RSS 2.0 FeedVol.4, No. 7, July 2008, Employee Profile
Framing the Field
South Point’s Stallworth knows stadiums from the field up
Steve Stallworth likes being the answer to a trivia question: Who succeeded Randall Cunningham as quarterback at UNLV?
“I was a pocket passer,” Stallworth said, laughing about his contrast to Rambling Randall, who later starred with the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles. “People may not have been ready for me.”
They are, however, ready for his work on stadiums. In an era of gaming veterans, Stallworth is a games veteran. South Point’s new arena general manager became an expert in booking, facilitating and conducting events. From Thomas & Mack to the Orleans Arena and now South Point’s Equestrian Arena, he has serviced countless events over the past two decades.
He took a unique step here. The Equestrian Arena, linked with an Exhibit Hall and Event Center, is the only building of its kind connected to a U.S. casino hotel.
Here, more than ever before, Stallworth sees sports fans primarily as casino customers.
“When they walk through your doors, they are a guest of the hotel casino; that’s how you treat them, and you are going to take care of them very well,” Stallworth said. “What I have always loved about casino venues is that they spare no expense in taking care of their customers. They have made a reputation for it. That is one reason people love coming to Vegas and seeing events in Vegas.”
Stallworth likes coaching employees on the customer service master plan. Not all of them are full-time. He needs to maintain a service culture with those who may work for the casino perhaps only once a month.
Ironically, Stallworth helped set up the arena he now presides over. When South Point was in the Boyd family, Stallworth worked on this facility for Michael Gaughan, whom he rejoined here.
“From a casino perspective, I have been blessed with the best of both worlds,” Stallworth said. “I loved the vision of the Orleans and we had a great time putting together what we considered the finest mid-sized arena in the entire country. We had everything from hockey to boxing to Disney On Ice—you name it. They were wonderful people to work for. One of them, of course, was Michael Gaughan (who left Boyd properties to create South Point). We just have a wonderful chemistry. It all works.”
As in sports, Stallworth finds that an event production has different levels of anxiety.
“People wonder if all you do is book events and sell tickets, but there’s an excitement level to all of it,” he said. “You get the rush from being a former athlete and enjoying the teamwork aspect of it. It’s like being in a game. We prepare all week. We put together a game plan, and hopefully it all goes into place. When it’s over, we review our performance. Most of the time we will be very happy about how what we did.”
The events contain football metaphors. His employees represent the line, receivers and a sense of field position. The starting time is the clock. He can call any play, or select any “audible,” but must avoid being “sacked” by an unexpected event. Later, he’ll assess the team performance like a coach.
Perhaps no one will ever scramble like Randall Cunningham. But Stallworth has mechanically marched his teams, and career, down the field.
“I was a pocket passer,” Stallworth said, laughing about his contrast to Rambling Randall, who later starred with the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles. “People may not have been ready for me.”
They are, however, ready for his work on stadiums. In an era of gaming veterans, Stallworth is a games veteran. South Point’s new arena general manager became an expert in booking, facilitating and conducting events. From Thomas & Mack to the Orleans Arena and now South Point’s Equestrian Arena, he has serviced countless events over the past two decades.
He took a unique step here. The Equestrian Arena, linked with an Exhibit Hall and Event Center, is the only building of its kind connected to a U.S. casino hotel.
Here, more than ever before, Stallworth sees sports fans primarily as casino customers.
“When they walk through your doors, they are a guest of the hotel casino; that’s how you treat them, and you are going to take care of them very well,” Stallworth said. “What I have always loved about casino venues is that they spare no expense in taking care of their customers. They have made a reputation for it. That is one reason people love coming to Vegas and seeing events in Vegas.”
Stallworth likes coaching employees on the customer service master plan. Not all of them are full-time. He needs to maintain a service culture with those who may work for the casino perhaps only once a month.
Ironically, Stallworth helped set up the arena he now presides over. When South Point was in the Boyd family, Stallworth worked on this facility for Michael Gaughan, whom he rejoined here.
“From a casino perspective, I have been blessed with the best of both worlds,” Stallworth said. “I loved the vision of the Orleans and we had a great time putting together what we considered the finest mid-sized arena in the entire country. We had everything from hockey to boxing to Disney On Ice—you name it. They were wonderful people to work for. One of them, of course, was Michael Gaughan (who left Boyd properties to create South Point). We just have a wonderful chemistry. It all works.”
As in sports, Stallworth finds that an event production has different levels of anxiety.
“People wonder if all you do is book events and sell tickets, but there’s an excitement level to all of it,” he said. “You get the rush from being a former athlete and enjoying the teamwork aspect of it. It’s like being in a game. We prepare all week. We put together a game plan, and hopefully it all goes into place. When it’s over, we review our performance. Most of the time we will be very happy about how what we did.”
The events contain football metaphors. His employees represent the line, receivers and a sense of field position. The starting time is the clock. He can call any play, or select any “audible,” but must avoid being “sacked” by an unexpected event. Later, he’ll assess the team performance like a coach.
Perhaps no one will ever scramble like Randall Cunningham. But Stallworth has mechanically marched his teams, and career, down the field.
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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