Most casino marketers know how to run a campaign, fill an event, and get the email out the door. Fewer feel ready for the question that decides whether they advance: can you lead?
That’s the conversation host Julia Carcamo had with Loren Gill, Founder and CEO of LD2G Enterprises and a gaming executive whose career runs from the opening team at Harrah’s New Orleans to the CEO at one of the most successful tribal operations in the country. The jumping-off point was an article from the LD2G team — Leadership Development Starts Before the Title — and the timing is right, because so many marketers are trying to figure out how to grow beyond promotions and become real business leaders.
TL;DR:
Casino marketers who want to lead don’t have to wait for a promotion to start. In this Drivetime Marketing episode, Loren Gill, founder and CEO of LD2G Enterprises and a 25-year gaming and hospitality executive, lays out how leadership is built before the title arrives: find a mentor who teaches you and a sponsor who represents you when you’re not in the room, learn to read culture through guest-facing touchpoints, hire for fit over paper, and stop launching customer service programs before fixing the foundation. The throughline: culture starts at the top and shows up everywhere, and the marketers who learn to see it are the ones who get promoted.
Here’s the practical version of how to do it.
Leadership development starts before the title
Loren’s core belief is simple: the work of becoming a leader happens long before anyone hands you the role. Culture, he says, almost always starts at the top — at the board, the CEO, or property leadership — and then permeates everything. “Even when you’re not in the room, that becomes how people act and react and behave.”
For a marketer, that’s a useful lens. You don’t need a director’s title to start noticing how decisions get made, how handoffs work between departments, and where the gaps are. The marketers who pay attention to those things are the ones who are ready when the title comes.
“Even when you’re not in the room, that becomes how people act and react and behave.”
Every great leader needs a mentor and a sponsor (they’re not the same)
This was the most actionable idea in the episode, and it’s the one to remember.
A mentor teaches you. They coach you, give you honest feedback, and help you think through problems. Crucially, Loren says your mentor usually shouldn’t be your boss — because you need to be able to say, “I’m thinking about this and I’m worried I’ll screw it up,” without it affecting your review.
A sponsor represents you when you’re not in the room. A sponsor is the person who says, “We’ve got a marketing manager who’s doing great — let’s get her into a leadership program,” or “Her people skills are so strong we should consider moving her into operations.” A sponsor opens doors you can’t see.
If you’re serious about a path to director or VP, the move isn’t just to work harder. It’s to deliberately build both relationships.
“A mentor teaches you. A sponsor is someone in the room representing you when you’re not there.”
How to read a casino’s culture in one walk
Before Loren ever sat down to interview a senior candidate, he’d fly in early and walk their property unannounced. Sunday recon, Tuesday dinner. He wanted to see the operation as a guest sees it because, as he puts it, “you are either the creator of that culture, good or bad, or you haven’t done anything to change it or fix it.”
The tells are at the guest-facing touchpoints. Sign up at the player’s club as a brand-new guest. Does anyone invite you back, or do they hand you $20 in free play and forget you exist? Ask a slot attendant where the restroom is. Do they point, or do they walk you there? Hit the player’s club, then slots, then F&B. If all three experiences are bad, that’s a telltale sign that leadership is challenged. One bad interaction is noise. A pattern is culture.
One bad interaction is noise. A pattern is culture.
This is a skill any marketer can practice now — on their own property and on the competitor’s.
Hire for fit, not for paper
Loren has hired hundreds of leaders, and he’s watched CEOs hire people who “look the part on paper” and turn out to be destructive to the organization. His fix is a chart.
He gives a candidate the organization’s top 10 needs and asks two things: rank yourself 1–10 on each, then force-rank those ten needs against each other. The force-rank is the magic. People will happily claim they’re great at everything until they have to choose. When a marketer says, “I’m great at advertising, social, and promotions,” but the role needs a tactical technician, that gap surfaces fast.
“Functional skills can be taught or coached up. But if you’re a misfit, those technical pieces go away.”
The reframe matters: functional skills can be taught, coached, or learned. A cultural misfit can’t. So, Loren screens first for fit and for how someone will show up in a crisis — “how will you help everybody succeed and win?” — and treats the technical checklist as the part you can build later.
Why guest service training is the wrong place to start
Here’s a moment every marketer should sit with. Someone suggests, “We should put together a customer service training.” Loren’s answer: not yet.
Most operators will tell you their service is the best in the market. Loren’s response is blunt: he was just there two nights, spent a couple of hundred dollars, and nobody talked to him or brought him a drink. A training program doesn’t fix that. You don’t start with a program. You start with a shared commitment to where the business is going.
