnel, hostesses, cashiers. We talk about this all the time. These 12 interactions must be positive.

 “We live in a very advanced technological age. Everybody has table games. But nobody has the 700 employees we have.”

Howard proudly indicates that 60 percent of his workers live closer to another casino, but choose working for Valley View. This underscores the loyalty principle that has long impressed Howard. He speaks of humility and has long understood money without being spoiled by it. Howard discovered public service by watching his mother be a social worker and his father a councilman. His customer service began as a restaurant manager in Florida for seven years. Howard then came west with a romanticized gaming view. Vegas icon and former Caesars Palace owner Stuart Perlman had been friendly with Howard’s father.

Howard applied his own formula to the gaming dynamic. He saw how food barely affected business when he joined Caesars Palace. It would be radically different by the time he left. And employees would fuel it.

 “At one time food was known as a necessity to the casino rather than an amenity,” he recalls. “We changed the philosophy of the Strip. We sought out the best chefs, the best food. We showed the public that if you could raise the bar on food and beverage, you could increase the amount of the gambling and the quality of the people you brought in. Our competition was as much New York, San Francisco and L.A. as much as anything else. You get the food right, the gaming will follow.”

The cuisine revolution included the opening and re-modeling of restaurants. Caesars offered several high-end establishments to augment the legendary Bacchanal Room. Catering aspects followed.

 “You would book customers at the same time every night for a different restaurant,” he says. “The customer felt good about being taken care of, and the casino was happy the customer stayed inside the building.”

Howard participated in an innovative period for Caesars Palace in its food and beverage department. He continued moving up the “food chain” at Bally’s and Aladdin, reaching the level of vice president of food and beverage. It was easy to cross into an elite management level from there.

 “The big reason you see a lot of food and beverage folks moving up is that we interact with so many departments,” Howard says. “We work with casino executives, human resources, marketing and advertising. We deal a lot with the hotel. We have a well-rounded view of the entire establishment.”

Howard expresses gratitude for his fortune. He maintains enthusiasm for a business that never gets stale. The one constant is the factor he enjoys most.

 “I love seeing the excitement on the guests’ faces coming in,” Howard says. “The casinos are an adult Disneyland. People love coming here. This is much better than being in a dreary office someplace in a business that doesn’t change too much.

 “What’s also gratifying is watching people’s careers grow.”

Howard remains informal, approachable and straightforward with employees. He understands the nuances behind the revenues and his executive workers excel for. Howard knows the big numbers will keep coming, as long as he focuses on the biggest one—the 80.

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