2004 GREAT WOMEN OF GAMING
Proven leader

Dona Cassese

Executive Director Of Marketing
WMS Gaming, Inc.

 

For the first 20 years of her gaming career, Dona Cassese had her suitcase packed. She traveled the country selling casino services, consulting on-site for casino properties and marketing gaming equipment. Now, as the executive director of marketing for WMS Gaming in Las Vegas, Cassese stays in one place for longer stretches of time.

"I traveled for months at a time during my 20s and 30s, and had great fun while working on exciting projects. I was involved in many casino openings and start-ups. They were my favorite assignments. Now, I am a wife with a young child and feel a greater need to create a more balanced life between my personal life and my career. I don't travel as much as I used to," says Cassese. She likes to spend most of her time with husband Bob Caccia and their son, six-year-old Chase.

Cassese had the advantage of growing up in Las Vegas near the lights and excitement of casinos. She graduated from the University of Nevada in Las Vegas in 1983, where her late father Tom was the dean. Cassese worked for two years for the Tandy Corporation before beginning her first job as director of casino promotions for the Gold Coast Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

Before joining WMS Gaming in 1998, Cassese has held high-ranking positions in promotions, marketing and sales for such giants as the Mirage, Luxor and Gaming Systems International. In between, Cassese managed to also operate her own consulting company with her father, whom she credits with having the greatest influence on her life.

"My father always believed in me. He always pushed me to be my best and strive for goals that I did not think were attainable. He also taught me about integrity, advising me that a solid reputation is all I have, and that I should not let the excitement of the business test my good judgment," says Cassese.

Cassese traces part of her success back to working with great people like Michael Gaughan, founder of Coast Resorts, who hired her for her first gaming position at the Gold Coast. She also cites friends Diana Bennett, President of Paragon Gaming, and Carol Carter, the owner of Egads Casino Display Company, as pivotal in her growth.

She says, "Carol Carter has been a longtime friend of my family and is simply the most amazing and inspiring woman I have met in this industry. I worked very closely with Diana Bennett during the opening of the Luxor. She was a caring mother, a top executive and a great example of someone who balanced the demands of a high profile position with a home life."

While managing hundreds of employees over the years, Cassese feels fortunate that most have done well. "I have only fired two people that have worked for me. I try to hire good employees because I believe my job is to make sure the staff enjoys their work and gets the appropriate recognition. I feel that I've developed close relationships with them and am confident that they would rally around me if I needed them," says Cassese.

The casino industry requires dedication and a time commitment. Cassese would urge women entering the industry to address time constraints on their personal lives. She says, "I think it is easier for women to enter the business now than in the 1980s. Truthfully, intelligent younger women have great opportunity at casino properties. Women in this business have to work harder for more time to gain and retain the recognition they deserve. Women must be strong, driven and have a true passion for their jobs and their companies. This industry can be rough and is not for the weak at heart."

As a 24-hour business, the demands on executives are greater. Cassese says while working at casinos, she could be there all the time. "I threw a large event every New Year's Eve for 14 years. When I left the property side of the business, I didn't know what to do on many weekends and holidays. Now that I have a family, I see that married women must have a strong support group and a partner that is helpful at home," says Cassese.

Even with the demands on personal time, Cassese encourages women to throw themselves into the challenges of senior management positions whenever possible.

She says, "There are more women in highranking jobs than may be expected, although they may not get public exposure. I think that our society has tried to be open to the fact that women can and do juggle the roles of executive and mother. The disadvantage is that even today, our male associates still primarily fill most of the highest positions, although it is improving."

Cassese has surpassed many of the career mountains she had aimed to climb. She never imagined herself in the gaming business, but credits her success to working longer and harder, being open to new opportunities and surrounding herself with very talented people


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