22

CAPITAL
Marc W/eiswasser
WHAT'S IN A 'ITlfl,E?
FINANCE DEPARTMENT
Depending on which casino
CEO you ask, the Finance
department may be the most
imporrant departmental
nmC(ion within the property.
Not only (or the obvious rea-
sons such as accounts receiv-
able/payable. payroll, cash iec
cages running smoothly,
safeguarding of assets, etc, but also for regulatory
compliance and reponing. road shows to raise
mone)" investments and diversification of assets.
To get a better insight into chis area I reached Ollt to
Tjeerd Brink, Vi ce President of Finance, and (FO
at Pechanga Resort & C'lSino. Tjeerd is a seasoned
casino vetenm with more chan 4 years at Pechanga,
is a CPA, and has also worked for Harmh's St. Louis,
The Palms and dlt Hard Rock casinos in las Vegas,
Gtes.'u'S \'(forld, and the Street Experience in down-
rown las Vegas. He has some excellent information
to share, and I thank him for his cime:
G&L: Tell lIS ..'loom your propert)'.
TB: Pech.mga Resort & Casino is ;'tn AAA Pour
Diamond property and the htrgesc gaming facility
west of the Mississippi. Pech;'tnga. is located in
Temecula, which is about an hour southe1SC of los
Angeles ;'tncl north of downtown &\11 Diego, and offers
the following amenities:
200,000+ sq. fe. Olsino floor, 28,300 sq. ft . high-
limit are-.l, 3,()(X)+ Class HI sloe machines, 130+ table
games, 54 poker rabies, 517 hoeel rooms including 64
suites, \Vorld Class Journey at Pf(hanga GotfCoutSe,
full-service Sp3 & Fitness Cemer, 53,()(X) sq. ft. indoor
meeting space, Eight full-service restaurants includ-
ing a 12,000+ sq. (c. bullet and a (000 court, Southern
C-ilifomia's largE'Sc nigluclubSiik, a 270-seac Con){'(I)'
Club, RV Resort with fuji hook-ups, a Gas
Shltion, a 1,200-seat Showroom and a 4,000 sq. fc.
C'looret Lounge.
G&L: Tell liS abom the Organizational Chart and
some of the responsibilities of each department
head.
GAMING & LEISURE
TB: At Pechang.l we have a General Manager and
10 Vice Presidents. The reports
to the Pechanga Development Corpomtion, which
is a five member boord of elected members of the
Pechanga Tribe. All operational functions report
up through one of rhe Vice Presidents:
Slots
'fable Games (includes Poker)
Food and Beverage
Harel Operations (includes Spa and GolO
Marketing (includes Entertainment
and Buss ing program)
Information Technology
Talent Management I Human Resources
Public s.'l(ety I Security
Facilities
Finance
G&L: \'(Ih;'tt are the main diflerences in responsi-
bilities between a CFO and n Vice President of
Finance?
TB: TIlis really depends on the company or property.
Most single property operations ha.\'e one top finance
peoon, and the title mn be Vice President of Finance,
alief Financial Onicer, or both. At Pechanga. we use
the ritle of ''Vice President of Finance and CPO".
Addition.1Iiy, we ha\'e a Director of Finance and a
Controller. In addition co the Director of Finance, the
CFO's direct reports include the Director of Planning
and Analysis, rhe DireaorofC'lgeand Credit, and the
Director of Purchasing. 'nlC Director of Finance o\'er-
setS 5eveml other finance areas including: RC\'enue
Audit, Regulacory Compliance, Count Room,
Inventory Control,
Payroll, and
Accollncing. At other
comfXll1ies, the Director
of Finance dmies
d&ribed above may be
at a Vice President level.
brger, multi-prop-
ert)' companies may
have a Corpomte CFO
and Several Vice
SPRING 2011
Presidents of Finance at the property level. It real-
ly depends on the size of the enterprise and their
use of tides. Recall 20 years ago every person
working in a bank W;\S a "Vice President" of some-
thing. These days, most companies, including
banks. use the Vice President tides much less fre-
quently.
G&L: Describe a cypiml day in )'OUf vo'Ork schedule.
TB: I genemlly arriw on pfOIX'rcy between 8:00 and
8:30,Ull. I usually smrt my day reviewing shift rer:t)rts
from se\'{'ml dClXlrtlllencs, which quickly provides
derails if we h.1d anything unusual happen the night
before. I also gee a geneml ide., if the volumes were
greater or less than expected, and if we had any serv-
ice issues. I also review cash acrivicy from the day
before to ensure we have proper Glsh levels in our
aCCOU1l[S and on the casino floor. By 9:00.Ull, the day
is usually kicked inca gear,and we could re working
on anything. Some cbys are fiUed with meetings, bach
with Vice Presidents o( other defXlrtmems or mem-
bers of the Finance Team.
