Thunder Valley Casino Resort

270,000 square feet of gaming space, including 3,500 slot machines, 100 table games, a bingo room that accommodates 800 guests with dymanic giveaways, our poker room that ranks amongst the best in the country, with guaranteed prize pools exceeding $1 million, 18 restaurants and bars, a 17-story luxury hotel with 408 rooms and suites, an expansive outdoor pool with private cabañas, poolside bar, a luxurious spa, and our most recent addition – the $100M stateof-the-art entertainment facility called “The Venue.” It consists of 150,000 square feet that accommodate seating for 4,500 guests. The sound and acoustics are spectacular.

I have the distinct pleasure of serving at the helm of a truly dynamic, guest-service-focused team of dedicated team members who create memorable experiences on a daily basis.

Please tell us about the newest leadership appointments at the Thunder Valley Casino Resort and in which roles they now serve at the property. The United Auburn Indian Community and Thunder Valley Casino Resort leadership team allocates time and resources to developing their team members, and in preparing them for promotional opportunities that become available for advancement and career development. I am delighted to share that, with a couple of recent key executives retiring after long tenures, not only in the gaming industry but at Thunder Valley, their positions were filled with internal candidates who are knowledgeable, committed, driven and passionate, and embrace the culture of inclusion and succession planning.

Their ascension in the leadership ranks was a seamless transition and enabled our team members to witness that commitment to the Thunder Valley Casino Resort team, and to its goals and objectives, affords promotional opportunities.

How do you see the Thunder Valley Casino positioned in the current and future gaming market?

The United Auburn Indian Community and the leadership team continually analyze the local markets and trends, actively soliciting input from our guests and team members, and conducting in-depth research to support future growth. This is incorporated into what is shared in our master plan for the property. This includes a full scope of multidisciplinary services and amenities, mixed-use developments, and leisure- related assets, leading to increased visitation. In June 2023, we will celebrate our 20-year anniversary, and look to the future with great excitement as we look to add to the amenities that we currently offer on the 190-acre site of contiguous land owned by UAIC.

How much of a difference is there between the Northern California tribal gaming market and Southern California?

While I have never had the opportunity to work in Southern California, I know that we share many similarities and commonalities. There are routine conference calls whereby general managers from Northern and Southern California are invited to participate, to share what is transpiring at their respective properties. This was incredibly helpful during the times of Covid, as we were able to share best practices and adopt health-and-safety protocols as a collective group, working collaboratively. That aided our industry in safeguarding our guests, team members and communities at large.

Another example of positive outcomes are from strategic dialogue, as the GMs shared many initiatives that could be considered when attempting to recruit and fill many of the open positions within our organizations—once we were approved to resume gaming operations after the shutdown due to Covid. Labor and supply chain challenges were not unique to any specific region or business, so sharing our insights was very beneficial. The interpersonal relationships forged in this way are a valued asset, and my fellow colleagues at the helm of their properties are some of the finest men and women in the industry.

And how big is the difference between Northern California gaming and Las Vegas? Or Reno? Every region is different, while sharing similarities. For example, during the winter months Reno will often encounter challenges with inclement weather, resulting in road closures that have a negative impact on business operations. Our property is located in a part of California that does not experience issues due to snow and ice. When the aforementioned does occur, we often experience an increase in business.

Las Vegas is continuing to differentiate the amenities they offer to their guests via entertainment, sporting events, large-scale conventions, an incredibly large inventory of hotel room product, the Formula One races that are upcoming, etc. Our master plan for the next five to 15 years incorporates the diversity of amenities that will appeal to our current guests and attract new consumers from Placer County outside of gaming operations. The diversification of our product offerings will enable us to maintain our positioning in Northern California.

Thunder Valley Casino Resort is in Lincoln, in Northern California, and is also positioned near Sacramento and San Francisco. Are these the primary markets for visitors to the Thunder Valley Casino Resort? What are the most prominent demographics in these markets?

About 70 percent of our guests reside within a 30mile radius of the property. Both Sacramento and San Francisco are dominant markets for us. Our guests have options as to where they would like to spend their discretionary income, thus the reason we continually add to the offerings that span age and demographics. We have a significant amount of our Asian guests who travel from San José and San Francisco. We are the title sponsor of the Ms. Chinatown USA Pageant & Coronation Ball, held annually in San Francisco, as well as the title float that hosts the newly crowned court and Ms. Chinatown winner for the Chinatown Parade.

What is the governance of the Thunder Valley Casino Resort?

The reporting structure in place is that I report to the Board of Directors, who are elected members of the United Auburn Indian Community. The aforementioned members are proactive, supportive, and align to support the initiatives presented that will provide growth and financial sustainability for their membership.

Have there been any operational-perspective changes – or any significant shifts in casino operations – at your property since the pandemic? Meaning other than the naturally required changes to general operations.

Covid presented some very unique challenges for everyone. During the closure of 79 days we faced uncertainty while taking time to reevaluate every facet of our business model. We are so profoundly proud of all our teams, because as we initially resumed business operations we were significantly understaffed while managing huge demand. We, like every other business, needed to implement health and safety protocols to insure the safety of our team members, our guests and our community. The best practices that we committed to performing were often repetitive and routine in nature, but necessary nonetheless. Our teams performed them willingly and with a commitment that was unsurpassed.

We analyzed every aspect of our business model and made some decisions to not resume several of our offerings that we had prior to Covid, such as the buffet. We just received our AAA Four Diamond recognition for the 11th straight year, and many of the testing standards that were implemented during Covid still exist today and focus on high touch-point cleanliness for safety reasons. These protocols will most likely remain in place for the foreseeable future.