Northern Nevada Business Weekly: Tell us about Grand Sierra Resort.
Richard Silverman: It is the largest casino resort in northern Nevada, has over 2,300 fantastic employees and contains many different businesses all under one roof, such as a bowling alley, massive arcade and laser-tag facility, movie theaters, 12 restaurant outlets, concert hall, country western dance club, outdoor summer nightclub at our pool, and the hippest coolest sports bar concept anywhere in the country, which also transforms itself into a live music club late at night. So as you can see it is like a small city all under one roof!
NNBW: What role do you play in the company?
Silverman: My role is to manage every aspect of the property and its many businesses, as well as help create the marketing concepts and programs, which will drive more business to the property.
NNBW: How did you get into this field?
Silverman: I was involved in the bankruptcy restructure on the Aladdin deal in Las Vegas, which was then transformed into the Planet Hollywood concept. After that deal, my partner (Hugh Hilton) and I were brought in to take over the management of this property.
NNBW: What is something no one knows about your job?
Silverman: I work on average about 18 hours a day...not kidding. I don't think that the employees sometime understand what level of time commitment it takes to run a property this size effectively. I could work less, but less would get done in return.
NNBW: If you could have had any other profession what would it have been? Why wasn't it your first choice?
Silverman: Architect. I love the design process...but, I do get to satisfy some of that when creating new concepts and venues on a property such as this.
NNBW: How do you spend your time away from the office?
Silverman: On the weekends I get to fly home and see my wife and two beautiful daughters and my parents, so any spare time I get is all used up on them. When I am here in Reno I like to sneak away once in a while and get up to the lake and ski in the winter, boat in the summer.
NNBW: Do you have a favorite vacation memory?
Silverman: There was the time I set fire to a suite in the Lanesboro Hotel in London. Plugged the wrong thing into the wall without the correct converter...oops...not welcome back there.
NNBW: Of all the things you learned from your parents, which do you feel was the most valuable?
Silverman: To treat others the way you would want to be treated yourself. Showing people common decency and respect will never fail to make life and business much easier!
NNBW: What is the quirkiest or oddest job you've ever had?
Silverman: I was a concert promoter in my younger years, and trust me, if you want to experience the most bizarre aspects of human nature, deal with the entertainment industry and music artists in particular. A breed apart they are.
NNBW: What person, living or dead, would you most like to have dinner with, and why?
Silverman: My Grandfather...simply because I miss him!
NNBW: What's the best advice anyone ever gave you?
Silverman: Do good things with good people...and odds are that good things will come of it.
NNBW: What do you like most about your job? What do you like least?
Silverman: I love the fact that I can see almost instant results from the things we implement here. It is a satisfying feeling seeing things work in real-time. The least would be when you have to make difficult decisions that negatively affect other people's lives. Sometimes when protecting the better good of a business, other individuals can get affected. That is a very difficult and unpleasant position to be in and never taken lightly.
NNBW: What is the one thing you most want people to remember about you?
Silverman: He was a good man that actually cared about what he did and the people he did it with.
The basics:
Name: Richard Silverman, president and CEO, Grand Sierra Resort and Casino
How long have you been in this job? 2.5 years
Education: New York University (BA)
Best book you've read? "The World According To Garp"
What's on your iPod? Everything from Zen meditation to rap
The best movie ever? Impossible question to answer...must look at genre...directors...and time period from classic to contemporary. Is "Avatar" better than the original "Star Wars" because it "looks" better? After all that, I will still say "Citizen Kane"...lol.
Do you have a nickname? If no, have you ever? People call me many things...some of them better to just let alone for these purposes!
