2004 GREAT WOMEN OF GAMING
Proven leader
Kristina Ennis Robinson
Principal
Leo A Daly
Kristina Ennis Robinson has always had
a penchant for the design of everyday
things. "I've always been interested in how
things were made, how they're put together,"
she says. "As a child, I would spend as
much time playing with my brother's
Lincoln Logs and Erector Set as I did with
my own toys. In addition, my parents—
especially my mother, who is a talented
artist in her own right—were always very
supportive of me exploring my creative and
intellectual interests. At Mom's insistence,
birthday cards, Father's Day cards—you
name it—were always made from scratch,
never purchased from a store! Her passion
for creativity continues to inspire me today."
Developing that creativity has been a
central theme in Robinson's sometimes
vagabond life. The daughter of a Navy pilot,
Robinson spent her early years in various
locations in America and overseas, eventually
settling in Ohio. "I studied art and
design all through school, even taking
Saturday classes at the local College of Art
and Design while in high school," she says.
"I've always had an innate desire to 'create'
things, to design, fabricate and to make
things; ultimately, this led me to becoming
an architect."
Robinson is living proof that creative
skills and education—she holds a Bachelor
of Environmental Design from Miami
University in Oxford, OH and a Master of
Architecture from Rice University—are
needed anywhere. "Casino design was not
exactly an area of focus in college, at least
not when I was studying," she says. "So it
was purely through chance that I was
assigned to my first gaming design project.
It happened to coincide with my first project
for a Native American tribe, and I
haven't looked back since."
Part of Robinson's formula for success is
decidedly logical. "I think anyone who has
a passion and sincere commitment for what
they're doing—where the 'work' is more
than just a paycheck—has the potential for
becoming successful," she says. "Also, I am
very lucky to be working with a very talented
and dedicated team of people who
share the same vision and energy for what
they do. It makes my job easy." But the
other part of that formula is perhaps the
unbiased basis for all creativity. "You must
be willing to take risks and see opportunity
where you might least expect it in order to
capitalize on that potential," says Robinson.
"'Success' is what you make of it. I try to
approach every project without a preconception
of who the client is, what their business
model is or what it should look like.
Hopefully, in this fashion I will continue to
grow both professionally and personally
and remain open to those unusual or discreet
opportunities that present themselves."
Perhaps because of her innate passion
for building, Robinson has to think for a
minute about her role as a woman in gaming.
"I hadn't really thought of the gaming
industry in terms of being male-dominated
before," she says, "but I suppose there is
some truth to the statement. In that sense,
it's not so different from many industries,
including the design, engineering and construction
industries. Most of the meetings
I've been in over the years, whether in the
contractor's trailer on a job site, the conference
room of our company's office, or the
boardroom of a corporation, have been
populated predominantly by men, so being
surrounded by men in the gaming industry
has been familiar territory. To survive,
whether you're male or female, first and
foremost you must be competent.
Additionally, you must be confident
(because confidence without competence is
a dangerous thing), always be willing to
learn, and try to maintain a sense
of humor!"
Reflecting on the advantages, or disadvantages,
of being a woman in gaming,
Robinson boils it down to a single term.
"There have been situations over the years
where my being female has been a bit of an
advantage, and then there have been a few
of the opposite situations along the way,"
she says. "Again, I think each situation is
either made or broken by how you react to
it, but it is imperative that we always maintain
our professionalism."
She has a very clear vision of the current
state of gaming, and of the place women
are occupying in it. "Gaming has only
recently become visible in the eyes of the
public, and unless you lived in Las Vegas or
Atlantic City, the gaming industry wasn't
very apparent or viable as a career path,"
Robinson says. "With the proliferation of
corporate gaming and tribal gaming across
the US, gaming is becoming much more
accessible and acceptable as career option.
As such, I think we will hopefully see an
increase in the number of women in significant
roles in the industry in the coming
years."
Robinson took up silversmithing about
seven years ago, and today she spends time
practicing and studying the design and fabrication
of jewelry. This is the same creativity
that inspires a successful casino design,
and according to her, the rewards are the
same as well. "I get as much satisfaction by
the process of creating the pieces," she says,
"as I do in the final product."
Copyright 2011, Great Women of Gaming. All rights reserved.
