Page 6 - Mississippi/Louisiana Gaming News - Fall, 2023

Editors Note
From call center to GM; and Tunica is now ‘funkalicious’
Official Newsmagazine of the Mississippi Gaming Industry
FALL 2023 Volume XX Issue 3
STAFF
W. Michael Sunderman
Publisher
michael@m2mediacorp.com
Lori Beth Susman
General Manager / Executive Editor
loribeth@m2mediacorp.com
Mary Sunderman
Associate Publisher
mary@m2mediacorp.com
David Grisham
Contributing Editor david@m2mediacorp.com
Amy Chataginer
Business Manager
manager@m2mediacorp.com
Designers
Brian Treadaway
READER SERVICES
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For information on subscribing to Mississippi Gaming News,
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email loribeth@m2mediacorp.com.
Mississippi Gaming News
Phone: (228) 385-7707 Fax: (228) 385-7705 12268 Intraplex Parkway, Gulfport, MS 39503
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Copyright, 2023
Mississippi Gaming News
(MGN) is owned and published by M2 Media Corp., 12268 Intraplex Parkway, Gulfport, MS 39503. MGN is produced in cooperation with the Mississippi Gaming and Hospitality Association. The contents of MGN are copyrighted. All rights are reserved. Reproduction in part or whole without written permission of the publisher is strictly prohibited.
By David Grisham
and Lori Beth Susman
Amanda for seizing that opportunity — not once, but twice.
Amanda has earned many property and corporate-level awards, including the Caesars Excellence in Leadership Award. She has worked in a variety of departments and is now the general manager at Trop Greenville. What an impressive rise through the ranks.
We applaud Caesars Entertainment for their opportunities for employees, but it could be any company really. Employees just have to look for what
is available to them. Read the signs
in the EDR, talk with those in human resources, seek out mentors and those who have the jobs you want to have. There are ways to really make the most of your casino career no matter which department you start in. I will also add, read the Five Minutes With... feature
in this magazine. See what the GMs learned along their way to the top.
This brings to mind another stellar general manager, Derrius Morris at Bally’s Vicksburg. Derrius started his casino career about 20 years ago as
a security officer. Realizing he had an interest in how slot machines work,
he transferred to the slot department. And by working hard, looking ahead, and finding opportunities, he worked his way up to leadership roles in gaming operations before being named GM.
Derrius tells people the gaming industry is one of the only industries that entry-level employees can gain experience to have a full and rewarding career.
Amanda’s promotion is also special for another reason. Did you read the cover story in the summer issue of Mississippi Gaming News — all about the diversity found in Vicksburg’s four casinos? Across the state the number of women in the top spot is growing, with female GMs in Tunica and along the Gulf Coast. Vicksburg boasts three female GMs. Now Greenville has one, as well. That’s pretty cool in an industry that has been (and in some areas continues to be) male dominated.
• • •
When Guy Fieri’s Tunica Kitchen + Bar
Every gaming industry promotion and new hire we write about is special. But, honestly, some have more meaning and are truly notable. In this case, we are talking about the promotion of Amanda Hansen to general manager at Trop Casino in Greenville. Amanda is a true gaming industry
success story.
A native of the
Mississippi
Gulf Coast,
she started at
Harrah’s more
than 20 years
ago, back when
the properties
were known as
Grand Casinos.
She worked in
the corporate
office in Gulfport
answering telephones and making hotel reservations. She moved to Grand Gulfport in
accounting and
then worked in
internal audit
between both
Gulfport and
Biloxi properties.
She continued
working and,
taking advantage
of the company’s
tuition
reimbursement
program,
attended college and earned her first degree from the University of Southern Mississippi. But she didn’t stop there. Amanda remained with the company, working in the accounting departments at properties in Iowa, Missouri and Louisiana, settling back on the Gulf Coast at Harrah’s when the property reopened after Hurricane Katrina. And, in that time, again seeing the benefit of the company’s tuition reimbursement program, she earned her MBA from William Carey University. Kudos to
David Grisham
Lori Beth Susman
6 MISSISSIPPI GAMING NEWS FALL 2023