JANUARY 1, 2002
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TWO MIDW6ST6RN DUDJ WITH LAS VtqAS eXPERIENCE AR6
MAKING A H0M AT SPIRIT MOUNTAIN
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Gary Poynor is in charge of table games, Shawn McDaniel handles
slots, keno and off-track betting.
qARy poynor
There you have it, money,
meetings, food, customer ser
vice, advertising, promotions,
and now human resources.
The same phenomenon that turned a
dusty field in Nevada to a living fantasy
has transformed a vacant prairie off of
Highway 22 into Oregon's chief tourist
attraction.
It makes perfect sense then that we
turned to SMC's own Gaming Directors
for insight Shawn McDaniel and Gary
Poynor.
McDaniel reigns as the director of
slots, keno and off track betting; Poynor
table games and player development.
United, they oversee just about every
aspect of gaming in the casino, from
when and which new machines to bring
in, to budgeting.
McDaniel lives in Dallas with his wife
and three children. Born in Omaha, Ne
braska 35 years ago, he attended col
lege and emerged with an Associate's
degree in Electronics, though marine
biology was an earlier passion. He
caught on with Harrah's Casino in Lake
Tahoe and only five years ago made the
switch to Spirit Mountain and Oregon.
Poynor also hails from the Midwest, a
citizen originally of Abilene, Texas some
58 years ago. There may not be an
other worker more versed in the gam
ing industry than he, having begun as a
craps dealer at the Sands in Las Vegas
back in 1969. He lives with his wife and
daughter in McMinnville.
"Five years since Joo-lai," he said,
through a thinly disguised Texas drawl.
Poynor has seen the grand transition,
the evolution of casinos during the last
30 years. Table games were in and
slots were for the cheap. Like McDaniel
would say, times are different now.
"Slots. We make the most money
there," said McDaniel. "Used to be table
games, but there was a dramatic turn
around in the 1980's."
Poynor nodded his head in agreement.
McDaniel estimated that the slot ma
chines hold on to only five percent of
the money that comes in, while the rest
gets redistributed back to players. That
five percent may not seem like much,
but when one takes into account the
sheer volume of money that circulates
through the casino on a daily basis, the
minute amount adds up and SMC has
the revenues to prove it.
For years, McDaniel explained, coin
payouts were the way to go, and Spirit
Mountain took a true gamble by even
considering paper payouts. Actually, the
Games People Play With a little over
1,400 slot machines, three Craps tables, four
Roulette tables, 28 Blackjack tables, three Let It
Ride Poker tables, two Pai Gow Poker tables, one
Caribbean Stud Poker table, one Big-6 Wheel, a
Poker Room with 16 poker tables, 15 Keno boards
throughout the casino and room for 35 in the live
Keno area, Spirit Mountain Casino offers a large
variety of gaming entertainment to its guests.
SHAWN McDANia
original compact between SMC and the
State of Oregon made specific allow
ances for only paper payouts and this
had many proponents of Indian gaming
nervous. It was deviation from a win
ning formula.
"Other casinos laughed at us," he said,
smiling slightly. "Saying paper payouts
wouldn't work."
Luckily, they did work here. Now, just
about every casino does paper payouts,
even in Las Vegas and Reno. And that
goes both ways, for machines that ac
tually intake coins are also on the road
to scarcity.
"People don't want to pump in 2,000
pennies," McDaniel said. "They'd rather
just use a twenty dollar bill."
As for the future of slot machines in
general, expect the same trend wit
nessed in the personal computer evolu
tion smaller, more accessible.
The success of slot machines was
never enough for Spirit Mountain to turn
a blind eye to classic casino games like
blackjack, poker or roulette. Even
though those games don't account for a
majority of revenue, their appeal was
and is undeniable, which is why SMC
fought hard to get games like roulette
and craps. The response once again
reminded them they were worth the
trouble.
"People were so excited about craps
and roulette," McDaniel said. "We had
one guy.. .he wanted to be the first man
in Oregon to shoot dice. He was really
excited about that."
As the main man for table games and
a veteran dealer himself, Poynor knows
a thing or two about dealing. No other
M f.i
position captures the essence of the
gaming industry better than dealing.
"You always have a high turnover rate,"
said Poynor of dealers. "But we've man
aged to keep about one-third of our staff
since day one and that's not very common."
Fittingly, as a retired dealer Poynor
has come to learn both sides of the table.
While his duties as head of dealing sees
him looking after the dealers, the role
as head of player development has him
clamoring to keep the "regulars" AKA
the high rollers.
"We want to know our best players,"
he said. "We want to know their birth
days, their anniversaries.. .so we'll have
loyalty."
SMC doesn't exactly plan budgets
based upon what high rollers pour into
the casino. But just the presence of
those regulars reminds others that Spirit
Mountain is a first-rate casino and sets
the tables for more high rollers to even
tually find their way here.
"When we throw birthday's for them,
they'll bring their friends," said Poynor.
"We let 'em know we're here, get 'em
in, and show 'em a good time."
"They won't get this kind of treatment
in Vegas," said McDaniel.
Facts like that, and the occasional
mimicry of Vegas, form part of the new
philosophy brought to SMC by Mike
Moore. And you can include Poynor and
McDaniel among his supporters.
"I definitely think we're going to have
to be more aggressive," said Poynor.
"And with Mike Moore, and the way we're
marketing, we're gonna get more
people from Portland."
Moore, they both agreed, is experi
enced. And as a season veteran of the
gaming industry, they've the utmost con
fidence that what Moore has in store
for SMC will no doubt be successful.
"I hope Mike stays with us," said
McDaniel. "It'd be good for the casino.
It'd be good for the Tribe. .
"He's seen it all," he added.