Depending on the enlendar, we may be working on a
momh end close, reviewing dmfi: financial smtements,
or reviewing other financial summaries. We look at
our business from many sides and are always looking
for \Ya}'S to improve our operations. Like most people,
I have a li st of projects thOle need. my attention, and I
will atmck items on the list between meetings and
other Un.1UOOlced time periods that comes up during
the day. On some days, I make grelt progress on m}'
project list, and other days, I'm lucky if I gec to anr-
thing on it. The (un IXl.rt:s of my job and this business
702.547.4545
are thar no days are eyer the same and I continue ( 0
learn new things every d'ly.
G&L: \'\fhar are some of rom (OP deIXl-rtmenml prior-
ities, <lod ch .. 'll1enges?
TB: Like any Fill.1nce Department, my cop priority is
always to PrtlX\re accurate financial scmemems and
rtlXlrts. Every company needs nccumre financial dam
to make sound business decisions. J am a stickler for
demil s, and I demand ocmmcy from my staff. ReportS
must be checked before "hining send" on emails - my
pet
Proper internal controls are also a major priority (or
my deJXl.rtments. \'V'e are very comrol oriented, and
we work closely with the Pedmnga G.lming
Commission to COSll' our controls procea the assets
of the Pechanga Tribe and comply with our
Minimum I merna! Control Smndmcls. \Ve ha\'c a
large Count Room operation and fi\'e GlShier Gl.ges at
Pechanga, and it is (ririe-a} we follow procedures.
Proper procedures art' also a big ke), (0 opemring an
effective purchnsing program.
I am also ver)' involved in our insumnce progmms.
\V/e have a great fuciliry, bllt weare locmed in rhe mid-
cUe of Southern C'lIifomias earthquake roWlley. W'e
WHAT' S IN A TITLE? FINANCE DEPARTMENT
buy large insllmnce JX>licies to prorea Ixxh rhe fucili-
ry and rhe businBS income in Q\S(' of It large loss.
G&L: Has rhe slowdown in the onomy noticeably
ruTeaed }'our delxutlllem?
TB: Like mosr casinos we were affected by rhe ec"
nomic Cl."CBSion, but we were not afieaed as much as
most. \V/e managed the expense side of our business
very weU gi\'ell the circuffiSr.UlCcs, which kept our
fi nMCial condition scrong. \V/e are still a very busy
rnsino, and we are seeing yror over )'em growth. \'(fe
h.'we less di rect rompetieion in Souchem California
than properties in bs Vegas, and \\'e have flO( had
large increases of supply in California.
G&l: \V/here do )'ou see the fumre of the indusuy
going?
Til: I believe the industry as a whole has some
more tough years ahead. L'\S Vegas has obviously
overbuilt, and it will take a long dme for demand
co catch up with supply. Most states are looking
co gaming for tax revenue hel p, and we will con-
tinue to see new casinos built-in new markets. I
think this will continue to hurt L-ls Vegas and
Atlantic City, as there are man)' more choices than
there were 10 )'ears ago. In mnrkets where growth
is limited (li ke Southern C.'liifornin). casinos
should recover laseer.
Despite the recem extension of the Bush t.1X breaks, I
share the concerns of m."U1}' that most stace govrrn-
ments and the Feder.u b'O\,emment are spending more
ehey mn alford. Our home stme orC.-uifomi a, for
insmnce, fuees :\ $28 billion budgct deficit and
Brown h,, 1S already himed at dm-
conian budget cuts. TIlest will likely lead to mx
increases, which affect the disposable income of our
C\lstomers. \'(fe are overdue for a period of$5 per bral-
Ion gas prices, and the real estate reression is far from
over in many regions, especiall}' c.'li ifomia. Most pe0-
ple who still own homes have lost sllbsC"Jmiai equity,
and they cannot borrow against their homes like they
used co. ntis is probably a positive (or am society, as
I believe JX'OPle need tos.'l\'e for minyd.1.YS. On the fl ip
side, for the gaming business, thcse fo\Ctors are not pas-
ici\'e growth dri \'fcs. I have f\O{ even mentioned
Imernet g.mling. bllt that's a different Story ...
Marc \VeislI'tlSser is MaNaging Melllber of
CftS i 1l0Rar" i COlli, (III Exec" / h Ie
RecrtJit/ug firm for tbe gmll/llg & hospilality
illdllSt,J" He ("(l1J be reflcbed (II 702-798-
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