hello viewers and welcome to the latest episode of the Huddle I'm Las Vegas correspondent Brian Joseph and I'm here today with Laura peny the CEO of the cordelan casino resort hotel in worly Idaho Laura thanks for joining us hi I'm glad to be part of this now for those who aren't familiar with the cordelan casino resort hotel uh it's operated by the cordelan tribe and is one of the largest employers in North Idaho uh please tell us a little bit about the tribe and about your gaming operations um yes I'd love to um so we are going into our 31st month we'll celebrate our 31st anniversary in March and um I'm very proud of our tribe the cordelan tribe our ancestors have done an amazing job as far as taking care of and preserving and protecting our homelands and our our very existence and ironically you know we're we still fighting for those same things our land base our culture our identity and protecting our Sovereign rights um Corin uh Resort Hotel start out as a bingo hall years ago and um we have since grown to a beautiful Resort and uh we have invested greatly into our tribe as well as our community and um it's something that I've been part since day one I've been here since Inception and it's just been amazing to see everything come into fruition as it has who are your clientele or or or to put it another way who comes to the calan casino resort hotel and why um I consider any our Market anywhere within a 300 mile um encompasses anywhere within a 300 mile radius we have Eastern Washington um eastern Montana actually Western Montana and um into Canada and um Eastern Oregon so but our primary Market is Spokane and calan that makes sense come here the people come here they want to have fun they want to escape they want to exper you know have a dynamic gaming experience uh we have many amenities they come here for our amazing circling Raven Golf Club which is rank number one in the state of Idaho by the way and we have a beautiful 15,000 ft Spa we're surrounded by beautiful pine trees it's just surrounded by great Beauty and you can see the Rolling Hills of the Poo we have the mountains the bit mountains in the background so it's just a beautiful facility and we have some great bones and of course we offer our great Welcome Home Service you've mentioned a lot of the the amenities tell us about the the gaming itself uh you size what do you offer sure we have about about 1,300 gaming machines those have been reduced since co co we had around 2,000 and of course you wanted to um have spacing so our machine count has gone down slightly and our Gamers they appreciate kind of more open space they're more comfortable and being in an open area and having their own space to game and so we have as I said about 1300 gaming um video machines we host Bingo on on weekends including Monday and we have 300 hotel rooms we have uh as I said 15,000 Foot Spa and beautiful circl Raven Golf Club and we have about six restaurants and so it's like you know a little um like a little town there's a lot to do like a little Oasis it sounds like yes definitely yeah what's your favorite restaurant we kind of call it like the greatest gate because you know we're 30 minutes from our primary Market Spokan and cordelane and people think think is kind of off on the beaten path but really it's not very far but you do feel as if you know you are you are somewhere special and kind of a Serene so we do offer that Resort um experience my favorite restaurant yeah what's your favorite restaurant you've mentioned six what's your favorite one there um I love the shinook we do have um we just recently introduced some crab legs and I love crab we have some good Dungeness crab in there and of course a good steak and salmon the salmon yes the Salmon's delicious and the service is just you know it's just amazing we have some great servers I I want to mention that we have um an employee it's name's Felix arapa and he's just amazing he just offers you know that warm welcome smile and he always upsells but you know he's just very you know friendly and you know when you walk in it's like you're me you're you know you're greeted by your best friend that's awesome I'm sure I'm sure your customers appreciate that oh yes yes we call we call it um you know originally it's called a Trad what we call traditional tribal Hospitality in that it's a value that we have as a tribe that whenever you come to our homes you know we provide good food warm smile and we want you to come back again and that's what we've incorporated into our business with that what we call traditional tribal Hospitality but um now we call it welcome home so when you come here here I hope that um everyone provides that warm greeting and offers you that welcome home Spirit now you've been with the resort from the very beginning isn't that right yes I started when I was 12 yeah that's that's amazing can you can you tell yeah yeah can can you tell us a little bit about your professional journey and how it led you to where you are today sure you know I I've uh started out before we even got into gaming I was an economic development planner for the truck Tri and was fortunate to jump on a committee to explore whether or not we should get into gaming and you know as I said this was like 31 actually about 33 years ago or so and you know gaming was unfamiliar to here in North Idaho within this region and you know definitely we saw the benefits to to Indian gaming so we came back and said we got to do this and so I got involved and was employed in the casino started out in promotions and just moved up from there and got to see everything come into fruition it's just been amazing it's amazing how time flies but I really do appreciate the jobs that we provide not only to the tribe but to the community and the the revenue that we provide for the tribe to purchase land back within our own reservation uh we also help out different charitable organizations different Community efforts so I'm very proud of the fact that we followed through with our commitment we made a commitment since day one to provide 5% of our net profits to go towards education and to date we followed through with that commitment and as I said I'm just really proud to be part of this effort and just to see the growth and development that we've had and a commitment that we follow through to our to our tribe and the community that's that sounds incredible you obviously have a a deep understanding of of tribal gaming in the United States what do you see as the biggest issues facing that sector today preserving and protecting our sovereignty uh time and time again there's been threats um from all different areas um