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Alan Feldman fell in love with Las Vegas because of the Siegfried & Roy show at the Frontier. After the opening illusion, Crystal Chamber, “I don’t remember breathing.” Feldman grew up in a home with a creative father who was a self-trained musicologist and expert on Paul Robeson. His mother worked as a bookkeeper so Alan was encouraged to be grounded and to soar. As a theater major at UCLA, he was encouraged to hone his Public Relations skills. That expertise brought him to Las Vegas and to Steve Wynn and to work toward a changing relationship with the Culinary Workers Union Local 226. His work here has been life changing; management and labor did not have to fight at the end of each contract. He speaks of the changed understanding in this way: “…we also wanted to make a better product, and in making a better product we needed the employees to step up. Because if you are going to put five million dollars into a restaurant in 1990 where prior to that the most anyone had ever spent was a million, if you were going to tell the world come to Las Vegas because the experience is better, then the experience needed to be better. Maybe this is the part of Steve that he does deserve credit for, although, again, I think it's more—no, he's not alone now and folks like Jim Murren have absolutely taken up this same kind of notion. The building doesn't deliver your bags. The building doesn't hand you the meal. The building doesn't take your order. So great, you've got a volcano and you've got fountains and you've got stunning architecture. Fantastic. But if you don't have a smile on your face when you're welcoming someone to the hotel, it sucks and the rest of it doesn't matter.”

Robert Ambrose started in the gaming industry as a slot attendant at the Tropicana Atlantic City in 1985. After three years in that role, Ambrose was promoted to supervisor, a position he held for an additional five years before being promoted again to shift manager at the same property. He would eventually move into the position of executive director of slots and marketing operations which he held until he left the Tropicana in 2007. Ambrose went on to write for Casino Enterprise Management before helping to build and open Indiana Live! in Indiana. He later joined Drexel University to assist in building their gaming program and training lab. Ambrose is currently an instructor in the Center for Hospitality & Sport Management at Drexel and also writes for Casino Life magazine. The interview with Ambrose begins with his discussion of the various roles and duties of the different positions he held at Tropicana Atlantic City. He mentions some of the mentors he has had throughout his career and some of the important skills and approaches in slot management that they taught him. Ambrose then describes what he believes are the qualities of both good and bad slot managers before explaining his philosophy on what makes a good slot floor as well. He also provides details of his experience in building and opening a casino with the late Dennis Gomes and Cordish Gaming. He then discusses his experiences and interactions with slot vendors before describing how he believes slot operations has changed since he started in the industry, specifically considering changes in technology and the use of free play. Ambrose provides his opinion on the future of slots, particularly with skill-based gaming and eSports, and he answers the question of whether he gambles. Ambrose finalizes the interview by providing his advice to young people who want to eventually work in the slot industry.

Includes meeting agenda and minutes. CSUN Executive Board Meeting Minutes and Agendas.