In addition , McCarthy has overseen a notable rise of women to director and executive roles at the Sacramento property , which opened in 2019 . Today , fully 44 percent of leadership positions are held by women .
“ It ’ s the highest compliment I can receive to see one of my team members or mentees get promoted or decide on a career path ,” says McCarthy . “ Watching them grow and learn and overcome challenges is such a satisfying feeling , and truly gives meaning to what I do .”
In 2025 , she foresees “ an exciting year for both Hard Rock Sacramento and our tribe , the Enterprise Rancheria . We ’ re in the master-planning stages of a development project for both the casino and over 350 acres adjacent to the resort that will come to life over the next five years .”
According to the company , the project could include a “ festival entertainment district ,” convention space , an indoor water park , and even a rodeo , adding to the estimated $ 2.3 billion in positive impact by Hard Rock operations to Yuba and Sutter counties .
The development ’ s positive impact , “ not only on our business but on the community , will be nothing short of spectacular ,” says McCarthy .
She cites her parents as her first role models . “ They instilled in me core values and principles that I hold dearly . They ’ re the reason I ’ ve had so much success in my life and work .”
She also thanks Hard Rock Fire Mountain President Mark Birtha for his support . “ No one has challenged me more , allowed me to grow , guided me through the tough times and celebrated the wins each step of the way . Mark ’ s passion , compassion , patience and work ethic are truly inspiring .”
Birtha , in return , has called McCarthy a “ hospitality rock star .”
McCarthy ’ s work is “ a constant juggling game with very high stakes . I value every minute spent working to achieve the goals we create on paper . To quote the famous Billie Jean King , ‘ Pressure is a privilege .’ I do not take that for granted .” — Marjorie Preston
Fixing Foxwoods
Jason Guyot President and CEO , Foxwoods Resort Casino
Foxwoods Resort Casino is a story of growth — starting as a small bingo hall in the late 1980s , through the addition of table games in 1992 and finally adding slot machines a year later . The property grew like a weed , adding separate sections of the casino , hotel towers and recently a sportsbook .
The Mashantucket Pequot tribe was able to reward its tribal owners , add topof-the-line tribal services , create a Mashantucket Pequot cultural museum , and provide opportunities for tribal members who wanted to get ahead .
Jason Guyot was one of those tribal members . He started in the HR department at Foxwoods in 2003 , and for the ensuing 20 years served in a variety of positions , mostly in hotel and resort operations . In 2020 when the pandemic hit hard , he was appointed interim president and CEO , replacing the previous CEO , who didn ’ t want to manage the Covid crisis .
Guyot , who is the first tribal member to hold this position , did such a good job navigating the property through the pandemic pitfalls , he got the opportunity to take the next step .
“ I was honored to have the tribal council entrust me with that opportunity on interim basis ,” he says . “ And it went really well , so they asked me to step into the role permanently in 2021 .”
Since then , Guyot hasn ’ t stopped . He reached a deal with the Great Wolf Lodge to add their waterpark facilities to Foxwoods that should be completed this year .
“ The tribe has always wanted to create a waterpark since the early days ,” he explains . “ There were several plans that never came to fruition . We were talking to Great Wolf when the recession struck in 2007 . We put out an RFP a few years ago and the winner was Great Wolf . So we ’ re building it on 14 acres with more than 500 rooms . We ’ ve been attracting 9 million people a year , and we expect this development to bring another million each year .”
Guyot is most proud about an idea to bring in the celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay and his Hell ’ s Kitchen to Foxwoods .
“ I reached out to Gordon Ramsay North America , had some good initial conversations , and then brought the CEO of Gordon Ramsay out to the property in 2021 . And they say timing is everything . It is so true . They had just opened the North American branch and Caesars had a deal with them . It was a oneoff deal , and when I talked to the CEO , they were just starting to look at expanding .
“ So when Gordon Ramsay himself showed up , I laid out the vision of how this Hell ’ s Kitchen would be an anchor for a new section of the property . I really got buy-in from him . He was excited because he had never seen Foxwoods . He didn ’ t know anything like this existed . And I committed to Gordon that we were going to build the best Hell ’ s Kitchen ever .” To cap it off , Ramsay committed to bringing in his highly rated Hell ’ s Kitchen television program . “ We filmed seasons 23 and 24 in a studio here on property . It wasn ’ t hard to convince Fox , Gordon and ITV that we were the right destination to do it . And it went unbelievably well . It ’ s going to be not only a celebration of Gordon ’ s hit show , but really a celebration of all we have to offer here at Foxwoods .” What ’ s next for Foxwoods ? “ We ’ ll never stop expanding and changing and I ’ m so blessed to have a great team to help us develop the next phase ,” says Guyot . — Roger Gros
JANUARY 2025 www . ggbmagazine . com 33