from online gaming from sports betting from historical horse racing many people have a misinterpretation as far as what sovereignty is and why we're able to provide the gaming that we have basically whatever the state uh conducts as far as gaming the tribes can do can do and that's through the Indian gaming regulatory Act and people get confused there's private organizations private corporations individuals that feel okay we should do gaming why do they get special privileges whereas that's not the case we're not commercial gaming we are more of government gaming who do you view as as leaders in America's tribal gaming sector are there particular individuals or particular tribes that you admire well the seals you know they were conducting gaming before Indian game and reg Act passed and so they kind of set precedents as far as practicing their sovereignty and so I think um definitely uh respect them and I think it's it's important to mention them but I always have a special place in my heart for the choc do the naida tribes they helped us when we first started out in gaming we had no idea how to conduct Bingo high stakes Bingo and the chakas came up and they helped us get started with our Bingo then idas from uh Green Bay Wisconsin we had um work with them as far as setting up our gaming we were uh we started what we call National Indian Lottery which is amazing this is years ago and um they helped out with some of the legal aspects of it and G they um provided some Consulting to help us um with those Endeavors and actually I think that they kind of taught us that you know you it's up to us to practice or SU not to ask to wait and see what we can do but do it it's our Sovereign right and then this is how you know how we're able to do that through our legal basis and so I they inspired inspired and motivated me and they're very Progressive tribes and um we're great Learners and we learn from them just to keep charging ahead for the right reasons and those reasons are to preserve and protect um who we are and for our next Generations to come absolutely I I'm curious I've seen some talk uh that at least some analysts believe that in future years tribal gaming operators will become the top gaming operators in the United States we're already seeing a little bit of that now with the San Manuel operating The Palms in in Vegas and then you mentioned the seals you know they own hard rock do you agree with that assessment that tribal gaming operators are poised to someday become one of if not the dominant gaming operators in America I agree I think that you know as I said we're at 31 years into our operation and there's other tribes who have been gaming you know for quite some time so we've learned how to effectively provide profits to be accountable to be credible we've learned to operate our game and establishments with those Endeavors with those principles but also we've learned that it's so important to take care of our community not just our tribe but our community and so we've been um profound as far as donating and you know we've um we're recognized to um to partner and to work with different groups and organizations and we become very Savvy as far as how to um to not only protect our gaming Adventure our Ventures but also investing and diversifying and doing that through collaboration and partnership with others I I was at g2e this past year and I I caught a tribal gaming panel that talked about the importance of tribal gaming operators hiring members of their own tribe what are your thoughts on that does the the caline tribe have a program to facilitate something like that yes we do and I can attribute to that I'm a Coran Tribal member and proud to say that um we've had three other CEOs who were cordan tribal members with their mbas or with their um master's degrees and uh it's so important I think for us to you know and that's the basis is to why we got into G was to provide jobs for our tribal members um and since then we have broadened that to provide jobs as stated you know we're uh number one if not number two in the state of Idaho as far as employment but it's so important for us to invest and support our tribal members um because they are truly vested and they have the loyalty and um they have um you know there's purpose there's um you investing in their families and they're going to be here and so um I think it's smart to to support and develop our tribal members and so we do have um kind of unofficially we've been doing that but I hired the new training manager and that's one of her High priorities is to make this program official and to have a clear process as to how we're going to do that as far as growth and development to move our employees to be in those higher positions as man managers as directors and CEOs what's the program called um well we have yet to name the program as I said we've unofficially been doing it but yes we it we should have a clever name I agree maybe I mean well welcome home's a clever name you need another clever name to to go with that one it's true it's true we we talked a little bit earlier about uh some of the misperceptions people have about about tribal gaming I think one of those misperceptions is is is the regulatory environment that tribal gaming operators exist under I I think there's this sense this this misconception that essentially tribes manage themselves and that there's no oversight but but that's you know clearly not the case can you describe a little bit of the sort of regulatory oversight at the federal state and local levels that the Cal Lane Casino Resort hotel deals with on a day-to-day basis sure there's we are actually highly regulated um on three different levels um on the federal level we do operate under the Indian game and regulatory act um basically as I said whatever the state um conducts game as in the form of gaming the tribes can do the tribes must negotiate with the state in regards to um a gaming agreement um under igra we do um have the um uh the nationally ending gaming commission and um we report findings Audits and um we are regulated by the gaming commission we also have our own Cor tribal gaming commission and they um help regulate um through our gaming compact that we have a that we have an agreement with the state of Idaho um also um investigating um if need be in regards to certain gaming activities um other amenities as well so there is that oversight we do have um of course we do apply for a liquor license to the state and we're um you know you have to be over 21 to drink out alcohol and we can't have any over starving we Al also do um work within the oan requirements you you talked about the the