TG&H sat down with three operations leaders from Coushatta Casino Resort and Relay’s Jen Gutsalyuk following their standout panel at the Indian Gaming Association Conference last month. The conversation left the audience with one powerful message: the properties guests are most loyal to aren’t built on amenities or square footage. They’re built on a shared sense of pride and purpose that runs through every single department.
Coushatta has been building that kind of culture since 1995. And guests feel it. They could go somewhere closer. They choose not to.
What separates Coushatta isn’t any single department or decision. It’s that every person on their team, across slots, EVS, security, and beyond, operates with the same sense of ownership. Not because they’re told to. Because they believe the guest experience belongs to everyone. And because they’re part of something bigger than the casino floor.
At IGA, Brenda Monier (Slots), Ryan Rozas (EVS), and John Reeves (Security) shared what that looks like in practice, and for any operator trying to build a property guests are truly loyal to, it’s worth paying attention to. They cover:
- Protecting the moments guests remember most: How to identify the details most operators overlook and why they’re the ones that drive loyalty.
- Setting your whole team up for success: What it really looks like when every single person has what they need to do their job.
- Turning a potential crisis into a non-event: What Coushatta’s smoke event taught them about operating as one unified team.
- Building a culture every team member owns: Why the best guest experiences are never owned by one department and what it takes to build that kind of responsibility from the ground up.
These aren’t best practices from a consultant. They’re hard-won lessons from operators who live it every day, at a property built on pride, purpose, and a deep sense of responsibility to the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana and the community they serve.