Horatio Alger would be proud. America’s pre-eminent rags-to-riches author would have found a compelling subject in John James. The Cleveland native, Vegas veteran and non-stop coach is the Chief Operating Officer of Florida’s Seminole Gaming.

James mastered the improbable rise, from welfare line as a youth to the highest reaches of executive gaming office. He eventually spent 21 years in Las Vegas, ran properties, and was lured to Florida to operate seven Seminole Hard Rock casinos, including the biggest ones in Hollywood and Tampa.

It’s been a gigantic run, launched by what James observed as a youth. The philosophy of leading others—now nearly 5,500 employees—materialized during his poverty-stricken roots.

“Being poor shaped my career,” James says. “It made me humble. I have love like no tomorrow for the human being. It’s true what they say that you’re too young to know you are poor, but I could feel the pain of other people, of adults being in a food-stamp line and I could put myself in their shoes. My grandmother told me I had fiduciary responsibilities to those people. I started to wonder about what if I took these 300 people, would they be happier working or happier getting food stamps. I felt they would rather be working. In time, I felt like I had better take them across the finish line.”

James applied the philosophy to gaming, helping shape major themes of teamwork and individual pride. Both qualities are critical to a company product.

“People want to know that their job is viewed as worthwhile, because it is,” James says. “A cook in the coffee shop is rocket science. A food server is rocket science. It does take an individual with skill sets to do it right. There are many, many jobs in a casino and they are all important.

“You treat people right coming in the door and treat them right going out the door, it’s an instant success formula,” James adds, regarding employee relations. “What greater flattery could there be for an employee to feel that he can walk in your door, no appointment, see that you are being genuine, that you have integrity and you are doing things fairly. When they walk out, it’s like they walked out of a meeting with a member of the family.”

James’ family initiated his drive. Some taught him the rules of a few games. His grandmother Josephine made James write down his ambitions on the bedroom wall, at age 11, along with a plan for realizing them. James’ mother later sent him on a one-way ticket to Las Vegas, where he entered gaming in 1983.

“At one point I was a junior security guard at the Desert Inn (now the Wynn casino),” James recalls. “It gave you a chance to look at all the different operations, from the table games, to the food operations and the interactions with the players. It was marvelous. One night, one of the big executives went walking past. He had this double-breasted suit, right out of a Hollywood script. He just looked the part of a very successful person. I asked ‘what does it take to be someone like you?’ He stopped, turned around, walked back toward me and said to make sure to dedicate yourself, have a passion for the business, and learn what not to do (like misunderstanding the market). That was an interesting piece of advice.”

More pointers came. James obtained an accounting degree at UNLV, gained another tip about managing all aspects of the business and began breaking jobs down by description. Then he used the knowledge to create core values, strategies and team concepts.

“Take a football example,” James says. “What if all the members caught the same football? What if everybody was an MVP? If we all cross the finish line together, we score the touchdown together.”

James retained an insatiable learning drive. He would leave home at night, wandering through casino properties to obtain tips. James says he has been in every Las Vegas casino, numbering in the hundreds. A tidbit here, a nugget there, all led him to help polish the gaming diamond. It helped him embrace the advancements of the industry.

“Technology has super-charged the environment,” James says. “Vegas has always been the creator, the innovator, the technological leader throughout the gaming world. As a market, it is visionistic. It shaped itself to identify the product logic and to not only understand the ‘Wow!’ factor but to shape it.

What can we do next? When you talk about exceptional people or events, there is usually a Vegas story.”

James contributed his own version. He was vice-president and general manager for Station Casinos. James was responsible for overall operations of three casinos and multiple development projects. His Vegas run included the Regent, Palms, Fiesta Casino and Boomtown Las Vegas Resort, Four Queens, Gold River and Bally’s.

After leaving Las Vegas, he helped produced record numbers for the Pechanga tribe in Temecula, California.

Six months ago, the Seminole Tribe came calling.


A fun deja vu

Early in his career, James was in the Four Queens, unable to find the parking garage. An executive named Ed Fasulo stepped up to help him. Fasulo was the General Manager of the property and James was taken by the gesture.
    “I sent him a resume every year for the next 10 years,” James indicates. “Finally one day he hired me! We both had a good laugh remembering the first meeting.”


Parental approval

James low-keyed his accomplishments to his family. Once, when his father came to visit him in Las Vegas, he discovered that James was actually running the property. He broke down in tears, having seen where his son had risen to.

By Dave Bontempo

Casino Connection Sports Editor Dave Bontempo is an award-winning sports writer and broadcaster who calls boxing matches all over the world. He has covered the Philadelphia Flyers in the playoffs, as well as numerous PGA, LPGA and Seniors Golf Tour events, and co-hosted the Casino Connection television program with Publisher Roger Gros.

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