GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 28 - April 2014

What’s your preferred method of com- munication with affiliate managers? Do you like to talk on the phone, by e-mail or via Skype? We typically use Skype for regular communication and e-mail in be- tween. Thisworkswell. What prompted you to join the GPWA? How has it helped you? I heard good things about the GPWA so decided to join. Unfortunately I probably haven’t taken full advantage of the benefits of membershipyet. You’re one of our many “lurkers”; you’ve beenamember foraboutayearandahalf, but have never posted on the message boards. Is there any reason why? If I ever feel that there is an opportunity to contribute to community sites, I typically do. However, I am typically a lurker because I am usually on a mission to obtain information and therefore don’t come across as many opportunities to post anything. Even on Yelp, I have been visiting the site almost daily now for about three years, but have only posted maybe two reviews. How does running your own forum site make you think about the other online forumsyouvisit? It almostmakesme feel guilty for not posting more frequently, but at the same time makes me realize that I am among the larger population of lurkers. What do you like about the industry? I love the adrenaline and excitement among players in the gaming industry, along with the innovative technology, architectureandvisualdesigninvestments by theproperties. If you could change one thing about the industry, what would it be and why? I really can’t thinkof anything that Iwould change, other than possibly some of the people whom it historically attracted, which has had a negative impact on the industry’s reputation. What do your family and friends think of your work as an affiliate? They probably all think Iwork toohard. Do yougambleonline? If so, what do you play? I used to play a lot of online poker, but nowplaymuchmore infrequently. How long do you give yourself for an- sweringe-mail?What e-mail tipscanyou offer? I typically respond to all of my e- mail in bulk, in the evenings. During the days, thee-mail stacksup faster than I can respond. My recommendation is that if it takes longer thanfiveminutes to respond, wait until you can respond to many simultaneously. If you can respond in less than fiveminutes, try to get it out of the way. Of course, this also depends on how time-sensitive a response is. How do you manage your “to-do” lists? Do you use any special software to help you out? I live by my calendar, where I keep a running to-do list and constant reminders about things. I used to be able to track everything without organized lists, but my number of to-dos has now increased to an insurmountable level. How much time do you devote to SEO and/or social networking inorder todrive more traffic to your sites? These are both abigpart ofmybusiness, sowegive a lot of time and attention toboth. What’s themost difficult thing about run- ning your sites? Hiring good employees. Las Vegas has been a HUGE challenge compared tomy last company in the San Francisco BayArea, where I had a much higher success ratewithhires. What’s the best thing about running your sites? Doingwhat I love todo, andbeing able tomake an impact and add value to an industry that I love. What do you do to stay in shape – both physically andmentally? Mentally, I love challengingmyselfwithvariousaspectsof problem-solving and skill-oriented games. Physically, I try to visit the gym on a regular schedule, but lately have had difficulty planning my time accordingly. My favorite exercise is yoga, outside of what little exercise that golf offers. If someone were visiting you, what’s the one place you’d definitely take them to see? I would take them to see the Las Vegas Strip, and some of the huge casino properties.No city in theworld compares to Las Vegas, so it’s really a unique experience to see the sizeand scopeof the bigVegas casinoproperties. When you need to get as far away from work as possible, where do you go? My two favorite escapes are visiting my family inHouston, andwhen Idon’t have asmuch time, playinggolf. What’s your favorite vacation spot? My favorite vacation spot is about eight miles from my house, the Las Vegas Strip! Aside from that, I love beaches, snowboard trips and exploring new countries with cultures very different fromwhatwehave in theU.S. What’s your all-time favorite movie? Casino , and I probably don’t need to explainwhy. If you could invite any five people, living or dead, to dinner, who would they be? I would love to invite family members from several generations ago, just to learnmore about my roots andwhat my ancestorswere like. What are three things that nobodyknows about you? I’m not sure I can share this, as there is probably a reason that nobody knows! 61 GPWAAffiliate InterviewSeries