Having graduated from Penn at the height of the
economic downturn in 2008, Lea did not
originally plan on moving back to Las Vegas postcollege, but she eventually made the move to
Caesars and then IGT (International Game
Technology), where she developed her
understanding of how large gaming corporations
really worked.
Many of the cutting-edge casino concepts that Lea
worked on haven’t fully come to fruition, ranging
from the integrated player universe to cloud
technology, but she had the opportunity to learn
why technology in gaming can be such a
challenge. "The casino space was where I learned
the complexity of bringing new technology to
market.” Lea says. In her move from an
established company like IGT to
more of a startup at Ultimate
Gaming, she was able to gain
additional exposure to online
gaming. And while individual
casinos, as well as, Vegas as a
whole are deeply entrenched in
profits via traditional gaming,
they are also seeing a shrinking
majority of its revenue.
gaming industry hasn’t tapped into yet, and that
customers would love. That’s what my next
venture is all about.”
Although her vision is ripe, the transition has been
a bit crazy, as expected. “This is an exciting and
nerve challenging time while we are balancing
work with clients and working to build our story
and product for investors and early partners,” she
says. “It’s up to me to dedicate and prioritize my
startup work alongside client demands. I’ve tried
every productivity system in the book.”
“People make up your business, every ounce of it.
From the casino floor to your shops, restaurants
and rooms, everyone counts and everyone matters.
In my last startup environment, I saw how
people’s personalities and past experiences
permeated into the business to
create not only the process and
foundation, but also all the culture
that comes with it. While that is an
exciting prospect, it is a daunting
prospect, that without the right
direction, enthusiasm, or special
sauce (aka TLC) the workplace can
become something entirely
different than intended. While you
are trying to perhaps create
something new, you instead drag in and,
honestly, just integrate the old. And that can touch
every aspect of your business – innovation,
culture, efficiency, and more – and can be very
dangerous for a budding company.”
“This is an
exciting and
nerve
challenging
Tying those experiences together,
Lea's niche is in the digital marketing sphere for
gaming. She says, "The most successful traction
[for casinos and digital marketing] has been with
casino mobil