the tribal gaming commission that that's what you called it the tribal gaming commission corand tribal gaming commission can you can you explain to to listeners that the tribal gaming commission is separate in apart from your your gaming operations and that that there is a wall between those two uh those two entities there is they are employed by the tribe they're not um employed by the casino and they do have a separate board there's a gaming tribal board and um they um they as I said they are employed by the by the tribe and the commission monitors tribal G activity inspects gaming um premises conducts background investigations and audits as I said when they're when deemed necessary so they are totally separate um the gaming the gaming board does have um a manager and um so we work directly with that gaming commission as far as background checks and if they have questions in regards to Audits and so it is a partnership but it is um it's a regulatory role and um that's in place and we have to report um to the gaming commission as well and they they do as well yeah I just wanted to point that out because I think sometimes people assume that you know well it's a tribal gaming operation tribal commission it's the same thing but they're not they're actually separate entities and and while they may work together they do answer to different people yes and then we did sit down with the state as each tribe there's five tribes in Idaho each state each tribe did sit down with the state and negotiate their gaming compact this is pretty much an agreement as to what types of games and you know hours and um that discussion so um and they pretty much um as I said it is an agreement it's a w written agreement M so um there's not much they're not involved in the day-to-day activities or operations the board you mean the board's not invol St oh the state or the board the board is not as well gotcha gotcha before we go H what can we expect from uh the cordan casino resort hotel and the calan tribe in 2024 um I'm very excited um it's been challenging these past few years I've been CEO since October 2019 and I applied for the job uh three other times so I was very excited to get the position you know after you know my due diligence and then smack we get smacked with covid great timing right right like you know why why did I why is this happening but it's just been a roller coaster since then and you know got hit with the economy and you know we had amazing numbers we've had amazing numbers so I'm competing against those my own our own numbers um but what I've learned is that it's so important to communicate it's so important to take care of the employees and they convey that Welcome Home Service um we've learned that all things do learn to that go to that gaming floor that's where you make the money and to do that we have to come out of our silos to work together and so we've learned some important lessons and through that we've had one of one of the most we've had the most profitable years in the history of this property so I'm very optim ISC for this year it's hard work it's challenging the key is to be efficient and to communicate and so we will do that and Prov we have to be competitive so the competition has just gotten Fierce we have um two other local casinos in a different state and it's just very high much more competitive than it ever has and of course you know we're vying for that discretionary dollar you know because everything's open the concerts are out there you have the county fairs we have movie theaters that are open so we're competing for that dollar and so we have to make sure we get across that we do have you know something special to offer in the form of a game and experience and just cool things to do here at the spa and the golf course so we will work hard to um get that message out there and work together to provide that level of customer service and always looking out for our tribe as well as our community so I'm confident in that and we are currently strategizing for the next 5 years um as far as what investments can we make that we will get you know our greatest return on we have a beautiful Lake that we have um really no presence on but I think it behooves us to look into that as well uh we've been open for 30 years so um you know looking into possibly replacing a hotel wing and um an RV park so there's some things that we're looking into to expand but always trying to prioritize which will bring us the greatest Revenue that's exciting you've mentioned the golf course a couple times what's your handicap my handic well okay it's you know since I've been CEO it's gone it's gone up so I'm a 23 I enjoy golf I'm not a burden I've that was my goal was to I should be able to play with anyone and everyone and not be a burden so I can do that I have fun definitely use the tea boxes to my favor and love the camaraderie of golf and we have something special out here because there's no development on on our golf course we have nesting Eagles on hole number 17 wow and it's just beautiful and we have elk we have to worry about some of the elk you know damaging our grains and it's just Majestic it's almost like uh you know going to church because you're out there and it's just um spiritual and that you can just let go and just focus on that white ball and you're there with your friends your family and it's just amazing just to you know get out there I love the sport I love being outside you know and all that we have to offer as far as just being pristine so thanks for asking about that always gives me a good feeling to talk about oh it sounds amazing especially our golf course yeah it sounds it sounds beautiful what's your handicap oh I I I don't want to admit that it's it's way too high I shared my handicap I take it down to 18 and so yeah you're you're much better than I let's put it that way you have to put in the time you know and as CEO it's a little diff more a little more difficult but um I did knock it down a couple you know a couple notches so that's good that's good you know golf you know after Co things just boomed you know golf was just it's like that was a thing to do and we're still maintaining great numbers we have you know record rounds and um you know people are they're still interested you know we still have people com coming in from all over uh the locals come here um but we have people coming from internationally from all over the state and it's pretty exciting that's awesome that's awesome Laura thank you for your time it's it's been a real pleasure speaking with you nice to meet you it's been a pleasure to share all that we have to offer here thank you thank you