When it comes to breaking barriers in Louisiana’s gaming industry, the odds are in Kim Ginn’s favor.
As vice president and general manager of L’Auberge Casino and Hotel in Baton Rouge, Ginn is one of the few female gaming executives in not only the state but in the country. And ever since gaming came to Baton Rouge in 1994, it’s the only industry she’s ever known.
“At the time, none of us really understood it, but it seemed cool,” recalls Ginn, who entered the professional world as an entry-level marketing coordinator at The Belle of Baton Rouge. “I was fortunate in that the industry had a lot of growth in it.”
After working at The Belle for 12 years, she joined Pinnacle Entertainment in 2006, working in various marketing roles at L’Auberge Lake Charles, corporate headquarters and, eventually, at L’Auberge Baton Rouge, becoming its general manager in 2018 after Pinnacle was acquired by Penn Gaming.
Yet despite common perceptions of casinos as icons of glitz and glamour, Ginn thinks people would be surprised to learn just how analytically driven the gaming industry is, with L’Auberge’s planning and finance department constantly tracking how frequently certain visitors are coming and gauging how much the casino is willing to re-invest in their return.
By the same token, having more than 600 team members gives L’Auberge an energy that’s palpable even on the longest nights, Ginn says. However, it also makes hiring the right people—who are willing to work weekends, holidays and nights—all the more important.
“We look for emotional intelligence, or soft skills, before we look for hard skills,” Ginn says. “We can train you in the hard skills, but being able to provide someone a good explanation for something is somewhat innate; you either have it or you don’t.”
It’s why Ginn saw to it that L’Auberge started doing “culture auditions” with potential hires intermixed with large groups of employees who ask the recruits questions like what person, dead or alive, they’d want to have dinner with. While there are no right or wrong answers, Ginn says she wants to ensure employees are able to think on their feet—a skill she’s found critical to her own success in the industry, and which has been put to the test twice in recent years.
The first time was in June 2018, when Baton Rouge banned all smoking in casinos and bars, causing a dip in casino revenues. However, Ginn says the issue has been somewhat quelled by Penn Gaming building a $3.6 million smoking terrace outside L’Auberge.
The second time began March 16, when the coronavirus pandemic led Louisiana to shut down its economy, including all casinos. With L’Auberge shut down for two months, Ginn was forced to furlough 98% of her team and eventually lay off 161 Baton Rouge employees.
“That broke my heart,” she says. “Our team is like family, so that was hard for everyone here. I never thought we would see this place with no lights on.”
In recent months, however, the casino has reopened 50% of its slot machines, and Ginn says things are “starting to feel normal” again. Still, L’Auberge can’t host large gatherings like concerts, keeping its revenues down.
Despite these obstacles, Ginn is confident the industry will come out on top again. No stranger to overcoming challenges, Ginn is going to follow the same advice she gives other local businesswomen who want to thrive a traditionally male-dominated field:
- Ask for more responsibility. Give up your nights and weekends if necessary. If you want to rise up the career ladder, it can’t just be an 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday commitment.
- Don’t just stay in your lane. Be curious and ask lots of questions. Learn about other departments, and pick up new skills in areas you otherwise wouldn’t understand to grasp the big picture of how a business truly operates.
- Be open to change. When a new boss is coming, you never want to be the person to say “That’s not how we do this.” Accept change as it comes.
Kim Ginn was named one of Business Report’s Influential Women in Business in 2014, read more about her here.Â
