Vol. 3, No. 12, December 2006
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Ivy League to Indian Gaming
Atlantic City experience, New Jersey education takes executive far
Princeton University’s famed alumni include doctors, lawyers and United States presidents. It is widely revered, wildly expensive and practically the last place ever expected to produce a casino kingpin.
Wendell Long may be the only one. And the former Playboy and Trump’s Castle executive hardly believes it. This Princeton student did not become a U.S. president, like fellow Ivy League graduates Woodrow Wilson, Theodore Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy. But he will settle for CEO.
Long serves in that role at Casino del Sol and the Ava Amphitheater in Tucson, Arizona. Ten years after leaving Atlantic City, Long recalls its unlikely creation of his career.
“They must have made a mistake and put my Princeton application in the wrong pile,” Long says, laughing. “My father was a doctor and I expected to go there for engineering and electronics. I ended up finding the casino business more exciting. I guess it would have been better if they had a casino management program.”
Nope. The Oklahoma native instead moonlighted at Playboy while attending Princeton in the early 1980s. His unofficial degree in casino-nomics outweighed the Ivy League sheepskin. Long moved to Trump’s Castle (now Trump Marina) after graduating and rose to assistant shift manager during an 11-year career.
Long had gambled and won. After bypassing potential higher-paying jobs out of college, he had learned an exciting new business. The casino path rewarded Long economically and kept him fresh by appealing to his analytical instincts.
“You have to enjoy the fact that everything is mathematically based and that the math works on all games,” Long says. “You see how it works, how by having a slight advantage, it adds up to millions. You also see that this is a fun industry, it is one in which you are playing games. People are having a great time and if you can make sure they have an entertaining evening, even if they lose, that’s very important.”
Long applied the philosophy early on. He saw customer service impact the bottom line both as a dealer and then as head of the toke committee at Playboy. The principle sharpened during the Castle years. Before he left, Long saw the progression to toke boxes brimming at $20 an hour.
The education expanded into leadership, via employee relations. Initially, 200 workers reported to him. Long would eventually direct more than 3,000, with compassion.
“It’s important to manage from the heart,” Long says. “You find out what works and what doesn’t work, then use that in your own experience. It’s very important to take care of the people who work for you, especially line-level employees. They are interacting with customers every day. When your employees are happy, your players sense it. They come back to your place more often.
“Treat your employees like adults, empower them to make decisions and they will feel like part of the team. They will become the best promoters of your business.”
Long honed leadership skills by 1996, when two factors converged. One, he was a member of the Great Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and hoped to work with fellow Native Americans. Two, Atlantic City had stagnated. With no ties here, Long considered moving.
“I felt a bond with Native Americans and was also kind of hooked into the big casino picture,” Long says. “I had always regretted not becoming part of Foxwoods in the early ’90s. People said, ‘Oh, they are not going to succeed up there.’”
Famous last words, because Foxwoods became the world’s largest casino. Long eventually landed both at Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods. Ironically, that’s where he met his wife Leta, who had worked in Atlantic City at the Golden Nugget and Showboat.
Long helped open Mohegan, then advanced to run Treasure Island outside of Minneapolis in 2002. He returned to Connecticut to help the Eastern Pequots establish their own facility, but their federal recognition was pulled. Long remained in the area and operated a nightclub situated between Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun. The 25,000-strong work force helped his business prosper.
But Arizona beckoned. He answered the call of the Pascua Yaqui tribe and its moderate-sized operation. Unlike in big corporations, profits go back to the tribe, improving life via housing and health care.
“It’s a great scenario here,” Long says. “We have a locals market, with a great number of upper middle-class retirees. I am fortunate to be working with the tribe. It’s a process that is close to my heart. It’s still kind of bizarre in my mind that the industry I chose ended up being one of the best opportunities for Native Americans.”
Long found a coveted place of leadership. He adores the perfect climate, the locals market and the link back to his heritage. It all came together for him.
Even a Princeton professor would be impressed.
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