GM Llambia's building: A better Bally's casino

9 June 2014

By Rudi Schiffer

TUNICA, Miss. -- General manager Eddie Llambias has been at the helm at Bally's Tunica for about a year and has made real and intangible progress with the property but now he is steering the casino to a higher level in a very competitive market.

“We are launching new programs, bringing new and more slots and progressing with room upgrades in our hotel,” said Llambias, an executive with lot of first-hand experience over 30 years ranging from croupier overseas and on cruise ships, not to mention a casino perched atop a rock on the Mediterranean named Gibralter.

Eddie was born and raised in London and speaks with a slight English accent, but he is from Spanish parents, which explains the name Llambias.

“We are also reconfiguring our table game pit as well as the slot floor with an increased emphasis on table games,” he said. “In the end we will have a much more attractive product to present to our players.

“We have the talent here at all levels and a new director of training on hand to upgrade their skills and customer attention. It will provide us with more energy and real growth,” he said. “With all this working in tandem we are building a new management team with a new Esprit de Corps.”

One really important area was to hire a senior director of marketing to create focus and awareness for the property and a welcome addition, according to Eddie is Jackie Pinner, another very experienced professional who is fully-engaged in planning and implementing a more aggressive marketing plan.

“Jackie Pinner is a hard worker and has made a difference already,” he said. “I keep urging her to take a day off but she has the motivation to get it all up and running as quickly as she can and there is no doubt she is heading us in the right direction.”
Work is nearing completion on re-flooring the Atrium and continues on the buffet which soon will have a new name and new look. A new logo is also in the works that will better reflect the casino’s personality and new look. Even the restrooms got an upgrade in appearance.

Bally’s is also moving to be more independent in the Resorts Casino-Bally’s arrangement providing it with the ability to make separate decisions and move faster to implement them.
Eddie is old school, coming up from the ranks and along his journey to the top he has gained valuable hands-on experience at all levels of casino operations beginning at 18 when he was a croupier at a London casino in 1983. This led to a position in the Bahamas and then on to the sun- bleached Rock where he attained supervisory management know-how.

In 1991 he signed up to sail on the Norwegian Cruise Line. He then helped open the new Harrah’s in Shreveport, the first casino in that busy market. Next was a stint with the Cherokees in North Carolina and with all this working for him, he became Senior Director of Operations for the Isle of Capri. But the warm climes of the Bahamas lured him back to the islands where he was a general manager at the Isle of Capri in Freeport. His abilities also led him into special projects for the company. This propelled him to general manager at the new Trump Plaza in Atlantic City and that led to his hiring at Bally’s in 2013.

Along this voyage he learned the importance of being a hands-on manager and how to build in-house culture as he connects readily as a supportive and friendly manager.

“I love this challenge, “ he said. “It keeps me refreshed and better able to keep focused on the important task on hand of building a better Bally’s.