Volume 2, Issue 1, 2006 - Casino Life magazine

Bridging the gap. Casino Life talks to Clive Tilley.

Clive Tilley is a well-known figure in the gaming industry but like many in a certain circle he is known just for being that – but not much is known about what he and his company actually does. Some people enjoy that enigma but for Clive it is the time perhaps to emerge more into the daylight. As the world becomes smaller and the boundaries between commerce in different countries become easier your business needs a public face – an image. Being successful at running key operations on three continents is fine but not letting others know that you do it – and do it well – means that same business is going to remain effective but unseen. Let’s also make it clear from the outset that he is not alone. Many successful businesses work “under radar” all over the world – providing good sound management services or products without having to trumpet it out. Just because it is the gaming industry some media people associate this timidity with a perceived darker side of the industry but those same people don’t know what they are on about. They go to Moscow and they think it’s full of mafia, that they are being James Bond every time they step outside of the hotel – and some are so scared of the shadows that they only travel from their hotel to the exhibition and back again not even daring to go into a casino unless it is hosting a party. The enigma of a darker site suits their imagination but ignores reality – the world has moved on.

Having known Clive for number of years, our first hour of meeting up is spent catching up and more particular on his ongoing challenge of trying to maintain presences on three continents whilst keeping his phone bills down – yet remain contactable. As the coffee comes thick and fast we wind our way through the wonders of email-to-fax solutions, Blackberries and virtual phone numbers but eventually we settle down to discuss his casino management business which is evolving onto a global presence.

Working principally out of Florida, the company has three key arms – operating casino operations on a Florida cruise-ship, operating casinos in partnership with the Korston Group in the Russian Federation (most notably the Orlenok and allied Casino de Paris) and more recently operating a number of casinos in Venezuela. The immediate question that springs to mind is how Clive can have the resilience needed to be in three places simultaneously – so I ask him.

“It’s simple really – I have good working relationship with my partners – they trust me and the staff that I appoint. It’s true that I inevitably have to travel extensively, but email and phone communications means that I’m fairly contactable wherever I am. Besides, though I’m the person that my partners deal with and with whom I have the business relationship with, I have worked very hard over the years to create culture among my staff that represents loyalty, integrity and support, regardless of what country we are operating in – After all, they are the ones who deliver the service at the sharp end.”

Until now Clive has managed without a corporate identity but that is about to change with a branding exercise and website currently under design. “I felt it was about time that we started to show off our achievements and let other operators know just what we can do for them” says Clive. So you are going to become Coca Cola? I suggest smiling. “We are not Coca Cola he laughs but just as if you buy a coke anywhere in the world you know what you are getting so it is with our services”. He is also keen to point out that although legislation, customers and habits can look so varied from one country to another “…when you get to the heart of gaming, most casino owner want efficiency, playability, flexibility and an exciting entertainment facility – and that’s what we deliver. Our experiences in what seems to be completely different markets in different countries have shown us that there is a shared commonality – so we are placed to deliver management services to suit to each client wherever they are”.

I’m also aware of the need for educated, future-thinking people around me”, says Clive, and that we are going to have to expand during 2006. The kind of person that will be joining me in the future will not be the archetypal manager though – I need people who can transfer their skills – whether in finance or business development or marketing to an emerging market of entertainment complexes that comprise casinos, hotels, restaurants and nightclubs and be able to think across geographical boundaries. You need someone dealing with the day-to-day building and running of entertainment venues but I am also looking for managers with vision who can keep an overview and steer the venues towards the future.”

No walnut desk and blotter then? I ask. “No!” he laughs, “whoever joins me is going to be working in almost virtual environment – they will have a base but I want them to be where the action is – not sitting behind a desk. I think it’s impossible to centralise my operation and still maintain that transference of knowledge and skills to different situations”.

As the Tilley brand emerges it is not going to be a simple façade but one each embodies the company values of integrity, flexibility and deliverability that existing partners/clients have embraced – bridging the gap between the entertainment complex and its customers. Watch this space.

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