From Hollywood Slasher To Casino Manager! Getting Up Close and Personal With The Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa's New General Manager, CJ Graham

The Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa recently named accomplished gaming executive, C.J. Graham, as its new General Manager. Graham has more than two decades of experience in the gaming and hospitality industry, including senior-level positions at the Palms Casino Resort, Wynn and Flamingo, in Las Vegas. His connection to Hollywood? Graham starred as the hockey-masked killer, Jason Voorhees, in the 1986 slasher film Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives. The Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa is home to The Show -- one of the finest, state of the art concert/theatrical venues in the Western United States. I had the opportunity to sit down with the charismatic and likeable Mr. Graham a few days ago. Here are a few excerpts from that conversation.

DG: So, let's get started with a little bit about your background - where were you born? Where did you grow up? Education?

CG: I grew up in Seattle, Washington. Left there when I was seventeen. Went into the military. Spent four years in the infantry. Honorably discharged. Never went back. Period. Started in the industry after I got out of the military, selling change -- went through security -- I was a dealer -- held all of the different positions within the industry over the last 25 years. Grew through the ranks. Took a four-year break. Went to LA. Ran a Niteclub for Jackie Collins, Joan Collin's sister - a prominent Niteclub in the Beverly Center ...

DG: What was that called?

CG: The Original Tramp Of London. Yep. Worked for her for a time and then was given a SAG card. Beat up some people in a couple of movies. And then from there I went back to Vegas, back in about '90 ... went back into the industry and then just continued migrating from a career perspective, This is my third or fourth time as a general manager. Ran a Riverboat in Illinois. Worked for George Maloof at The Palms as a Senior Executive. Worked for Peter Morton eighteen years ago when we opened up The Hard Rock in Las Vegas. I worked for Bally's, Paris, Caesar's and I also worked for Steve Wynn. The last four years I've been the General Manager with the United Auburn Indian Community up in Auburn, Northern California. They have a resort up there - it's four diamond - similarities - they have about 2700 to 3000 slot machines, about 250,000 square feet of gaming space - a big resort. They have an amphitheatre that seats about 1400 people.

DG: How did you end up here at The Agua Caliente?

CG: Opportunity came up with the tribe. I met with them in mid June. A couple weeks later I got an offer, and I said "wow". And I was so impressed when I came down. I didn't realize the magnitude of this property. I was awed. I thought "this is amazing". This property is definitely the jewel of the Valley. So, I'm a happy camper. I've been here two weeks and one day.

DG: So, tell me about the Hollywood side of your life. You had your SAG card for a few years. Were you pursuing a career in acting?

CG: No. I was just running the Niteclub for Jackie Collins and a lot of high profile people came in - Stallone, Prince, Tom Jones - and then, of course, attorneys and lots of people within the industry. I met some people that did the special effects on Friday The 13th: Part IV. And they did a special event - I had a gentleman that did a hypnosis thing for me on Thursdays, and it was always a sold out event, and they were going to do a special event with him and they saw my physical structure and they said "Let's do a Jason thing." And when they saw me in this attire they just kept saying " We're gonna cast you for this, we're gonna cast you". And I just thought "whatever". And then, lo and behold, a few months later I got a call from Frank Mancuso Jr's office at Paramount to come in and talk about the casting of this part. Went in. Before I knew it I was in Covington, Georgia killing people with a SAG card - and then I got all of these stunt bumps - being set on fire and being underwater and all of these stunts - and the rest, as they say, is history. The movie came out - it's a billion dollar franchise - I'm one of nine guys (playing Jason in Friday the 13th) - it's kinda cool. Since I had the SAG card, I did the whole ZED card and headshots and I ended up doing about five or six national commercials. And I did another film, Highway to Hell.

DG: Another killer?

CG: (He laughs) Another killer. True story. Ben Stiller had about ten seconds in it. As did his mother and father. He had about ten seconds cooking eggs on the sidewalk. Isn't that funny? Ben Stiller was in it. I keep thinking -- Really? It's on U-Tube. You can find it.

DG: What are your goals here? Short term and long term?

CG: Short term is to - you know this team in amazing. These people are ready for a marathon. A twenty five mile marathon. They're just waiting for the Coach to say "go". That's me. I'm a Coach. We're gone tale the entire marketing package as it stands today, connect all the dots so there's connectivity. We're a little bit disconnected right now. We're going to get the same branding message going out everywhere so now it becomes no different than - you say "golden arches" and you know you're talking about McDonalds - you say Target and you know you're looking for the bullseye - we need to strategize to get that same kind of branding. I have a three, a five and a ten-year plan. My long-range plan is looking at the next generation of the gamer and my responsibility to the next generation of the tribe.

DG: Any thoughts about The Show and entertainment on the property?

CG: Yes. We haven't capitalized on it as much as we could. We have the premier venue in Southern California. I don't think we've really exposed our clients to what we have. We need to get more acts on a more regular basis. I understand we do very well with tribute bands. We just had Michael Jackson here and it was huge. Maybe "Rock-tober" for us becomes a "Tribute" Rock-tober and that's what we do two nights a week for that month. And grow upon that.

DG: So you want to expand the number of entertainment offerings?

CG: Absolutely. We need to make sure the offerings makes sense on the return on investment. It's a challenge. Ask any promoter. But, it's an amazing venue. We hold a little over 2000 people. I understand it was very similarly modeled after "The Pearl" at The Palms. And we had the MTV Music Awards there one year. So we have the ability to do a lot more here.

DG: What are some career highlights that really stand out for you?

CG: When I was with Caesar's Entertainment I received the "Creative Management Award" out of 50,000 employees. That was pretty cool. That was my first sincere recognition. More recently I received the "Businessman of The Year" up in Lincoln. I also received an award for going green. I'd like to implement some of those green initiatives here. There's cost savings for the company, of course, but it's also good for the planet.

DG: What's something about you we wouldn't know by looking at your resume?

CG: I like to kill. (He laughs. A reference to Friday the 13th.) Can I say that?

DG: You just did.

CG: No, really, I grew up very humbly. I have no regrets. I lead by integrity and honor. I love what I do. I love what I do.

DG: What would be your personal mission statement or philosophy?

CG: Umm ... mine's more of a business philosophy. When you're in the military you learn to adapt, to overcome and to improvise. So I borrowed some of that for my personal philosophy -- to qualify, to quantify and to simplify. Make things simple. It doesn't have to be brain surgery. It doesn't have to be complicated. And I'm okay if you talk to me like a fifth grader. It doesn't offend me. If I don't get it, I'm going to tell you I don't get it. I'm a very simple and approachable person. I've met every single team member here over the past two weeks. I've walked the property at all times of the day because I want my team to know I have a presence here and I'm pretty much a leader from that perspective. The same with our guests. I want to create a relationship beyond the gaming. I want them to know CJ, the person and the person I represent for the tribe and the casino.

Upcoming at The Show at The Agua Caliente Resort Casino Spa - Sara Evans ( July 27), Carnival of Wonders (August 17 ), Ted Nugent ( August 30), Bobby Vinton ( September 7 ) and Daniel Tosh ( October 5 ). For tickets or more information visit www.hotwatercasino.com.

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