Page 12 - Southern California Gaming Guide • December 2020

Douglas Vogelei, Senior Vice President of Operations at Sycuan Casino Resort since March 2020, is happy to be in San Diego at one of Southern California’s premier award-winning casinos.
With 20 years’ experience in gaming at The Venetian Las Vegas, he never thought one of his first tasks in his first month at Sycuan Casino Resort would be an unthought-of first: closing the casino. As all Southern California casino players know, the covid-19 pandemic temporarily shuttered all California casinos from March through May ( June for a few casinos) of this year.
When Sycuan Casino Resort reopened on May 20th, Vogelei’s operations teams had created and implemented an aggressive and rigorous safety and sanitation program to safeguard its guests and team members. Sycuan’s safety protocols are solidly in place including requirements for guests and employees to wear face-coverings and have their temperatures checked before entering the casino. Social distancing is employed by guidelines throughout the casino. Table games are limited to a maximum of three players per table, and every other slot machine is turned off for a safer distance between players. For complete details of Sycuan’s Safety Program go to Sycuan.com.
Sycuan Casino Resort is known for its exemplary community service and outreach, award-winning promotions, loose slots, poker, and bingo. Under
Vogelei’s operations leadership, Sycuan has expanded its gaming floor options with the addition of exciting new table games. It is the first casino in California to offer Tiger Baccarat, a popular game in Macau and
Singapore.Atraditionalnon-
commission Baccarat game,
Tiger Baccarat includes
exciting side bets that pay
up to 100 to 1. In addition
to usual table game favorites, you can explore all of Sycuan’s unique table game options including Fortune Pai Gow Poker, EZ Baccarat, Double Hand Baccarat, and Dynasty Baccarat. In all, Sycuan offers nine Baccarat tables.
In addition to table games, Vogelei introduced new VIP promotions, safe slot tournaments, and what turned out to be a major summertime favorite, Friday Night Dive-In Movies at the Retreat Pool & Cabanas, where summer guests could catch classic movie comedies poolside as they enjoyed a night swim, outdoor dining, signature cocktails and more. Retreat Pool & Cabanas was recently voted First Place Reader’s Choice 2020 Best Casino Resort Pool by the readers of the Southern California
Gaming GuideTM, as well as four other awards: First Place for Best Poker, and First Place for Best Bingo, and awards for Loosest Slots and Best Casino Spa.
On the casino floor daily, Vogelei relishes his time talking with guests and listening to their experiencesandideas.
“I have learned early on, that to our guests and team members, Sycuan means family! The guests
do not just visit to gamble; they visit because of the relationships that have been developed over years with our team members. This is something to be extremely proud of and what truly sets us apart from our competitors,” he said.
In the future, with the news of a covid-19 vaccine potentially available within the first quarter of 2021, Vogelei looks forward to the time when he can welcome more players with even more exciting new games and events at Sycuan Casino Resort.
Sycuan Casino Resort began as a humble Bingo Palace in 1983. Now, 37 years later, it is a community landmark and one of San Diego’s premier casino resort destinations. Sycuan recently completed a $260M expansion, including a 12-story luxury hotel tower with over 300 guest rooms and 57 suites. Additional amenities include a variety of restaurants, meeting and event space, a full-service spa, fitness center and a state-of-the-art pool and gardens area with a lazy river and swim-up bar. Sycuan’s expanded casino floor includes more than 2,300 slot machines and
54 table games in a variety of gaming options. Open 24 hours a day, seven days a week,
Sycuan Casino Resort is owned and operated by the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation. For more information visit Sycuan.com or call 619-445-6002.
PAGE 12
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAMING GUIDE
DECEMBER 2020