Featured Editorials

Fast-moving Station Casinos remakes its image yet again with Durango Casino & Hotel. By David McKee

Station Casinos is on a tear. The company and its parent corporation, Red Rock Resorts, has resolved to double its presence in the Las Vegas Valley by 2030, a presence built up over the past 47 years. It has projects in various stages of incubation: at the Inspirada master-planned resort in Henderson, Nevada, up at Skye Canyon, at the Tule Springs development in North Las Vegas, and just next door to Michael Gaughan’s South Point, at the southern terminus of the Las Vegas Strip. That’s a lot of pots for one stove. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

Women in senior roles across Ambassadeurs Group and beyond are helping push the gambling industry forwards

When it comes to diversity, Les Ambassadeurs Club has been pushing barriers for many years. Across the Ambassadeurs Group (AG), which includes the prestigious club in London’s Mayfair, 45 nationalities are represented and some 37 languages are spoken among the 311 staff. Of the total team some 136 are women and many of the senior management – including gaming director and the dead of business development – are female.

As Atlantic City’s Borgata heads toward a milestone anniversary, President Travis Lunn sets a course for the future. By David McKee

Twenty years ago, Atlantic City got a wake-up call. It had evolved – or perhaps devolved – into a sleepy, even stagnant gambling market. Steve Wynn had fled and Donald Trump talked big but did nothing. Then came Borgata, a collaboration between Boyd Gaming and the company then known as MGM Mirage. It opened at 11:50 p.m. on July 2, 2003 with an inaugural roll of the dice on a craps table by actor Stephen Dorff. (Whatever became of him?) Nothing was ever the same. Borgata immediately leapt to the forefront of Atlantic City and grew the market. Over the years, some things have come and gone at the resort, including Boyd’s ownership share (which it invested into growth in other cities) but MGM, now MGM Resorts International, has been a constant.

Lesley Hodges joined Aruze in August 2022 as senior director of marketing, bringing in-depth understanding and extensive experience in global marketing strategies to Aruze as the company expanded international initiatives, and implemented growth strategies across its entire business.

Hodges will design, implement, monitor, and direct the company’s marketing strategies and programs. Lesley brings more than 20 years’ experience in gaming-industry marketing to Aruze and its leadership team.

Lesley, first I want to thank you for taking the time to speak with me. Please tell our readers about yourself and your role at Aruze.

Absolutely, Victor. Thanks so much for having me!  I’m the senior director of marketing for Aruze. While I’m still new to the company, I’m not new to the industry — I’ve had more than 20 years’ experience in marketing and casino gaming.