About

Where I've been

I spent the first 20 years of my professional life in the hospitality industry, with the last ten at a Forbes Five Star casino-resort on the Las Vegas Strip. This includes time in both restaurants and casinos, working with team members and guests from around the world. Within that time, I pursued a hospitality degree in gaming management from UNLV, graduating with honors. I was able to use that degree and my experience to rise through several management roles with multiple companies.

With that time, I’ve had the opportunity to develop strong interpersonal skills in communication and teamwork. When our biggest players are in the building, I’m the one in charge of their private gaming salon. This means I’m coordinating between hosts, management, dealers, butlers, and other auxiliary staff in order to ensure these, often billionaire and/or celebrity, guests have their expectations met without missing a beat. They’re living in a different reality than the rest of us, so that attention to detail is important for both their experience and the company’s bottom line. When someone is betting the equivalent of a modest house every couple of seconds, communication and teamwork are of utmost importance.

Besides handling guests of various levels of economic status and celebrity, many of our team members are first generation Americans from all corners of the globe. This means communicating with people where English is their second language and are used to different cultural norms. Within that realm, I’ve had the opportunity to learn how to work with and appreciate people from a wide variety of backgrounds.

While I’ve had a successful career in the casino business, I think it’s time for me to move on to my next challenge in life. I also have grown to value the opportunities that working remotely offer. I have always had an interest in programming and problem solving, and dipping my toe back in the pool confirmed that it would be a rewarding path for me. I hope to take the lessons and skills I’ve learned and apply them to the new challenge of solving problems in the software industry.

What I’ve done to move into the software industry

In the past two and a half years I’ve spent my time non-stop learning. This included a brief foray into freecodecamp.org, a data analytics course on Coursera sponsored by Google, and Python course on Udemy. During the Python course I realized I enjoyed the challenge and reward of coding and it became clear that a degree would be beneficial, so I decided to enroll in SNHU to earn a degree in computer science.

Getting that degree taught me a lot about the software development lifecycle, object-oriented programming, and working with tight time constraints. Every week was like a new sprint, and I often found myself working harder than I thought I would need to in order to learn new skills and turn in work I could be proud of. I was able to come out with a 4.0, gaining exposure to several languages, including Java, C++, and Python.

While I am confident my school experience has laid a solid foundation for me, I recognize that I’m still just getting to the first rung of the ladder and that I’m signing myself up for a lifetime of learning and development.

What I’m working on now

Now that I’ve completed my degree and am attempting to enter a challenging job market, I haven’t slowed down on learning. In order to widen my skills base, I’ve been expanding my knowledge of HTML, CSS, JavaScript, React, and full-stack development using both MERN and MEAN. My base of knowledge and the fact that these are relatively easy means I’ve found it quick to pick up these skills.

With that experience, I’ve started a role as a full-stack developer at Sugarloaf Web Solutions, LLC. I’ve developed business sites, a training program for the table games department at Wynn Las Vegas, and a debate game that is being used in graduate level debate courses.

The app I created for the Wynn can be seen here:

Taking the time to train each of hundreds of employees is inefficient and expensive, and the cost to the casino due to mistakes and slowing down the game when the dealer doesn’t know a payout can be very high. I created this app with the idea that dealers could efficiently practice during training and have the option to put in some time on their own so they could be confident in their payouts when the bet goes live.

It is meant for dealers that already know that basics of the Tiger Bet and how baccarat works. If you’d like me to walk you through the app, please feel free to contact me.

My debate game started as a personal project, but gained interest through my contacts that participate in collegiate speech and debate. As mentioned, it is now being used in graduate level debate classes:

My first business site project involved creating a site for my wife and my urban homestead. It details all the cool stuff we're doing and is already paying off, as my son was able to reference one of the recipes, add his own twist, and make some of the best chicken we’ve ever had. Take a look here:

Why I’m the best fit

I strongly believe I am the best candidate for any entry level position for many reasons. These include:

• Communication – I’ve spent years communicating with a wide variety of people from around the world, spanning the whole range of socio-economic and cultural backgrounds. This allows me to find common ground with pretty much everyone and find a way to work together no matter where you’re from or how you work.
• Teamwork – In addition to a mature take on communication, I’ve worked all levels, from front line to management. I can both give and follow orders, and truly only care about the team’s success. While I always take pride in my individual work, it is more important for me that the team is successful and I am happy to sacrifice my own time and praise to that end.
• Learning – Everyone will say they want to never stop learning. I’ve been a professional for over twenty years and have the longevity to know that that is true for me. I find I do the best when faced with new and challenging conditions.
• Teachability – While I am happy with my software development journey so far, I recognize I have a lot to learn before I can be a real contributor. Even in areas of my life where I consider myself an expert, I am always open to new ideas and am happy to adjust my ideas and thinking to fit the company I am in.

I intentionally left off any specific technical skills, not because I don’t think I possess them, but because I think most computer science graduates will have the same base level of knowledge. I am confident I can keep pace on the technical end with any other entry level team member, but what sets me apart is my proven track record of soft skills that often require real-life experience to master.