Palms GM: 'We're not gouging our customers' amid Vegas tourism decline

What has the transition to GM been like over the first two months?

I'm very humbled and happy to be here. It's a great experience, as you mentioned. It's only been a month, so I'm still trying to continue to move things forward. I did start here back in 2001 before leaving in 2005 to continue my career, but I just came back about four years ago, so I'm very happy to be back with The Palms.

Can you speak on the GM role from both a day-to-day and general perspective?

High level, I'm responsible for the entire property. Everything here at Palms and over at Palms Place, all the gaming, non-gaming, finance and human resources, everything in the building. But, really, I think my primary job is to think long-term about what the strategy for the property is going to look like in the future. I spend a lot of my day strategizing about what we're going to do for 2026, 2027 and beyond, but also making sure that we've got everything running smoothly here day-to-day.

Having been part of the founding team in 2001 prior to rejoining a few years ago, how did you notice the property expand over that time?

Gosh, the property when I was here back in 2001 and left in 2005, the fantasy tower was just being built, you think about the venues that were here then like Rain, Little Buddha, Gardunos, I mean the property is nowhere near what it was then. It's changed quite a bit, but I think for the better. We have the most amazing suites in all of Las Vegas, the Pearl Theater didn't exist when I was here and the slot floor itself looks completely different.

We've made a lot of changes here, and it looks very different, but I'm excited for what it looks like today, and I'm even more excited about what it's going to look like in the future.

Given the recent tourism decline witnessed in Las Vegas, what type of offerings can The Palms utilize to reduce potential consumer loss?

We haven't really seen that much of a downturn as opposed to what you read in the papers and I think it's because we provide value here. And that value doesn't mean cheap, it doesn't mean inexpensive. Value means you're going to come here and get what you pay for. As an example, the buffet we were walking by earlier today, nobody else offers an all-you-can-eat lobster buffet for under $80, so there's value there, and we have thousands of people a day that come here just for the buffet.

From the locals' perspective, we do a cabana promotion every summer just to give back to our local guests and it drives a lot of business for us. The fact that we've got $5 blackjack, good odds with our tables, it really helps people understand if they want to get something for their money, we can provide that for them.

Would there be possible advantages to declines in visitation witnessed on the Strip and Downtown for The Palms?

Yeah, you can read it in the newspapers, right? People don't want to pay $15 for a bottle of water on the Strip. They'd rather use that money to have an experience. We're not gouging our customers and taking advantage of them. We're providing a good product at the right price, and again, I'll always say I'm a hospitality guy. It's really about the service. We recognize our guests and they have a good time when they come here.

And if you think about our location, I would argue you can get to Allegiant Stadium, T-Mobile Arena or The Sphere just as easily here as if you're staying on the north end of the Strip for example. It even takes you longer to get from the north end of the Strip to one of those venues than where we are from a location perspective. We've seen a great increase in visitation with those venues and we work hard to promote the fact we're just a hop, skip and a jump away.

But I would also say it's foolish not to watch (Strip and Downtown properties), because there are a massive amount of rooms. It's still a massive amount of people, and of course we want to ensure they know The Palms exists. Although we don't look at them as our competition in the same fashion as we do locals properties, we still pay plenty of attention.

How does The Palms consistently promote Tribal sovereignty and translate its success to the Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation?

This is the first Tribal property I've ever worked for, and I have to tell you, it's been the best experience I've ever had in my very long career. I remember interviewing with the Tribe and considering coming over here from Downtown, what stuck with me most was their values and beliefs were aligned with my own personal values and what I believe in as a human being and as a family man.

Over the last four years, we've done a really good job of infusing that Tribal culture here with artwork around the property. We have one of our Tribal elders who comes out once a quarter and holds fireside chats with our employees. She'll even do a show-and-tell with basket weaving, slippers and art. It's really amazing to understand where the Tribe came from and where they are now, so we take that very seriously here and it's an amazing culture.

With your previous experience in Las Vegas, how does operating a Tribal-owned casino differentiate from that of the Strip or Downtown?

There's just so many differences here, but it really starts with the culture and the backbone of who we are as people and how we treat our employees. I consider myself a servant leader. I'm here to provide for the rest of the property and ensure everybody has the tools they need to do their job. I've worked at different properties and seen that not be the case, so that's the starting point from my perspective. And because we're a little bit smaller, we're also more nimble, which means we can operate in both an on- and off-Strip mentality to really take care of our local customers.

The other thing I believe is very important to our success is The Palms' sister property in San Bernardino, Yaamava' Resort & Casino, and the fact we're able to share a database and our customers with them. A lot of the customers who've been going down to San Bernardino for the last 15-20 years are now coming to Las Vegas and staying with us.

What type of promotions or integrations does The Palms offer to form a deeper connection with the Las Vegas community?

We do a lot of marketing with many different entities, including quite a bit with the Vegas Golden Knights. The thing I'm the most proud of, however, is the philanthropy we do that's not necessarily described as traditional marketing. We've given over $1.2m to non-profits just this year and more than $2m annually over the past four years, which is a really big deal coming into Las Vegas. The Tribe took it very seriously and I'm proud to be a part of that.

Have you noticed a shift in Las Vegas of promoting entertainment over gaming-related amenities in recent years?

I think different properties have different strategies, and there have been some definite ebbs and flows lately. Back in the day it was heavily focused on gaming, then it became all about nightlife and nightclubs, which they've even tried here at one point. Now it's all about balance. You've got to have a balance of gaming, entertainment, food and beverage and hotels. But at the end of the day it also comes back to the service being provided, and that's what we do well here.

What offerings can consumers expect from The Palms heading into 2026, especially as it prepares to celebrate its 25th anniversary since opening?

We've got a few things up our sleeves for next year that we can't announce quite yet, but we're definitely working on some things. It'll also be continuing to ensure we have the best slot products, table games, restaurants and service in Las Vegas. I can promise you that's going to be our staple. It comes from our staff and making sure they love it here so they can go out and provide excellent service to our customers.