People Make the Place

As several Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort Hotel team members and longtime guests can attest, any enterprise is only as good as its ingredients

Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort Hotel team member FRANCIS DAVISON, the casino floor maintenance manager, began work at the casino in 2007. A “proud Coeur d’Alene Tribal member,” Davison says he loves coming to work as doing so, “gives me purpose and drive — I try to get better every day.” Davison adds that coming through the pandemic was stressful, yet also provided some of his most uplifting moments. “We were the first casino to reopen in the world, and all eyes were on us. We were on the front line, along with housekeeping. We came together as a team, and that comes from having strong tribal and casino leaders and taking pride in our work.”

Longtime Guests

Marketing project and content manager DEB SHAW thought she was just making a pitstop in North Idaho when she started at Coeur d’Alene Casino back in 2008. Having lived in Minnesota, Seattle and Los Angeles, she was biding her time until she found her next inspiration. “But I fell in love with the workplace and area. I didn’t think I’d stay, but I’m glad I did.” Shaw says career growth potential, great people to work with and a creative job that’s never boring combine to make her professional experience fulfilling.

Gift shop manager CANDI ABRAHAM has worked at Coeur d’Alene Casino for 30 years and describes the casino resort staff and her gift shop team as productive, passionate, accountable, reliable and dedicated to the mission. “We’ve had to fight for our place from the beginning, and we stick together,” she says. “We share our revenue with the surrounding communities because that’s the way we learned to be. I am a proud Native American and proud to be Schitsu’umsh, born and raised on this reservation.” 

SUZIE B. and her husband make frequent one- or two-night stays at the casino resort down from their home in Coeur d’Alene. Though her husband doesn’t game, they both value their experiences. “He enjoys the rooms with the nice views, and he loves the live bands on weekends. While he’s doing that, I get to gamble, so it’s really the best of both worlds. And we both love the spa and the restaurants, especially the Chinook Steakhouse. That place is amazing. It’s a really warm, family-like vibe that you don’t get at any other casino.”

DEB L. says he’s been playing bingo at Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort Hotel for 30 years. “I love playing bingo, and 30 years ago it was the only place to play. I haven’t stopped going,” says the Worley resident. “The expansions they’ve done have been amazing. It’s really been a blessing for the Coeur d’Alene Tribe and for the entire region because of the jobs it has created and the funds that have gone back to the community.”

STAN H., a retired WSU professor who lives in Spokane Valley, says he’s been going to the Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort Hotel ever since it was a “tiny stone building with just a bingo hall… It’s been amazing to see the place get bigger and bigger. It’s always nice to go somewhere where you know everyone and everyone knows you. I love the fact that the casino has provided so many jobs and given so much back to the community and to education, especially with me being a former teacher. The tribe is very community-based. I think that’s terrific and wish the rest of the world could be like that.” 