The right sequence: define the goal — say, grow revenue by X and profit by Y — then ask what education, coaching, and tools your team needs to get there. Guest service training should be in alignment with those numbers, and it’s everyone’s job, not just marketing’s. Build the foundation first; the program is a tool, not a cure.
EQ and IQ: you need both
Julia asked the EQ-versus-IQ question, and Loren didn’t pick. “We need both.” Capability and intelligence get you considered. Emotional intelligence — being kind, looking out for colleagues, making people feel safe and secure — is what makes the team actually perform. His advice for anyone building a career: “Be really strong at what you do… but at the end of the day, just be kind.”
“Be really strong at what you do… but at the end of the day, just be kind.”
Key Takeaways
- Leadership development starts before the title. The people who advance are reading culture, building relationships, and thinking like leaders long before the org chart catches up.
- A mentor and a sponsor are different — and you need both. A mentor teaches and coaches you. A sponsor advocates for you in rooms you’re not in. Your mentor usually shouldn’t be your boss, so you can be honest about where you’re struggling.
- Culture is diagnosable. Walk a property unannounced and check the player’s club, the slot floor, and F&B. If every touchpoint disappoints, that’s not a service problem — it’s a leadership problem.
- Hire for fit, then teach the skills. Technical and tactical skills can be coached up. A cultural misfit can’t. Loren’s force-rank chart surfaces fit fast by making candidates trade off their strengths against what the organization actually needs.
- Don’t start with a customer service program. Start with a shared commitment to where you’re going, tied to revenue and profit goals. The training is a tool to hit those goals — not a substitute for a foundation.
- You need EQ and IQ. Capability gets you in the door. Emotional intelligence — kindness, making people feel safe — is what makes a team win.
What this means for casino marketers
If you’re a coordinator, supervisor, or manager who wants the next title, Loren’s prescription is concrete: learn everything you can, read about your industry and about organizations that succeed and fail, listen to shows like this one, find a mentor and a sponsor, and volunteer (in the community or on the floor) to get exposure to problems outside your lane. The people who raise their hand to learn and serve are the ones who grow. The ones counting down to clock-out aren’t.
And if you’re a director, VP, or GM: the same frameworks are hiring and culture tools. Read your own property the way Loren reads a candidate’s. Fix the foundation before you fund the program.
Wondering whether your marketing team is ready for what’s next? Let’s talk about building leadership and culture into your marketing operation.
About Loren Gill
Loren Gill is the Founder and CEO of LD2G Enterprises, LLC, a gaming, tribal, and hospitality leadership-advisory firm he launched in 2020. His 25-plus-year career spans tribal, privately held, and publicly traded gaming, including serving as CEO of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, general manager roles with Seneca Resorts & Casinos and Affinity Gaming, development and property leadership with Boyd Gaming, and VP of Service Operations for Harrah’s New Orleans during its opening years. He holds a B.S. in Business from Eastern Illinois University and an MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management.
Connect with Loren on LinkedIn (Loren Gill) or at ld2genterprises.com.
FAQs
What does “leadership development starts before the title” mean?
It means the habits that make a leader — reading culture, building relationships across departments, thinking about business outcomes, and seeking mentorship — are built before you’re promoted, not after. The marketers who do this are the ones who are ready when the role opens.
What’s the difference between a mentor and a sponsor?
A mentor teaches and coaches you, giving honest feedback in private. A sponsor advocates for you in rooms you’re not in — recommending you for opportunities, training, or promotions. You need both, and your mentor usually shouldn’t be your direct boss so you can be candid about where you’re struggling.
How can a casino marketer prepare for a leadership role before being promoted?
Learn aggressively (read about successful and failing organizations, listen to industry podcasts), find a mentor and a sponsor, and volunteer for work outside your lane — in the community or on the property floor — to gain exposure to problems beyond marketing. Loren’s view: the people who raise their hand to learn and serve are the ones who advance.
How do you assess a casino’s culture?
Visit unannounced and experience it as a guest. Sign up at the player’s club, ask a slot attendant for directions, and move through F&B. If the touchpoints consistently disappoint, that’s a leadership signal, not just a service one — culture starts at the top and shows up everywhere.
Should you hire for skills or for fit?
Fit first. Technical and tactical skills can be taught and coached; a cultural misfit cannot. Loren uses a force-rank exercise — having candidates rank the organization’s top needs against each other — to quickly surface whether someone’s strengths match what the role actually requires.
Why is launching a customer service training program a mistake?
Because a program can’t fix a shaky foundation. Start with a shared commitment to where the business is going, tied to revenue and profit goals, then build the training as a tool to reach them. Service is everyone’s responsibility, not just marketing’s.
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